NEW GLOUCESTER — The 1772 Foundation, in cooperation with Maine Preservation, has awarded the Shaker Herb House renovation project a $7,500 challenge grant for the installation of a security system.
The Herb House rehabilitation is the largest Shaker Village capital project in its history. The three-year, $4.3 million project will produce more than 8,000 square feet of space for year-round, public education programs, a commercial kitchen classroom, traditional arts workshops and herb production spaces.
The Herb House was built in three periods, from the late 18th century, the 1820s, and the 1860s. It is a timber frame structure and the sole remaining Shaker Herb House in America.It will again be the home of the Shakers’ ongoing herb business and the headquarters of new programs for students, organizations, and general audiences throughout the school year and beyond.
The grant money will safeguard the occupants, visitors and property with a state-of-the-art fire and security system. The $7,500 grant requires a 1:1 match to qualify toward the cost of the $33,000 security system.
In April, the project got a $750,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
