Earlier this month, the Maryland Heritage Area Authority (MHAA), administered by the Maryland Department of Planning, announced the distribution of $5 million in grants to support heritage tourism across the state. There are 13 state heritage areas that touch every county in Maryland and Baltimore City.
Heritage Area Economics
Since its creation in 1996, MHAA has awarded more than $41 million in grants and helped to leverage more than $1.6 billion in non-state funding for heritage tourism projects and activities. In the July 11, 2019 announcement by the Hogan administration, the positive economic impact of investing in Maryland’s historic Main Street, communities, and parks is clear. Every dollar of MHAA state grant funding:
- has a return on investment of $4.45,
- generates $19.8 million in state and local taxes,
- and creates 3,146 jobs annually.
Awarded Projects
Prince George’s County
Anacostia Trails Heritage Area
Boundary Feasibility Study
$40,000
Anacostia Trails Heritage Area
FY 2020 Block Grant
$25,000
Anacostia Trails Heritage Area
FY 2020 Management Grant
$100,000
City of Bowie
10th Street Bowie Heritage Park
$74,660
Friends of Greenbelt Theatre
Prince George’s County Film Center and Media Arts Literacy Lab
$75,000
Four Rivers Heritage Area
Annapolis Maritime Museum
“Our Changing Waterfront,” Exhibit Fabrication & Installation
$50,000
Annapolis, London Town and South County Heritage Area
FY 2020 Management Grant
$100,000
Annapolis, London Town and South County Heritage Area
Boundary Amendment Study
$50,000
Captain Avery Museum
A Vision for Visitation
$23,000
Historic Annapolis
History of Annapolis Exhibit Design Documentation Completion
$24,000
London Town Foundation
Southern Side Enhancement: Horticulture Complex Design
$94,000
Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts
East Iconic Facade Repair and Improvements
$100,000
Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
Sellman-Kirkpatrick-Howitt House: Museum Exhibit Planning, Phase I
$48,500
Baltimore National Heritage Area
Baltimore Heritage Area Association
FY 2020 Block Grant
$25,000
Baltimore Heritage Area Association
FY 2020 Management Grant
$100,000
Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts
Top of the World Modernization Initiative
$50,000
Friends of Patterson Park
Renovation of the Park Superintendent’s House in Patterson Park
$100,000
Historic Ships In Baltimore
Maryland Fleet Week and Airshow Baltimore Education Programming
$21,980
Historic Ships in Baltimore
Seven Foot Knoll Roof Repair, Door and Window Replacement
$38,405
Irish Railroad Workers Museum
Roof Project for 918-920 Lemmon Street
$10,830
Jewish Museum of Maryland
Auditory Accessibility
$9,284
Maryland Historical Society
Fashion Exhibit Fabrication and Installation
$50,000
Pride of Baltimore
Visitor Experience Planning for Pride of Baltimore
$32,487
Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore
Rash Field Park
$100,000
CANAL PLACE
Board of County Commissioners of Allegany County
Frostburg C&P Railroad Depot Painting & General Repairs
$25,000
Canal Place Preservation and Development Authority
2nd Annual Canal Place River and Rails Festival
$7,450
Canal Place Preservation and Development Authority
River Park at Canal Place Implementation Plan Phase 2
$49,500
Canal Place Preservation and Development Authority
FY 2020 Management Grant
$100,000
Canal Place Preservation and Development Authority
FY 2020 Block Grant
$25,000
Heart of Chesapeake Country
County Council of Dorchester County
FY 2020 Management Grant
$100,000
County Council of Dorchester County
FY 2020 Block Grant
$25,000
County Council of Dorchester County
Dorchester Celebrates 350 Years: Marking a Milestone Anniversary
$6,050
James B. Richardson Foundation, Inc.
