The National Park Service has announced it is awarding a new $500,000 grant to the state Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry to help ongoing renovations to the Colburn House State Historic Site in Pittston.

The grant is part of a national $7 million grant program commemorating the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. The funding supports 17 cultural resource preservation projects across 12 states.

"We are extremely happy and honored to have earned this NPS grant and to preserve this important historical jewel for generations to come," said Andy Cutko, director of the department’s Bureau of Parks and Lands. 

According to information from the department and the service, Colburn House was built in 1765 and is included in the National Register of Historic Places. Its owner, Major Reuben Colburn, was a contemporary and friend of George Washington. As a shipbuilder, Colburn is also known for assisting Benedict Arnold in his expedition to Quebec.

Historian Ian Saxine notes Colburn House was built at a critical historical period bridging the end of the French and Indian War and the beginning of the American Revolutionary War. At that time, he said, the number of communities in Maine more than doubled, but despite this there are few structures remaining in the state that are that old.

“For that reason alone, quite apart from its association with Colburn, the structure is noteworthy and worth visiting,” Saxine said.

The Colburn House is one of 17 sites owned by the Bureau of Parks and Lands. Its interior has been closed to the public since 2019 while renovation work continues.