The Newport Restoration Foundation has received a $749,250 Save America’s Treasures grant from the National Park Service for stabilization and rehabilitation work at the Vernon House, the largest grant in the organization’s history.
The foundation says it is the only Rhode Island organization to receive a 2026 award from the competitive program.
The house at 46 Clarke St., first built in 1708, is one of two public-facing properties the foundation stewards, along with Rough Point. It holds a series of Chinoiserie panels dating to about 1710, which the foundation describes as believed to be unique surviving examples from the early trans-Atlantic world.
George Washington, the Comte de Rochambeau and Cato Vernon of the 1st Rhode Island Regiment all spent time there. Enslaved men, women and children lived and worked in the house. Women-led philanthropies later organized on the site, and early research and restoration there helped shape the national preservation movement.
“Vernon House is a national historic landmark that has been an important contributor to the fabric of Newport for centuries,” said Hilary Fagan, the foundation’s executive director. “We are looking forward to utilizing these funds to advance our stewardship of this irreplaceable national treasure and expand access to the community.”
Save America’s Treasures is funded through the Historic Preservation Fund, established in 1977, which the Park Service says has distributed more than $2 billion in preservation grants to states, tribes, local governments and nonprofits.
The Cato Vernon Freedom Library, a free interactive exhibit about Vernon created with Center Aquidneck, is open at the house through Nov. 22.
