For the second year since funding was restored as a result of advocacy efforts led by Preservation Maryland, $600,000 in new preservation grants were distributed recently by the Maryland Historical Trust to deserving projects around the state.
Continued advocacy efforts during the 2019 Session of the Maryland General Assembly, which were supported by hundreds of preservation advocates from around the state, ensured that the funding for the capital grant program remained in the budget for the second year in a row since going unfunded for nearly a decade.
The Maryland Historical Trust received close to 50 applications for $600,000 available in grants, clearly demonstrating the continuing need for preservation funding across the state.
In the press release issued by the Department of Planning, Secretary of Planning Robert McCord thanked Governor Hogan for restoring funding to the program and noted, “The program encourages restoration and rehabilitation of historic properties across the state and is one more way we can preserve and protect Maryland’s history and culture.”
The full list of sites receiving funding in 2019 include:
Beatty-Cramer House
walkersville, frederick county
$16,000
The Beatty-Cramer House is comprised of two wings, the 18th-century saltbox-style west wing and the 1860s east wing, which were joined to create a homogenous structure. This timber frame structure features exposed and decorated interior framing members and was built using H-bent construction, a method characteristic of the Hudson Valley of New York. The grant will fund exterior work to prevent water intrusion, including repairs to exterior walls and the roofs of the porches.
Westminster Cemetery
Baltimore city
$100,000
Founded in the late 18th century, the cemetery is home to several large vaults and crypts, and is the burial place of a number of famous Marylanders, including Edgar Allan Poe. The grant to the Westminster Preservation Trust will fund the restoration of the circa 1815 cemetery wall and entryway, which features a Greek Revival ironwork gate and two neo-Egyptian sandstone posts.
Iron hill cut jasper quarry archaeological preserve
elkton. cecil county
$50,000
The Iron Hill Cut Jasper Quarry is a National Register-listed archaeological site and is likely the only remaining Native American jasper quarry in Maryland and was a source of jasper prized for use in flint knapping. The site was part of a larger parcel slated for residential development, and grant funds to the Archaeological Conservancy will assist in acquisition of this portion of the parcel for conservation.
USCGC Taney
baltimore city
$29,000
United States Coast Guard Cutter Taney was commissioned in 1936, and had over a 50-year active career with the U.S. Coast Guard. It is the only United States fighting ship afloat that fought during the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 and is currently used as a memorial and museum ship. The Taney is currently scheduled for dry docking in the fall of 2019, and grant funding to Historic Ships in Baltimore, Inc. will be used to make repairs to corroded areas of rooms that flank the ship’s hull.
Ebenezer A.M.E. church and parish house
Baltimore City
$100,000
Built in 1865 for a congregation organized in 1836, Ebenezer African Methodist Episcopal Church was the first to be built by an African American congregation in the Federal Hill Neighborhood. It is thought to be the oldest standing church in Baltimore that was erected by African Americans and continuously occupied by the descendants of the same congregation. Grant funds will be used to replace the slate roof, which has reached the end of its useful life.
Abderdeen B&O railroad station
aberdeen, harford county
$100,000
The Aberdeen Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Train Station was constructed in 1885 according to a standard design created by Frank H. Furness and is the last of this design still standing. The station was a key factor in the canning industry used for shipping their products to not only Baltimore,but nationwide. The grant to the Aberdeen Room Archives and Museum, Inc. will fund permanent stabilization of the building and roof replacement.
Evergreen house museum
mount savage, allegany county
$100,000
The Evergreen complex is comprised of 14 contributing buildings on a 167-acre parcel. The Evergreen House Museum consists of the original ca. 1780 stone cellar, 1820s two-story Federal-style addition, and late 19th century portion with Victorian embellishments that replaced the original log structure. Grant funds to the Evergreen Heritage Center Foundation, Inc. will assist in replacing the house’s historic crow’s-foot stamped metal shingled roof with matching metal shingles.
THE Hays house
bel air, harford county
$15,000
The Hays House was constructed ca. 1788 and has been little altered since. It is the oldest private residence located within the Town of Bel Air, and the original owner, Thomas A. Hays, was the cartographer of the earliest known map of the town. It is now the headquarters of the Historical Society of Harford County, who is the recipient of the grant funds, and serves as a living history museum. The grant will fund repair of the unique hand-riven wood siding.
Chesapeake Lodge No. 147
Crisfield, somerset county
$30,000
The Chesapeake Masonic Lodge No. 147 was constructed in 1926, and is a neoclassical lodge with a commanding temple front portico. The lodge is associated with Crisfield’s heyday as one of Maryland’s largest seafood producing centers and important maritime commercial port. Grant funding to the Lost Towns Project will be used to replace a missing section of the cornice, which is allowing water intrusion, as well as to repair interior water damage.
Fairgrounds entrance building & keeper’s Residence
hagerstown, washington county
$60,000
The Fairgrounds Entrance Building was constructed ca. 1913, and the Keeper’s Residence was built between 1891-1907. These buildings historically functioned as the major gateway to the Hagerstown Fair, which grew from a small-scale, rural venture to a nationally known exhibition and entertainment attraction. The entrance building may be the last of such 19th century fair structures statewide. The grant to the City of Hagerstown will fund repairs to the roof, windows, and structure.