A number of homes and buildings within the city of Porterdale will soon be marked as historic now that the city is eligible to apply for historic preservation grants.

City Manager Bob Thomson said Porterdale can now apply for grants through the Historic Preservation Fund sub-grant program administered by the Historic Preservation Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

Thomson said funds that Porterdale receive from the grant program would go towards purchasing plaques and markers that highlight historic areas and buildings in the city.

"There are a lot of sites that the preservation commission would like to recognize like the Rose Hill community, the former African-American mill cottage community right off of Washington Street and then of course the gym, which is real important," Thomson said.

According to the Georgia DNR, the HPF grant program is structured to support local preservation efforts and to strengthen the Certified Local Government program statewide.

Each CLG is classified as a Category I or a Category II CLG. A Category I CLG has not completed a community-wide historic resources survey or archaeological survey. A Category II CLG has completed a community-wide historic resources survey or archaeological survey and/or updated their historic resource survey since 1997.

Grant funds received through the program are matched 60 percent federally, 40 percent locally and are awarded on a competitive basis.

Mayor Arline Chapman explained why being eligible for the grant program is important and why the city has the need for historic preservation.

"It's very important to Porterdale because we're so conscious of the historic buildings that we have here and the value of some of the history we have in this community that's unique," Chapman said.