New Jersey Historic Preservation Awards announced
Several Central Jersey residents and historical organizations are recipients of the 2022 New Jersey Historic Preservation Awards to be presented by Preservation New Jersey.
Somerset County is being honored with the organization's Preservation Documents Award for developing the Somerset County Preservation Plan, the only plan in New Jersey that coordinates open space, farmland and historic preservation into one document.
Thomas D’Amico, Somerset County's supervising planner, is being given The Sarah P. Fiske Legacy & Leadership Award for being a "lifelong champion of historic preservation and history."
Montgomery resident Jesse Havens will receive the Constance Greiff Writing Award for researching and writing about Somerset County history for more than a half century.
Also being honored in Central Jersey is the Westfield Historic Preservation Commission, which will receive the organization's Historic Preservation Commission Award for to preserving historic sites and structures in the town while fostering an appreciation for these landmarks as an essential element of the town’s character.
Also see:Westfield ordinance set the stage for the renovation of a 1911 Craftsman home
Perhaps unique in the United States, Somerset County’s Office of Planning, Policy and Economic Development coordinated the creation of the Somerset County Preservation Plan which updates the County Open Space Master Plan, the County Farmland Preservation Plan, and developed a new County Historic Preservation Plan.
The four-volume plan has an introductory volume and includes three plan elements. The recommendations and strategies in the plans are cross-referenced in each document, and each plan element can stand on its own while being linked to the others.
Also see:Somerset County unveils 'nation's first' preservation plan of its kind. Here are details
D'Amico, a professional planner, brings three decades of knowledge of Somerset County’s heritage and its historic resources to the county's Office of Planning, Policy, and Economic Development. He is a former member of the Drew University Historic Preservation Certificate Program advisory board and volunteers an historic reenactor.
For more than 25 years, Havens wrote “Hindsight,” a weekly column in the former Somerset Messenger-Gazette, Somerset County's largest weekly newspaper. Havens' historical research, constant pressure and advocacy were key in ensuring that Somerset County’s part in the American Revolution would be included in the Crossroad of the American Revolution National Heritage Area. Havens has been given proclamations from Bridgewater Township, Somerset County, and the New Jersey Legislature.
Preservation New Jersey will present the awards Oct. 12 at the 1867 Sanctuary in Ewing.
Also being honored is the Princeton Battlefield Society, New Brunswick architect Debra Koehler of the DI Group, Karen Yang of the William Penn, Native Americans & Morven project, Kelly Ruffel, Passaic County Director of Cultural and Historic Affairs and Kate Astle, Newark Museum of Art.
Email: mdeak@mycentraljersey.com
Mike Deak is a reporter for mycentraljersey.com. To get unlimited access to his articles on Somerset and Hunterdon counties, please subscribe or activate your digital account
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: New Jersey Historic Preservation Awards announced
