IMLS Terminates Two Federal Grants Awarded to Hanford Mills Museum

EAST MEREDITH — Late in the evening on Wednesday, April 9, Hanford Mills Museum (HMM) received notification from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) that HMM’s two IMLS-funded grants had been terminated, effective April 8. These grants totaled $238,475 ($82,516 of which not yet disbursed) of essential funding for programs offered to area visitors, residents and children and the preservation of items and information with local historical significance. The termination letters, signed by acting IMLS director Keith Sonderling, state that “IMLS has determined that your grant is unfortunately no longer consistent with the agency’s priorities and no longer serves the interest of the United States and the IMLS Program.”

Hanford Mills Museum, located in East Meredith, preserves an operational water- and steam-powered sawmill and gristmill as well as a historic manufacturing, retail, and agricultural site. With a staff of only 5 full time and a handful of part-time employees, HMM offers 3-4 special events, serves thousands of visitors, and provides over 250 educational programs to area schools each year. 

IMLS had awarded HMM two grants for separate multi-year projects to help complete critical work that would enhance their service to the public: one to improve the management and care of its historic objects to ensure that they last for current and future generations (2022-2025), and the other to create an interpretive master plan informed by community participation that would guide the museum’s activities into the future (2024-2026). 

With this termination, the museum loses $34,187 that was already allocated to cover work on these projects in 2025. That means approximately 8% of HMM’s total budget for the year has been unexpectedly cut. One of the grant projects included a professional development workshop that was open to other local museums, and that training will now be canceled - broadening the negative impacts of this federal action. 

“This unfortunate news arrived as I returned from the annual conference of the Museum Association of New York,” explains HMM’s Executive Director, Kajsa Harley. “I had just heard many stories of canceled federal funds from colleagues across the state. Ours is one of hundreds of similar situations unfolding across the country right now, in rural communities and cities alike.”

IMLS awarded the grants to Hanford Mills after a competitive process that acknowledged HMM’s outstanding integrity and interpretive work among small historic sites. Grant applications are awarded based on review not only by IMLS agency staff, but also by panels of experienced museum professionals from across the country who understand the nature of the field’s work, the need for museums to directly serve the public, and the measurable positive impacts museums have on local economies and community preservation.

Funding for the IMLS comprised less than one half of one half of a percent (.0046%) of the most recent federal budget. Most museums and libraries have to match every federal dollar that they receive with money from their own operating budgets in order to get this funding support. “The impact of these federal grants far exceed investment, both in terms of public education and enrichment and what museums contribute to their local economies as tourism drivers and employers,” Harley expressed. “As a small rural museum, we stretched every dollar from this federal funding so that we could do our best work in providing fantastic programs and preserving the site and our historic artifacts. We leverage grants like these to help us with our efforts to provide low-cost or no-cost experiences to local families, visitors to the area, and our neighboring schools.”

Despite these funding terminations, HMM remains committed to its mission to inspire audiences of all ages to explore connections among energy, technology, natural resources, and entrepreneurship in rural communities.

“The work that museums and libraries do is essential to our communities,” notes Harley. “Our hope is that our communities value our work enough to support us, financially, of course, but also as ambassadors who are willing to advocate for us to state and federal officials.” 

About Hanford Mills Museum 

Experience a story of innovation, ingenuity and entrepreneurship at a historic working mill site.  Sheltered in a valley in the northwestern Catskills of New York, Hanford Mills Museum offers insights into the past and lessons about the relationships between people, the things they make, and the places they live. As one of only a handful of operating water-powered mills, Hanford Mills Museum has earned a place on both the National and New York State Registers of Historic Places. 

Hanford Mills is located at 51 County Highway 12 in East Meredith, at the intersection of Delaware County Routes 10 & 12, just 10 miles from Oneonta, and 15 miles from Delhi. For more information, visit hanfordmills.org or call 607-278-5744.