Lunenburg’s iconic heritage house on Pelham Street is getting another injection of federal and provincial funds to support its multi-year conservation plan.
If you’ve walked by the Knaut-Rhuland House in recent years, you’ll have noticed the ongoing work on restoring the national historic site.
In mid-August, the Lunenburg Heritage Society (LHS) announced two major grants. They received $153,436 from Parks Canada’s National Cost-Sharing Program for Heritage Places and $15,000 from a provincial Heritage Development Fund.
Patricia Nicoll, Chair of the Knaut-Rhuland Renewal Committee for the LHS, shared that the committee has been working since 2021 to determine the best direction for restoring and conserving the house. In the early stages, they worked with architect Greg Munn and a heritage engineer to create a roadmap with recommendations for conservation.
The society states they are currently focused on rebuilding and fortifying the building’s stone foundation, installing a modern drainage system, conducting paint analysis, and upgrading the electrical system.
This isn’t the first time the society has received funding through Parks Canada. “We’ve had a couple of experiences with [Parks Canada] program officers,” says Nicholl. “They’re always so interested and helpful and supportive. It doesn’t mean that, you know, we’re automatically given funding, but they’re very supportive when it comes time to submit our applications.”
Nicoll is excited that they’ve been allowed to announce the Parks Canada grant since it requires matching funds. The society has already raised $113,500, over 70%, of their goal.
“Now that we’ve announced it, we will start with a more targeted fundraising campaign in order to narrow that funding gap.”
