By Thane Grauel

WESTPORT — Eight local homeowners were honored Wednesday night with Historic Preservation Awards — an annual initiative led by the Historic District Commission.

A ceremony was held at Town Hall led by First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker, who was herself a recipient of the award in 2014.

“These awards are very personal for me,” she said. “So, I just want to say thank you to each and every one of you for what you’re doing to preserve parts of history of our town.”

“I know it’s a labor of love, every day, to own an antique home and to take care of it and to preserve it, and to ensure that the next generation gets to enjoy it as well,” she said. “So thank you, it’s really great.”

Scott Springer, an architect and member of the HDC, also told the attendees that their efforts were appreciated.

“In many cases (with) these projects, the owners of the homes aren’t even under our purview,” he said. “They’re doing it because they want to do it and because it’s the right thing to do.”

“It’s so important to the town of Westport and the entire state that projects like this are happening,” he said.

Noting that commission spends so much time reviewing teardowns, he said it was positive to recognize this kind of work.

The winners included:

• Martha and Thad Eidman were awarded the Helen Muller Award for their restoration of three structures at 53 Kings Highway North, including the Queen Anne style house by the road, built in 1885.

• Kimberly and James Dorion won a Historic Building Preservation Award for their ongoing stewardship of the house at 39 Coleytown Road, built in the early 19th century.

• Veronica and Ricardo Munoz won a Historic Building Preservation Award for continuing preservation efforts begun by the previous owners of the circa-1819 Federal style house at 320 Bayberry Lane.

• Ghai Rahul and Priyanka Singh won Rehabilitation Award for their restoration of the late 19th-century house at 70 Turkey Hill South. When they bought the house, it already had a demolition permit in place, but they chose instead to restore it.

• Jennifer and Eric Sydor won a Preservation Award for their efforts to preserve the circa-1865 house at 25 Turkey Hill Road South. The couple had previously been recognized for restoring the house at 59 Roseville Road.

• Michelle and Mark Barnes won a Rehabilitation Award for their stewardship of the 1891 house at 101 Hillandale Road.

• Gail and Jeffrey Elberson won a Preservation Award for continuing to keep the circa-1830 Queen Anne house at 17 Treadwell Avenue in nearly original form.

• David Mark Brown won a Rehabilitation Award for the rehabilitation of the 1932 single-story house at 12 Bridge Street. The structure was built by the man who later became the bridge keeper for the later-named Cribari Bridge.

“I’d like to say thank you to our banker,” Thad Eidman joked after he and Martha, an alternate on the HDC, were presented with their award.