Powell’s Homesteader Museum could soon undergo a facelift.

Homesteader leaders are seeking a grant to help restore the exterior logs of the building which houses the museum. Brandi Wright, the Homesteader’s director and curator, told the Powell City Council this month that the logs are “rotting and in need of repair.”

To pay for the project, the museum is pursuing a Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Grant through the Wyoming State Historical Preservation Office (SHPO).

Speaking after the meeting, Wright said it’s not often grant funding becomes available for renovation projects. However, SHPO received $350,000 last year from the Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Grants Program through the National Park Service. The funding supports the rehabilitation of eligible historic properties located on rural historic main streets and commercial districts in Wyoming; one of the program’s goals is to show the public that revitalized historic properties can meet modern needs while retaining their historic integrity and culture of the community.

Eligible revitalization projects include repairing roofs, stabilizing foundations, rehabilitating windows, upgrading necessary infrastructure, ADA accessibility and restoring building interiors. 

There are a number of requirements related to the renovation of historic buildings, and Wright is still working through what that might entail. For example, the museum may need to use some kind of organic blasting material, as opposed to sand, to remove the cracked and peeling paint. 

These questions make it hard to pin down a firm estimate of the cost of the renovation project, but with many unknowns still to consider, a rough estimate comes to $148,785. 

Both the Powell City Council and the Park County Commission have issued letters of support for the project. Commissioners said they’re excited to help with the project.

“The Homesteader Museum is a true treasure to the local community, as well as the surrounding Big Horn Basin,” the board wrote.

The SHPO grant requires a letter of acknowledgement and support from the entities involved, ensuring they will cooperate with the project should the funding be awarded.

There are four entities, including the museum, which are involved in the project. The City of Powell owns the land the building sits on, and the American Legion owns the building. The Park County government then leases the building from the American Legion for the museum’s use.

The city came into possession of the land in 1934, based on a 1906 law that provided land to local governments for the purposes of a community space. The building was built by American Legion Post No. 26, and later leased back to the city for use as a public space. Over the years, Wright said, the space has been a roller skating rink, a banquet space and a teen center. Park County commissioners later leased the building to house the Homesteader Museum, which is overseen and funded by the county. The Homesteader Museum moved into the space in 1976.

Wright said she’d be filing the location with the National Register of Historic Places, which will make the museum eligible for other grants. To get that registration requires a deed, and due to the complicated ownership trail, she’s still trying to determine what legal documents will satisfy that requirement.