Funding has arrived!

From the Metroparks website

The historic Lathrop House in Sylvania and an original Black Swamp cabin in Oregon will be preserved for future generations to appreciate thanks to two pieces of good news celebrated by Metroparks and its partners just one day apart.

On Wednesday, March 9, the park district learned that the Lathrop House will receive a state Transportation Enhancement grant for $257,870, or 80 percent of the cost of exterior restorations to the historic home.

Friends of the Lathrop House has raised the remaining 20 percent, thanks in part to a $25,000 contribution from the Devers Family Foundation. The money will be used to complete phase one of the restoration project, including replacing windows, doors, roof and siding.

The two-story home, which sheltered fleeing slaves headed for Canada in the mid-1800s, is owned by the city of Sylvania and was moved to Harroun Community Park. Metroparks is spearheading the renovations and will oversee programming at the site in the future.

From the Toledo Blade

Article published Friday, March 11, 2005

$260,000 grant to aid Lathrop House

By DALE EMCH
BLADE STAFF WRITER

The Toledo Area Metroparks will receive nearly $260,000 in federal money to use for exterior renovations of the Lathrop House in Sylvania, Don Rettig, Jr., the park system's director of cultural and historical programs, said yesterday.

The money, which comes from a federal transportation fund, will jump-start the renovations planned for the historical home, which many believe once served as a stop for escaping slaves on the Underground Railroad.

"It's a very big deal. Metroparks said all along that we knew the project could be accomplished through grants outside our funds," Mr. Rettig said. "This gets the project moving and keeps it out there in front of the public."

The metroparks began overseeing renovation of the home after an extended fight that pitted Sylvania officials and a citizens group called Friends of the Lathrop House against St. Joseph Catholic Church, which bought the property in the 5300 block of Main Street with the intention of razing it for a school construction project.

The house, built in the mid-1800s, was home to several prominent families. Marie Vogt was the last in a long line of known residents of the home dating to Lucian Lathrop in 1847. The house, which is owned by the city of Sylvania, has been moved to nearby Harroun Community Park.

The metroparks applied for the federal money through the Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments. Diane Reamer-Evans, transportation project manager for the organization, said a TMACOG committee's decision to fund the project was due, in part, to its unique historical role in transportation.

"We haven't seen anything like this in our region," she said. "And its potential to serve a lot of people was important. One of the things the committee looks at is whether it will impact a few people or a lot of people. The committee felt it would serve a lot of people."

She said it's hard to say when the metroparks actually will receive the money, but it should happen within the next few years. Mr. Rettig said the park system will use its own money to start the renovations now that it knows the federal money is in the pipeline.

Mr. Rettig said the federal money, which will be matched by $64,478 raised by the Friends of the Lathrop House, will be used to repair portions of the foundation, recondition windows and doors, and renovate porches, among other projects. He said the citizens group has raised nearly $200,000 overall, which includes a $25,000 donation from the Devers Family Foundation.

He said other repairs will be made over time, which eventually will allow for programs to be conducted at the site.