Madison Courier  11/18/05

$525,000 grant now in hand for Eleutherian College

Peggy Vlerebome
Courier Staff Writer

Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman, holding certificate, presented a grant to Eleutherian College this week. People who attended the ceremony included left, next to Skillman, County Commissioner Julie Berry; Jae Breitweiser, right, next to Skillman, president of Historic Eleutherian College Inc.; along with Vern Reindollar, Brook Reindollar, Dana Riddle, Larry Stout, Elbert Hinds, Gilbert Maupin, Art Cleland, Carolyn Cleland, Earl Horton, Lavelle Smith, Cleta Smith and Paul Thompson. (Submitted photo)
Eleutherian College received a $525,000 grant toward its restoration this week. Letters written by Madison and Southwestern students played a large part in the pre-Civil War campus being awarded the grant, the president of the Eleutherian board said.

“Schoolchildren helped us get this grant,” said Jae Breitweiser, president of Historic Eleutherian College Inc. “When you think that children can’t make a difference in your community, this is one time that they certainly did. They were a big part of helping us to receive this grant by their participation.”

Madison Consolidated High School history classes and students at Southwestern “wrote some wonderful letters,” she said.

“These kids understand what this project was about,” Breitweiser said. Others in the community submitted letters in support of Eleutherian, she said, but “the children turned in the most letters.”

Students toured the college, which accepted students regardless of race or gender and was part of the Underground Railroad. Some students returned with their parents, further spreading knowledge about Eleutherian’s role in history.

“I said (to the students), ‘You need to be proud of this,’” Breitweiser said. “It changed our nation to the life we have today. They dared stand up when things weren’t right.”

The new grant will be used as the required match for a $200,000 Save America’s Treasures grant the college received. The grant awarded this week is federal Community Development Block Grant money allocated to Indiana for distribution.

The grant is $25,000 more than the program’s usual maximum because of the likelihood that a woman-owned or minority-owned business will be a subcontractor, and will be paid out when use of such a firm is documented, said Dana Riddle of the Southeast Indiana Regional Planning Commission, which manages grants through the program.

Work that will be paid for with the grant is expected to start in a few months, Breitweiser said.

The new grant puts Eleutherian almost half-way toward the projected $2 million cost of renovation, she said.

The college, located on State Road 250 in Lancaster, is a National Historical District.

In June, Eleutherian was placed on the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s list of the 11 most-endangered historical sites in the United States, which makes it eligible for advice and help from the trust, and gives it a boost when applying for grants.