Winston-Salem State University has secured a nearly $750,000 federal grant to preserve one of the most historically significant buildings on its campus. The funding will help the HBCU restore the former home of its founder, Simon Green Atkins Jr.The university announced Wednesday that it received a $749,700 grant through the National Park Service’s Historic Preservation Fund for Historically Black Colleges and Universities.The money will support renovations to the S.G. Atkins House, a structure that has stood for more than 130 years and represents an important chapter in Black education and economic development in Winston-Salem.Built in 1893, the two-story white house served as the residence of Simon Green Atkins Jr., who founded what became Winston-Salem State University in 1892.The property, located on Alumni Drive, currently houses the university’s Office of Alumni Affairs. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. Its importance extends beyond the university.The Atkins House is the last surviving structure among three historic homes in Columbia Heights, one of Winston-Salem’s early Black middle-class neighborhoods, that were listed on the National Register.
