Newburgh - The Open Space Institute has announced that this year’s Barnabas McHenry Award for Historic Preservation has been given to Matthew Colon of Newburgh for a project that will digitize and catalogue the entire slide collection of the nation’s first publicly-owned and operated historic site.
The Friends of the State Historic Site of the Hudson Highlands, an ancillary group to Washington’s Headquarters State Historic Site, nominated volunteer intern Matthew Colon in recognition of his outstanding performance this past year ensuring that the Washington’s Headquarters library and archives will be useful to the staff and the public. Matt honed his archivist skills while a student at SUNY Oswego, as well as from related professional development classes. The McHenry Award will support Matt’s next project: to properly accession important images previously available only through outdated equipment and make them accessible for a myriad of uses now and in the future.
In 2007, the Open Space Institute created the The Barnabas McHenry Hudson River Valley Awards to honor Barney McHenry’s extensive leadership, contributions, and accomplishments in the Hudson River Valley. For the past forty years, McHenry has worked to protect the Hudson River Valley’s landscapes, heritage, and culture. He demonstrates his commitment to the region as a Member and Secretary of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, Chair of the Hudson River Valley Greenway Communities Council, Co-chair of the Hudson River Valley Natural Heritage Area, President of Boscobel, and Trustee of both Friends of the Hudson Valley and the Open Space Institute.
The McHenry Awards provide financial support to the "pairing" of young leaders and exemplary projects that make significant contributions in environmental conservation, historic preservation and the arts in the Hudson River Valley.
Congratulations to all involved in the grant process and our sincerest thanks to the Open Space Institute and Commissioner McHenry for this honor.
The Open Space Institute has protected more than 100,000 acres in New York State. Through its Northern Forest Protection Fund and Conservation Finance Program, OSI has assisted in the protection of 1.7 million acres in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and North Carolina and Georgia.
Washington’s Headquarters State Historic Site is a registered national historic landmark. It is located at the corner of Liberty and Washington Streets within the city of Newburgh’s East End Historic District. The site is one of 35 historic sites within the New York State Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and is one of 28 facilities administered by the Palisades Interstate Park Commission. For further information, please call (845) 562-1195.
