2023 Edisto Land Trust - Mellon Grant for Hutchinson House

Hutchinson House on August 5, 2021

A nearly one-million-dollar grant has been awarded by the Mellon Foundation, to transform and administer the humanities outreach program at the Hutchinson House. The Edisto Island Open Land Trust (EIOLT) has been working since 2016 to restore and preserve one of the oldest houses on Edisto Island, with the final phase of construction already paid for and on the schedule for 2023. The $950,000-Mellon Grant will address the African American Heritage present at the Hutchison House, and will feature Gullah-Geechee culture with a programming calendar that provides outreach to island residents, and to summer visitors.

“While the Mellon Grant does not have anything to do with the bricks and mortar, it helps to shine light on the big picture at Hutchinson House,” said John Girault, Director of EIOLT. “Future cultural research, archaeology work, informational signage, and the hiring of a project director are all covered by the Mellon Grant. We had already filed for county permits to finish the interior and add the porch, and this grant will provide polish to this project that we hope will engage the African American community. We envision hosting Gullah-Geechee performers right on the grounds at Hutchinson House in the future.”

            

“We are so grateful for this Mellon Grant, and we have learned a lot about the grant process with the Hutchinson House restoration,” said Girault. “Current grants with the National Park Service, and the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund helped raise awareness for our project, and these efforts led to our application for the Mellon Grant.” EIOLT will hold their annual Legacy Live Oak Memorial Dedication on May 7 at 2 p.m. at indigo Farm. Coming on June 8, EIOLT will present a free screening of the S.C. purple martin documentary Purple Haze at the Edisto Civic Center.

To view past blog entries from Edisto Land Trust click 2022 Oyster Roast -  2022 I Love Edisto Auction -  2021 Queen Quet Gullah Blessing / Hutchinson House - 2018 I Love Edisto Auction - 2018 Coastal Geology Lecture - 2017 Oyster Roast - 2017 Lowcountry Landscape Lecture with Richard Porcher - 2017 I Love Edisto Auction - 2017 Tomato Open - 2016 Oyster Roast - 2014 Oyster Roast - 2014 Spring Birding - 2013 Oyster Roast - 2012 ACE Basin Mtg. - 2009 Spring Birding with Patrick McMillan