A $749,700 National Park Service grant will pay for a new roof, window repairs and new HVAC at the S.G. Atkins House, the last historic home left in Columbia Heights.

Winston-Salem State University has won a $749,700 federal grant to restore the S.G. Atkins House, the 1893 home of the school’s founder. The money comes from the National Park Service’s Historic Preservation Fund grants for historically Black colleges and universities.

The university announced the award in a news release last week. No construction date has been set.

Why this house matters

Simon Green Atkins Jr. founded the school that became WSSU and was its first president. His two-story white frame house was built in 1893. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, according to the university.

The house stands on Alumni Drive on the WSSU campus, and the Office of Alumni Affairs uses it today. The university said it is a physical link to the founding of WSSU and to Columbia Heights, an early Black middle-class neighborhood in Winston-Salem.

It is also the last one standing. Three historic houses in Columbia Heights were listed in the National Register. The James S. Hill House and the John Walter Paisley House no longer stand, the university said.

What the grant will pay for

The house has suffered decades of weather damage and water getting in, according to the grant application as described by the university. The damage reaches the siding, the roof, the windows and the porch framing.

The planned work includes:

  • a new roof
  • window rehabilitation
  • selective interior renovations
  • heating, ventilation and air conditioning upgrades
  • fire alarm upgrades
  • other work to stabilize the house while keeping its historic character

What the university said

Jeremy C. Alltop, WSSU’s chief operating officer, wrote the grant and led the application.

“Preserving the Atkins House allows us to tell the story of WSSU in a way that also tells an important part of the story of Winston-Salem,” Alltop said in the release.

Shawn E. Holt, the university’s chief research officer and associate provost, said three campus offices worked on the application. He said knowing the house was the last of the three still standing added “a little more pressure to make sure it was done right.”

Where the money comes from

The National Park Service lists the awards as 15 projects in six states, sharing $10.7 million. WSSU’s award is listed as “S. G. Atkins House Rehabilitation” at $749,700. The only other North Carolina award went to Shaw University in Raleigh, $750,000 for windows at Tyler Hall.

The Historic Preservation Fund is paid for by revenue from federal offshore oil and gas leases, not by tax dollars, according to the park service.

What happens next

The grant does not start work on its own. Before a construction date can be set, Alltop said, the project still needs:

  • approval from the WSSU Board of Trustees
  • approval from the UNC Board of Governors
  • preservation reviews
  • design work and procurement

What it means for you

  • The house stays open for now. The Office of Alumni Affairs is still based there, the university said. Nothing in the release says the office will move during the work.
  • See it: the house is on Alumni Drive on the WSSU campus. Our history and landmarks guide covers other historic sites across the city.
  • Follow the approvals: we will report when the trustees and the Board of Governors act on the project and when a construction date is set.