County grant will help
fund work on Fisk Chapel
BY NICOLE GERAGHTY
Staff Writer
FAIR HAVEN — The borough’s most notable historic site will soon see a new day.
Preparations for the restoration of Bicentennial Hall are under way, according to Pat Drummond, president of the Fair Haven Historic Preservation Association.
Also known as Fisk Chapel, Bicentennial Hall started out as an African-American church, built in 1882, and is on the National and State Registers of Historic Places.
On Feb. 23 Drummond received a $4,500 grant for the restoration work from the Monmouth County Historical Association in Freehold. The money will go toward new windows, borough clerk Julie Keizer said at the March 8 council meeting.
The funds raised thus far have been through grants from federal, state and county governments, private donations, and money raised by the borough historic association, Drummond said.
As of now, there is enough money to begin phase one of the renovation. A project manager has been hired and the council has given its approval, she said.
The first phase of the restoration, which Drummond hopes will begin in the coming months, includes stabilizing the building, making it watertight and repairing the roof.
To get the building back to its original grandeur will be the objective of the second phase of the restoration project, for which more funds are needed.
The borough historical association holds a garden party every September, which Drummond said will generate at least $10,000 for that work.
"We’re constantly looking for donations," she said. "We realize that the council has stretched itself as far as money." She said it would be better if all of the restoration phases could be done together.
Another fund-raising effort is being undertaken by an ad hoc quilting group in Fair Haven. The quilters are making two very different quilts, said Libby Schoenewolf, one of the quilters.
The first quilt is "more modern," Schoenewolf said, with each quilter using a particular fabric. A raffle for the quilt was held last September.
The second quilt is still under construction and is devoted to "what is decidedly different about Fair Haven."
"The quilt has two purposes," said Schoenewolf.. "As an immediate fund-raiser to help get preservation, we’re selling off spaces on the quilt to be embroidered."
The quilt consists of pictures of the borough’s distinctive features, such as Veterans Memorial Park and Fisk Chapel.
The quilters are selling miniature picket fences that will be placed on the border of the quilt, and buyers can put their names on the pickets. Schoenewolf said the quilt should be finished in the spring.
"The quilt in our vision will belong to Bicentennial Hall," Schoenewolf added.
Anyone interested in making donations toward the restoration of Bicentennial Hall can contact the Fair Haven Historic Preservation Association.