This Place Matters is the 2008 theme for Ohio Historic Preservation Month. People and
communities in Ohio and throughout the nation recognize historic preservation as an effective tool
for managing growth, revitalizing neighborhoods, fostering local pride and maintaining community
character while enhancing livability. Historic preservation is relevant for communities of all
sizes and people of all ages, all walks of life and all ethnic backgrounds. Many dedicated groups
and individuals work to preserve the tangible aspects of our heritage that shape us as a people.
Ohio Leaders Discuss Historic Preservation
Click here to read an interview between the State Historic
Preservation Officer, Dr. William K. Laidlaw, Jr., and Governor Ted Strickland.
Historic Preservation Works for Ohio
The Ohio Historic Preservation Office works to preserve Ohio’s historic resources by identifying
historic properties and nominating them to the
National Register of Historic Places, certifying federal and state historic
rehabilitation tax credit projects, providing
technical assistance on historic preservation issues, qualifying communities for the
Certified Local Governments program and
administering a related competitive grants program for participating communities, and reviewing
more than 6,000 federally-assisted
projects a year to ensure that alternatives are considered in any action that may affect
properties listed on or eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.
Each year Ohio ranks at or near the top nationally in the number of federally-assisted projects
reviewed. Ohio is regularly among the top states in number of buildings rehabilitated and amount
of private dollars invested through a program administered in Ohio by the Ohio Historic
Preservation Office that rewards those who invest in rehabilitating income-producing properties
listed on the National Register of Historic Places with a federal income tax credit. Ohio has the
third highest number of properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places, following
New York and Massachusetts.
Your input is needed!
Work is underway to revise and update Ohio’s statewide historic preservation plan. The plan is a
guide and reference for local preservation organizations, government staff, elected officials,
design review boards and commission, and the Ohio Historic Preservation Office.
Click
here to offer your views on what’s most important in Ohio to preserve and what challenges to
preservation exist in our state. Our online survey takes only a few minutes.
Get involved in Historic Preservation!
Ohio boasts two statewide non-profit historic preservation organizations
Heritage Ohio, and Preservation Ohio that work, along with
numerous regional and local historic preservation organizations throughout the state, to encourage and assist
people and organizations to protect and preserve Ohio’s rich heritage.
Click here to learn about historic preservation in your town and
special activities planned for Ohio Historic Preservation Month by some of Ohio's many historic preservation
organizations.
About the Ohio Historic Preservation Office
The mission of the Ohio Historic Preservation Office of the Ohio Historical Society is to help
preserve Ohio’s historic resources as a living part of our heritage through effective management
of the joint federal/state/local historic preservation program and by fostering, in association
with others, a preservation ethic.
This mission builds upon Congress’ declaration that the “spirit and direction of the Nation are
founded upon and reflected in its historic heritage” and that this historical foundation “should be
preserved as a living part of community life and development in order to give a sense of
orientation to the American people.” (National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended)
The Ohio Historic Preservation Office is the official historic preservation agency of the
state of Ohio. It functions as one of 56 state and territorial preservation offices created under
the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 which delegated to states the task of implementing
and influencing federal preservation policy and extended to each Governor the privilege of
appointing the State Historic Preservation Officer. In 1967 the Ohio Historical Society was designated
as the agency to manage responsibilities delegated to the state of Ohio by Congress
in the National Historic Preservation Act and subsequent revisions. The Ohio Historic Preservation
Office:
- Identifies and records historic places and archaeological sites
- Nominates eligible properties to the National Register of Historic Places
- Reviews federally assisted projects for effects on historic, architectural, and archaeological
resources
- Reviews rehabilitation work to historic buildings for the federal and state tax credit
programs
- Assists and reviews local government applications to participate in the Certified Local
Government (CLG) program
- Administers the Historic Preservation Fund including a 10% pass-through grants program to
Certified Local Governments
- Consults on the conservation of buildings and sites
- Offers educational programs and publications
The work of the Ohio Historic Preservation Office helps keep the evidence of Ohio’s history alive
and provides a legacy for future generations. By recognizing the importance of the past, caring for
historic properties, and preserving them for others to appreciate, we celebrate our history and
identity. In addition, the Ohio Historic Preservation Office has a direct impact on both public and
private projects affecting the economic development and vitality of Ohio.
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