Amy Beth Preiss/Norwich Bulletin The foundation is what's left of the carriage shed at the John Bishop House in Lisbon. A $25,000 grant by the Quinebaug-Shetucket Heritage Corridor Inc. will rebuild the shed by fall. Contributed The carriage shed, right, before the John Bishop House was restored.

LISBON -- When the town rejected a funding request to restore an 1800s carriage shed, it shattered the dreams of some historical society members.

Now, thanks to a $25,000 grant from the Quinebaug-Shetucket Heritage Corridor Inc., there's new reason for hope.

Lisbon Historical Society President Carolyn Read-Burns said Tuesday she hopes to get the shed under construction by fall.

The society now has to come up with money to match the grant. Since fund-raising efforts began months ago the group has already raised about $13,000 toward the $52,000 project.

Read-Burns said the 11-room farmhouse with seven fireplaces and intricate architecture dates back to 1810 and has never been altered. The shed, according to society members, would be constructed to the right side of the John Bishop House Museum.

"This house is unique because it's pristine," she said. "So we have been wanting to replace the carriage shed for a number of years. We've been trying to get this going for about four years now."

The shed would be used to house old farming equipment discovered on property across the street from the museum and eventually members would also like to install a climate- controlled vault so they can store valuable papers.

Read-Burns said they would also like to install a hidden kitchen so members could store items used for the group's ongoing hearth cooking demonstrations and classes.

For quite some time, the historical society has been hoping to complete architectural restoration of the John Bishop House Museum, the final part being the adjacent carriage shed.

The society asked the Board of Finance for $42,560 to construct the shed about a year ago, but finance officials voted it down saying it was not part of the town's financial plan. The vote devastated some society members who felt the restoration fell in line with preservation goals established in the Plan of Conservation and Development.

Read-Burns said the heritage corridor's mission statement "Preserving the Last Green Valley," holds true.

"This is really the last green valley," Read-Burns said. "It has always been a matter of funding. I was elated when I found out. Writing a grant is a fantastic amount of work, but the Quinebaug-Shetucket Heritage Corridor has been very supportive."

Andrea Ader, director of programming and communications for the Putnam-based organization, agreed.

"Our mission is to conserve, celebrate and enhance the significant historical, cultural, natural and scenic resources of the last green valley," Ader said. "The John Bishop House project certainly fits conserving and enhancing a significant historical resource."

Though the society does not know exactly when the old carriage shed was added to the property, they do plan on conducting further research.

The old foundation still exists, though Read-Burns said it was likely reinforced sometime in the early 1900's.

The group's first fundraiser is a grill raffle. They are selling 500 raffle tickets for a stainless steel grill at $10 per ticket. Tickets can be obtained at the Lisbon Town Hall, Charlene's restaurant in Jewett City, Adam's Restaurant Equipment on Boswell Ave. in Norwich or by calling Read-Burns at 376-0869. The winner will be drawn on June 28th when the society holds a tag and bake sale to raise funds for the project.