PIERRE — The Habicht & Habicht Department Store in Huron recently received a matching grant from the South Dakota State Historical Society.

“This historic preservation grants program is designed to encourage restoration or rehabilitation of historic properties and is one more way we can promote and protect our history and culture,” said Jay D. Vogt, director of the State Historical Society. “In 2019 we awarded $120,676 among nine projects which had matching funds of $327,812. The resulting total public-private investment is $448,488.”

The grants are awarded through the State Historical Society’s Deadwood Fund grant program. Funding for the program is from Deadwood gaming revenue earmarked by state law for historic preservation projects throughout the state. The program is administered by the society’s State Historic Preservation Office at the Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre.

Huron native Jeffrey Pownell and his wife are in the process of renovating the space into an ice cream shop, while also offering light retail and dining in the front part of the building. The former Habicht & Habicht Department Store is located at 274 Dakota Ave S.

It was awarded a $12,550 Deadwood Fund Grant to assist with a number of projects on the building. These include restoring the metal fixtures and replacing broken glass panes on the storefront as well as restoring the original exterior signage transom and the glass panel in the interior transom. They will also manufacture a back door built according to the original design and install a period-appropriate cloth awning on the storefront.  Huron’s Habicht & Habicht Department Store, built in 1931, was part of a larger chain founded by brothers Ernest, Carl, and Max Habicht. Designed by locally renowned architect F.C.W. Kuehn, the Huron store was the third in South Dakota and the fourth in the chain. Ultimately, there were eight locations in South Dakota and Minnesota.

The Habicht & Habicht Department Store is in the process of being listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Deadwood Fund grants are awarded twice a year, with grant application deadlines of Feb. 1 and Oct. 1. 

They are reviewed at the spring and winter meetings of the State Historical Society’s board of trustees.

For more information on the Deadwood Fund grant program, contact the State Historic Preservation Office at the Cultural Heritage Center, 900 Governors Drive, Pierre, SD 57501-2217; telephone (605) 773-3458; or website history.sd.gov/Preservation.