The Snohomish County Historic Preservation Commission, in partnership with the Washington Preservation for Historic Trust, is sponsoring a Heritage Barn Workshop for barn owners in Snohomish County on Aug. 27.
 
Workshop attendees will receive guidance on nominating their barns to the state Heritage Barn Register and on how to fill out funding applications for the Heritage Barn Rehabilitation Grant Program if accepted on the register. The state Heritage Barn Preservation Initiative, established in 2007, is a grant program that assists with rehabilitation projects designed to stabilize and preserve designated heritage barns across the state.

There currently are 15 barns in Snohomish County that have qualified for the state’s register of historic barns, but more may be eligible. Last year, the Heritage Barn Grant Program provided grant assistance to 19 heritage barns throughout Washington, but barns must first be placed on the Heritage Barn Register, the Washington Heritage Register or the National Register of Historic Places.
 
To be eligible for listing on the Heritage Barn Register, barns must be more than 50 years old and retain a significant degree of historic integrity. Nominations must be received by Sept. 25.
 
Grants through the rehabilitation program are awarded through a competitive application process. Criteria for funding include, but are not limited to, the historical significance of the barn, urgency of needed repairs and provision for long-term preservation. Priority is given to barns that remain in agricultural use. Grant applications are due Nov. 4, with grant awards slated to be announced in January 2010.
 
All nomination/application materials related to the Heritage Barn Register and the Heritage Barn Rehabilitation Grant Program can be downloaded from the state archaeology and historic preservation department’s Web site at www.dahp.wa.gov.
 
Barn owners with questions about the programs are encouraged to contact Chris Moore at 206-624-9449 or cmoore@wa-trust.org. For information on the workshop, contact Wendy Becker, Snohomish County’s economic and cultural development officer, at 425-388-3186 or wendy.becker@snoco.org.