ATHENS-The City of Athens is receiving grant funds through the RC&D Council to purchase furniture for the new community center nearing completion at the site of Fort Henderson and Trinity School.
The Alabama’s Mountains, Rivers and Valleys Resource Conservation and Development Council approved the project for $3,100. The City of Athens applied for the grant on behalf of the Athens-Limestone Community Association, which will operate the new center. The funds will purchase chairs, tables and storage carts.
A $290,000 Community Development Block Grant through ADECA paid for 
most of the construction of the center. The association raised money for the matching funds for construction.
The center, newly named the Pincham-Lincoln Center, will serve to inform and engage the public through cultural, educational and historical activities. As part of the RC&D grant application, the city emphasized how the project has improved a blighted area and will provide services for about 30 to 40 students, particularly students considered low- to moderate-income. The programs will be available for students citywide, but the focus will be on students in the Cowart Elementary district where 77 percent of students receive free or reduced meals.
Volunteers from local schools and churches will tutor students on math and reading during the school year and work on STEM (Science Technology Math Engineering) related activities during the summer. There are also plans to have programs related to job skills training, such as how to fill out a resume and how to prepare for an interview.
The center also will be available for rental as a means to generate funds for programs and maintenance.
The center is located at the site of the Civil War-era Fort Henderson, which 
Union troops built to protect the railroad in Athens because it served as part of the Union supply line. Runaway slaves fought for the Union at this site and were captured by Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest. The site later served as Trinity School, the only all-black high school in Limestone County. The school closed amid integration in 1970.
Holly Hollman
“We are promoting this historic site as a place that tells the story of slave to soldier to student,” said City of Athens Grant Coordinator/Communications Specialist Holly Hollman. “The project has received community support through so many groups interested in its legacy and potential for community enhancement. On behalf of the city and Athens-Limestone Community Association, I extend our appreciation to RC&D for recognizing the benefits of the center by approving this grant.”
The association plans to hold a ribbon cutting ceremony for the center on Thursday, Dec. 17, at 10 a.m. The center is located at 606 Trinity Circle off Brownsferry Street.
