Foundation receives $500K grant
Editors note: This story has been modified from a previous version to correct a misspelled name.
EIGHTY FOUR – Washington County Community Foundation was awarded a $500,000 grant to further restore of its headquarters in the historic Brownlee House in North Strabane Township.
The grant from the Richard King Mellon Foundation will allow the nonprofit organization to complete work on the first floor and central staircase of the three-story brick house along Route 519, said Betsie Trew, president and chief executive officer of the local foundation.
“In addition to enabling us to move forward with preserving a building on the National Register of Historic Places and an historic symbol of Washington County, the grant importantly recognizes the efforts of the WCCF to grow and nurture philanthropy in Washington County and to serve as a resource for local charities,” Trew stated in a Friday news release.
The foundation moved from Washington to the house in April 2015 after it was donated to the group by William and Saundra Stout and renovations were completed on the second and third floors.
The house, built in 1848, will have a museum highlighting the county’s Scotch-Irish heritage on the first floor after restorations are completed.
The museum is expected to open to the public in 2017.