Women in the Trades Context Study

Lincoln is the first city in Nebraska to receive an Underrepresented Communities (URC) Grant from the National Park Service (NPS). The award of $73,000 will go towards studying the history of women working in the trades industries (ex: builders, designers, construction managers) across Nebraska and the Midwest to identify significant figures that helped shape the built environment. This research will create a better understanding of the contributions of women in the building industry, which is considered a highly underrepresented group not just in Lincoln’s historic preservation program, but across the state and region. This context study work will provide the information needed to complete the Laura B. Wood Residential Historic District nomination. The Laura B. Wood Residential Historic District is significant for its exemplary collection of period revival houses that were built by renowned female builder, architect, and designer Laura B. Wood in the 1930s and 1940s.

The project is starting in early 2024 and will run through summer of 2025. Stay tuned for more details and information on how to get involved.

This project is being supported in part by the Underrepresented Communities Grant (URC) from the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) administered by the National Park Service, Department of the Interior. The HPF has funded more than $2 billion since its inception in 1977 towards historic preservation grants. For more information about the URC grant program, please visit go.nps.gov/urc.