Fredericksburg Townhall Restoration May Have to Wait Because of Federal Cutbacks
Juneteenth celebration and training for museum employees are also in question as federal cuts reach deeper into our region.
By Hank Silverberg
CORRESPONDENT
The Fredericksburg Area Museum had been planning to use a $500,000 federal grant as a major funding source to repair the historic town hall on Market Square in downtown Fredericksburg. But Fredericksburg Area Museum Director Samuel McKelvey has told the Advance that the application for the money — which would have come from the Institute of Museums and Library Services and is administered by the National Park Service — is now in doubt because of the decision by the Trump Administration last week to close IMLS.
The crumbling sandstone on the building’s corners needs to be replaced, along with other parts of the structure. The historic two-story building, which dates back to 1816, dominates Market Square and housed city offices until 1982.
McKelvey says they will now take a band-aid approach. In 2023 the city allocated $1.425 million to fix some things, and the museum has requested more money from the City of Fredericksburg in fiscal 2026 for the same purpose.
It is not the only local project potentially affected by the turmoil in the Federal Government.
A $23,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, which had been approved for the city’s Juneteenth celebration at Market Square this summer, is also on hold, and has created a lot of questions for that planned event.
“We’ll still have the celebration no matter what, it’s just going to be massively scaled down from what we wanted it to be,” said McKelvey.
The grant money was going to be used to pay venders at the Juneteenth event.
Juneteenth is a commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States on June 19, 1865, when the Emancipation Proclamation was finally enforced in Texas—the last place to still have slaves. It’s been a national holiday since 2021.
Earlier this year, an Executive Order from President Trump banned use of federal money for anything considered part of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI).
McKelvey says the money for the Fredericksburg celebration has been held back because the National Endowment for the Arts is no longer certain such events were eligible for federal funds under the Executive Order.
McKelvey, who also serves on the board of the Virginia Association of Museums, says some grants for training programs for museum personnel throughout the state may also be impacted by NEA cutbacks.
“We are worried about what that will do to the industry at large and credential training.” He said it could have a “domino effect” on other state and locally funded museum projects.
“We are looking at less funding in general, which makes it a more competitive field for all the museums to try and find funding” he said.
The IMLS had a budget of $294.8 million in 2024. More than $211 million went to libraries across the country. Observer.com reports the IMLS budget is about .0046% of the federal budget, while museums contribute $50 billion to the U.S. economy each year.
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