In order to preserve the historic and unique Ark of Hungerford Creek, it needed to be relocated to the Calvert Marine Museum to serve as it’s permanent home and stewards. This effort was partially funded by the Heritage Fund, and Preservation Maryland was onsite to capture the big move:
FROM THE FIELD
In July 2017, Preservation Maryland joined staff and volunteers from the Calvert Marine Museum to move the Ark from where it was being stabilized and repaired to a more permanent home also on the Museum grounds where it will be accessible to the public.
A crane was used to lift the Ark on a lowboy trailer and transported to the new new location. Great care was taken throughout the day — especially, during a tense moment when, under the weight of the Ark, the crane’s straps starting to cinch in towards the Ark and volunteers quickly constructed wooden supports to spread the top of the crane’s straps away from the Ark’s roof.
Now that the move is complete, additional restoration work will continue in part with help from Heritage Fund grant funds, including replacing the roof to match historic photos, construction of an access ramp, and creating exterior signage.
HISTORY OF THE ARC
The Ark started as a life boat on a German passenger liner turned American WWI troopship. Following the war, the ship sat in the Patuxent River, becoming part of the Ghost Fleet of anchored and surplus ships. Around 1936 an Episcopalian minister acquired one of the wooden lifeboats and brought it ashore at his summer cottage, later building a house on the boat – because of his religious affiliation, it became known as Faith Chapel – The Ark. It was recently acquired by the Calvert Marine Museum Society, that plans to move it to their museum grounds and finish the restoration work.
MORE ABOUT THE HERITAGE FUND
The Heritage Fund, a cooperative effort of Preservation Maryland and the Maryland Historical Trust, provides direct assistance for the protection of historical and cultural resources and promotes innovative demonstration projects that can be successfully replicated to meet Maryland’s historic preservation needs. The Fund is intended to serve the needs of tangible cultural resources in Maryland. Historic sites, buildings, districts, objects, and archaeological resources are all eligible for funding.
More about moving historic resources