Purpose Statement
The State Historic Preservation Office encourages and facilitates the responsible stewardship of South Carolina's irreplaceable historic and prehistoric places.
Overview of Services
The South Carolina State Historic Preservation Office was established in 1969 to implement the goals of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, which extended federal support to state and local preservation efforts. The Office, which receives federal funds through the National Park Service, is a program of the South Carolina Department of Archives and History. The State Historic Preservation Officer is Dr. Rodger E. Stroup, Director of the Department; Elizabeth M. Johnson, Director of Historical Services, is the Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer. For over thirty-five years, the State Historic Preservation Office has identified, recorded, and helped to preserve historic and prehistoric resources throughout the state.
The State Historic Preservation Office encourages and helps the preservation efforts of private organizations, local governments, state and federal agencies, and private citizens through the following programs:
- Statewide Survey of Historic Properties: Surveys--which record, photograph, and map historic buildings, structures, and sites--help local governments and organizations, state and federal agencies, and the State Historic Preservation Office learn what properties are important and where they are located. The records of the Statewide Survey—housed at the Department of Archives and History—include information on over 60,000 resources. The State Historic Preservation Office also maintains information from surveys conducted since the mid-1980s in data layers in a Geographic Information System (GIS).
- National Register of Historic Places: The National Register recognizes buildings, sites, structures, objects, and districts with significance in American history, architecture, archaeology, engineering, and culture. Listing in the Register alerts individuals and communities to the value of their resources and provides some incentives to encourage their preservation. The State Historic Preservation Office administers the nomination process in South Carolina. The state currently has over 1,300 listings in the National Register. Records of these listings, which are a valuable source of information about state and local history, are available on-line.
- Grants: The State Historic Preservation Office administers matching federal grants that can help organizations, institutions, and government entities across the state plan for preserving historic properties. The grants, which typically range from $1,500 to $25,000, can fund historical/architectural surveys, National Register nominations, preservation planning projects, and preservation education efforts.
In addition, projects located within cities, towns, or counties that are Certified Local Governments (CLGs) may also be eligible for "bricks and mortar" grants. Eligible projects include stabilizing historic buildings or structures or protecting them from the adverse effects of the weather (for example, repairing roofs or windows).
- Federal and State Tax Incentive Programs: Federal and state tax credits encourage the rehabilitation of historic buildings. If they meet program requirements, owners and some lessees of income-producing buildings listed in the National Register can claim federal income tax credits equal to 20% of their rehabilitation expenses. Taxpayers who qualify for this credit also qualify for a state tax credit equal to 10% of their rehabilitation costs. Over the last six years, the federal tax credit has stimulated over $83 million in private investment in historic buildings in South Carolina.
Tax incentives are also available for owners of historic homes. Owners who rehabilitate historic residences listed in or eligible for the National Register can subtract 25% of the costs of many repairs and renovations from their state income taxes if they meet program requirements. Since the program began in 2003, it has stimulated $10 million in private investment in preserving historic homes.
These tax incentive programs encourage preservation of historic buildings, but they also insure that rehabilitation work is appropriate for them. The State Historic Preservation Office staff helps owners meet the standards required under these programs.
- Review and Compliance/ Section 106: The State Historic Preservation Office reviews federally funded, licensed, or permitted projects across the state and Ocean and Coastal Resource (OCRM)-permitted or certified projects in the nine coastal counties. The State Historic Preservation Office also reviews requests for state mining permits and consults with state agencies on plans for state-owned or leased National Register properties. Each year the State Historic Preservation Office comments on the potential impact of about 1,700 projects on historic and prehistoric resources and works with state and federal agencies, local governments, and developers to avoid or mitigate adverse effects. Projects reviewed range from erection of cellular communication towers to construction of new branch banks to community development projects to resort developments along the coast.
- Assistance to Local Governments: By providing information and training, the State Historic Preservation Office helps municipal and county governments design and implement local preservation programs to safeguard their historic properties. Communities can choose to become Certified Local Governments (CLGs) and participate in a federal-state-local partnership. These communities receive technical assistance and can apply for the preservation grant funds that the State Historic Preservation Office awards annually to CLGS in South Carolina, generally a total of $60,000 to $80,000.
- South Carolina Historical Markers: The State Historic Preservation Office approves all inscriptions for South Carolina Historical Markers, which are erected along highways, roads, and streets in the state. More than 1,000 markers interpret and create awareness of historic places across the state.
- Information, Education, and Training: The State Historic Preservation Office provides information and training on a wide range of historic preservation issues from the use of aluminum and vinyl siding on historic buildings to sources of funding for historic preservation projects to researching historic properties. The Office publishes a monthly e-mail newsletter, maintains a website, provides advice on the maintenance and rehabilitation of historic buildings, and sponsors conferences and workshops.
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