GOLD HILL — Thanks to funding from a grant, Historic Gold Hill Village will be updating its sidewalk system to increase accessibility for visitors of all mobility levels.

During the Founder’s Day event on Saturday, members of the Gold Hill community announced the receipt of a $44,000 grant from T-Mobile to replace worn-out wooden boardwalks in the village and add ADA accessibility to areas.

The grant is part of T-Mobile’s Hometown Grant program. Gold Hill Historic Preservation Society President Thom Knowles said his organization was one of more than 500 to apply for the grant during this cycle but only one of 25 recipients.

According to a release from T-Mobile, to select the Hometown Grant recipients, T-Mobile works with Main Street America and Smart Growth America — two organizations with expertise in building stronger, healthier and more connected communities. Applications are evaluated based on their level of detail and completeness, community need and impact, feasibility and other considerations. T-Mobile awards the grants to small towns with a population of 50,000 or less.

“For a company like T-Mobile to recognize us is exciting,” Knowles said. “$44,000 is like a million bucks to us.”

The infrastructure upgrades will increase the number of people who can enjoy the historic mining village.

“(Gold Hill) is not just for Rowan County,” Knowles said. “It’s for the surrounding counties, too. We have visitors here from all over. We get a good many elderly visitors, so (these improvements will) make it more accessible to them and those with handicaps.

“It’s an upgrade to the infrastructure of an 1800s village to allow for all visitors to be able to enjoy it.”

The current sidewalk system in Gold Hill is nearly 30 years old.

Historic Gold Hill and Mines Foundation Inc. Vice President and Gold Hill Historic Preservation Society member Vivian Hopkins said the new sidewalks would be constructed to match the 19th-century aesthetic.

“It’s going to replace those wooden sidewalks going back with treated wood material in keeping with the historic aesthetic appeal of the village,” Hopkins said.

According to Hopkins, the current sidewalk system was constructed through donations and volunteer labor, so she is happy to have the cash injection to bring it to fruition.

Throughout the village, driveways bisect the sidewalks, and the varying levels of walkways sometimes require steps. To meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance, some grant funding will go toward ramps at those junctures.

“At the entrance to those sidewalks from parking areas and across driveways, there will be an apron or sidewalk that will continue,” Hopkins said. “It will be stamped concrete, so it will be the same color as the boards and will look like continuous wood.”

Knowles said that the grant funding would be used to install six respite benches throughout the park and that each bench would be dedicated to a branch of the U.S. armed forces.

Hopkins added that during the committee, they discussed dedicating each bench to an individual veteran but decided on the broader dedication to honor the “thousands of men and women” who have served.

Rowan County Board of Commissioners Chairman Greg Edds said he was glad to hear of the inbound improvements.

“Improving accessibility for our disabled and elderly citizens and visitors is an important project that will continue the tradition of honoring our nation’s veterans in Rowan County,” Edds said.

Creating a more accessible experience for the elderly resonated with Linda Miller, director of the Centralina Area Agency on Aging.

“Gold Hill is a treasure in our state and is especially valued by our older citizens who can truly appreciate its historical and cultural significance,” Miller said. “We are pleased to support the Gold Hill Historic Preservation Society and partners in their endeavor to make Gold Hill more accessible to our older and disabled adults in Rowan and surrounding counties.”