Chickasaw Park among 30 sites nationwide to receive preservation grant

Chickasaw Park is among 30 sites in the country receiving a combined $3 million in funding from the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, a program dedicated to preserving important sites in Black history.

Sites from California to New Jersey, including the West Louisville park, are among those receiving between $50,000 to $150,000 in funding to assist in preservation efforts, according to a release from the organization. The action fund is part of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a private trust chartered by Congress in 1949 with the aim of honoring the histories of all Americans.

"History is crucial to our nation's understanding of where we've come from, who we are today, and how we envision our future," executive director Brent Leggs said. "These grants will support critical preservation efforts to revitalize and sustain tangible links to our shared past that we hope will inspire future generations."

Olmsted Parks Conservancy spokesperson Jesse Hendrix-Inman said Chickasaw Park was awarded $50,000, which will be used to put educational signage around the park about its history and the West Louisville Tennis Club. Part of the grant will also support programing for the club, which has existed since the park's inception.

Chickasaw Park, the only Kentucky location in the list, was designed in 1923 by Frederick Law Olmsted's firm and is a national historic site. The park was specifically intended to serve the Black community at the time and housed the city's only recreational and park amenities accessible by Black residents until Louisville's park system was desegregated in 1955.

More: Chickasaw Park received $5 million in investments. Then a tornado hit the West End.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Chickasaw Park among 30 sites nationwide to receive preservation grant