Thanks to grant from Heritage Trust Fund, this little gem in Olathe is getting a face-lift

The chapel at Olathe Memorial Cemetery is getting an overhaul. Thanks to a grant from the Kansas Historical Society’s Heritage Trust Fund, the building will be getting a new roof, as well as repairs related to previous water leaks.

The $90,000 grant, combined with $40,000 from the city of Olathe, will cover the tab for this project. Although the cemetery itself dates back to 1865, Works Progress Administration workers built this chapel in 1937 using hand-cut limestone from a local quarry.

Currently, the chapel has three entrances, two in the front in addition to an accessible one on the side. The project will change the two front entrances into stained glass windows, making the only entryway on the side.

“On the exterior, they’re going to take the roof off, replace any rotting structure wood and then they’re going to retuck all the mortar joints, recap the walls and replace the roof. One of the windows needs to be replaced, and (we’ll have) grading around the outside to keep water from running against the building,” said Brian Nilges, cemetery manager.

They will also replace a window air conditioning unit with a central unit.

Cemetery staff has been using the chapel as an office space, although Nilges said he hopes the remodel will allow them to use it for services for cremations and for when there is bad weather. The last restoration of the chapel was in the mid-1980s.

The cemetery itself, including the chapel, is on the National Register of Historic Places, a designation it received four years ago. That status made the cemetery eligible to get the grant for the chapel restoration, but it still wasn’t easy.

There’s a lot of competition statewide for the Heritage Trust Fund grants. They tried last year and didn’t get it.

The Kansas Historical Society usually has about $1 million to distribute each year through this program. Funding comes from mortgage registration fees across the state. The society is usually able to fund between 25 to 33% of the applications.

This year, 15 projects received $1,168,492 in funding from the grants. The society tries to spread funded projects throughout the state. The chapel restoration is the only one in Johnson County this year.

The local support received from the city of Olathe was critical to the cemetery application’s success.

Other criteria that the historical society looks for include the historical significance of the place, what kind of work needs to be done and how urgently the property needs work.

Bethany Falvey, grant coordinator for the Heritage Trust Fund, said she was impressed by the cemetery’s organizational work.

“We want projects that are ready to go,” she said. “They had a good bid showing exactly what the work is going to be and demonstrated the urgency with the water getting in and damaging the building. Since it’s a small building, they can make the grant go further.”

Falvey said the cemetery’s staff members have been working with the Kansas Historical Society to get advice on the venture.

“I have no doubt that it’s going to be a good project,” she said.

They will monitor the project via monthly progress reports and photos. After any Heritage Trust Fund project is finished, the society keeps an eye on it to make sure it’s maintained for at least five years.

The project is just getting underway and may take up to a year to complete.