Museum Exhibition Design, Fabrication, and Installation
$35,000
Nanticoke Historic Preservation Alliance
Handsell House Basement Restoration
$20,000
Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area
Antietam National Battlefield
New Visitor Center Exhibits
$50,000
Asbury United Methodist
Asbury Brick Restoration
$9,473
Carroll County Arts Council
Theatre Renovation
$60,000
Catoctin Furnace Historical Society, Inc.
Collier Log House Rehabilitation Project
$17,600
Catoctin Furnace Historical Society, Inc.
Forged in Bone: Facial Reconstructions of Catoctin Furnace’s Enslaved Workers
$38,540
Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park
Education & Interpretive Plan, C&O Canal NHP in Williamsport, Maryland
$50,000
Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park
Williamsport C&O Canal Visitor Center Engineering and Design
$100,000
Civil War Preservation
Joseph Gaber Farm
$10,000
Town of Emmitsburg
Emmitsburg Historical Wayside Exhibits FY2020
$12,062
Friends of Cunningham Falls State Park and Gambrill State Park, Inc.
Catoctin Furnace Iron Master’s House Ruins Stabilization, Phase IV
$15,000
City of Hagerstown
Hagerstown Cultural Trail Phase II Extension and Wayfinding
$100,000
Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area
FY 2020 Block Grant
$25,000
Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area
FY 2020 Marketing Grant
$25,000
Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area
FY 2020 Management Grant
$100,000
Historic Rocky Springs Chapel, Inc.
Stabilization of Rocky Springs School House, ca. 1839
$13,455
Historical Society of Frederick County
Faces of Frederick County
$10,236
Main Street Middletown
Rehabilitation of 19-21 West Main Street
$15,525
Town of Thurmont
Two Gateway Signs for Two of the Entrances into the Town of Thurmont
$12,259
The Town of New Market
Visitor Experience Plan, Town of New Market
$6,895
The Washington County Historical Society
Miller House Museum Military Exhibit Enhancement
$25,018
Weinberg Center for the Arts
Weinberg Center for the Arts Marquee
$100,000
Lower Eastern Shore
Lower Eastern Shore Heritage Committee, Inc.
FY 2020 Management Grant
$77,410
City of Pocomoke
Costen House, ADA Accessible Restroom
$5,725
City of Salisbury
A Portrait of an Artist
$50,000
Ward Foundation
Lower Shore Traditions
$25,251
Lower Susquehanna Heritage Greenway
Havre de Grace Decoy Museum, Inc.
Museum Lighting and HVAC Upgrades
$7,940
The Havre de Grace Maritime Museum, Inc
Underground Railroad Exhibit and Interpretation from a Maritime Perspective
$13,788
The Hosanna Community House
Transition to Freedom: Regional Interpretive Brochure and Annual Festival Expansion
$32,770
Lower Susquehanna Heritage Greenway, Inc.
FY 2020 Block Grant
$25,000
Lower Susquehanna Heritage Greenway, Inc.
FY 2020 Management Grant
$100,000
Town of Perryville
Light The Night at Lower Ferry
$15,100
Town of Port Deposit
Historic Tome Steps, Phase II
$7,500
Montgomery County Heritage Area
Audubon Naturalist Society
Stabilizing Historic Woodend Mansion and Gatehouse
$37,722
Town of Brookeville
Brookeville Academy Roof Replacement
$35,000
The Germantown Historical Society, Inc.
Germantown Bank Building Rehabilitation
$100,000
Glen Echo Park Partnership for Arts and Culture, Inc.
Spanish Ballroom Exterior Restoration
$94,783
Heritage Tourism Alliance of Montgomery County
FY 2020 Block Grant
$25,000
Heritage Tourism Alliance of Montgomery County
FY 2020 Management Grant
$100,000
The Menare Foundation
Barn Restoration, Phase II
$19,000
Montgomery County Department of Transportation
Heritage Triangle Trail – Phase 1- Dr. Bird/Norwood Roads Shared Use Path
$100,000
Sandy Spring Museum
Cultural Study of Historically Black Communities of Sandy Spring, Maryland
$29,325
Sugarland Ethno-History Project, Inc.
