WATERLOO - Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area has awarded $47,128 in grants to help sites, communities and organizations tell the story of American agriculture in Northeast Iowa.

The recipients are:

Buchanan County Conservation Board, $3,000, restore the interior of the Richardson-Jakway House to the time period of 1850-1875.

Chickasaw County Tourism Council, $6,000, install an information kiosk at the new Nashua Welcome Center.

Friends of Dubuque County Conservation Board, $3,263, create interpretive signage along the Heritage Trail.

Friends of the Mines of Spain, $3,575, design and install three interpretive signs at the Mines of Spain Recreation Area.

Fort Des Moines Museum, $3,000, provide marketing and program support for the museum's new permanent exhibit, "The Victory Garden."

Hardin County Farm Museum, $2,200, purchase a swinging panel display for a collection of cloth seed.

Heartland Acres Agribition Center, $3,477, enhance featured section "Modern Mechanics" by reconstructing an 1870s wooden windmill.

Herbert Hoover Presidential Library Association Inc., $3,600, develop a volunteer retention program for interpretive re-enactors.

Iowa Falls Historical Society, $5,000, support the exhibition and programming for a National Endowment for the Humanities traveling exhibit.

Jackson County Historical Society, $2,040, complete restoration of the north entry of the Clinton Engines Museum.

Mitchell County Historical Society, $2,500, develop interpretive signage to tell the history of Mitchell County in the historical museum.

Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum, $1,000, partner with Decorah schools to develop historical event lessons for third-graders.

Waterloo Center for the Arts, $8,500, create eight large-scale public art banners to be installed in downtown Waterloo.

Projects funded through the SSNHA General Grant Program must provide a 1-1 nonfederal match to the grant award. Since the program began in 2001, Silos & Smokestacks has funded more than $1.3 million to nonprofit organizations, local governments and communities in Northeast Iowa to preserve America's agricultural heritage.

Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area is one of 49 federally designated heritage areas in the nation and is an affiliated area of the National Park Service. The Heritage Area covers 37 counties in the northeast quadrant of Iowa. Interstate 80 borders it on the south, and Interstate 35 borders it on the west. Through a network of sites, programs and events, SSNHA interprets farm life, agribusiness and rural communities .

To learn more about Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area, visit www.silosandsmokestacks.org.