St Paul Community Church Roof Replacement and Mold Removal
$50,000
Street in the Mountain Lake Historic District of Oakland, MD. Photo from Maryland Historical Trust.
Mountain Maryland Gateway to the West
Garrett County Chamber of Commerce, Inc.
FY 2020 Management Grant
$100,000
Mayor and Town Council of Oakland, Maryland
Oakland Heritage Trail Improvements
$29,631
Patapsco Valley Heritage Area
Ellicott City Historic District Partnership
Finding Your Way in Ellicott City
$8,500
Friends of Patapsco Valley State Park
Mobile Interpretive Park Center
$50,000
Patapsco Heritage Greenway, Inc.
FY 2020 Management Grant
$100,000
Patapsco Heritage Greenway, Inc.
FY 2020 Marketing Grant
$17,500
Patapsco Heritage Greenway, Inc.
FY 2020 Block Grant
$25,000
Patapsco Heritage Greenway, Inc.
Ellicott City 250th Anniversary (EC250) Project
$15,000
Southern Maryland Heritage Area
American Chestnut Land Trust
Phase 1: Research for the Parkers Creek Heritage Trail
$20,000
County Commissioners of Calvert County
Archaeology at the Calverton Site, 18CV22
$20,000
Friends of the Chesapeake Beach Railway Museum
Renovation of the Chesapeake Beach Railway Museum Core Exhibit
$52,600
Friends of the St. Clement’s Island and Piney Point Lighthouse Museums
Interpretive Panel Replacement Project
$6,700
Greenwell Foundation, Inc.
Explore Greenwell: Interactive Heritage Tourism Project
$21,870
Maryland Veterans Memorial Museum, Inc.
Revolutionary War Trail through Southern Maryland to Victory at Yorktown
$10,000
Commissioners of St. Mary’s County
A New Building for St Clement’s Island Museum
$100,000
Tri-County Council for Southern Maryland
FY 2020 Management Grant
$100,000
Stories of the Chesapeake Heritage Area
The Avalon Foundation, Inc.
Avalon Theatre 2nd Century
$56,250
Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum
Exhibition Building
$100,000
Eastern Shore Heritage, Inc.
FY 2020 Block Grant
$25,000
Eastern Shore Heritage, Inc.
FY 2020 Management Grant
$33,000
Mayor and Council of Federalsburg
Restoration of Historic Secretary of the Interior, Chambers Park Cabin
$16,564
Friends of Wye Mill
Comprehensive Interpretation Plan
$25,200
Historical Society of Kent County, Inc.
Saving the Historic Bordley History Center
$21,000
Kent County Arts Council
Raimond Arts Building Renovation, Phase 2
$100,000
Mary Edwardine Bourke Emory Foundation
Bloomfield Manor Structure
$25,000
Queen Anne’s County Office of Tourism
Chesapeake Heritage & Visitors Center Redesign
$50,000
St. Michaels Museum at St. Mary’s Square
TeeTotum Addition, Roof Replacement, HVAC, Chaney House African American Exhibit
$65,000
Sultana Education Foundation, Inc.
Lawrence Wetlands Preserve, Planning and Implementation
$99,000
Washington College
Chesapeake Heartland African American Humanities Truck
$89,164
Waterfowl Chesapeake, Inc.
Waterfowl Festival Anniversary Groundwork & Audience Development
$50,000
Multi-Heritage Area
C & O Canal Trust, Inc.
Expanding Functionality, Trip-Planning, and Networking Tools for C&O Canal
$14,888
County Council of Dorchester County
Virtual and Augmented Reality Tour along the Underground Railroad
$38,500
Maryland Humanities Council, Inc.
Programs and Companion Exhibits for Smithsonian’s Water/Ways Statewide Tour
$32,110