Historic Property Redevelopment Program
Our Historic Property Redevelopment Program is making direct investments in Maryland’s historic places through the restoration, rehabilitation, and revitalization of historic structures and the communities in which they reside.
Our Historic Property Redevelopment Program is making direct investments in Maryland’s historic places through the restoration, rehabilitation, and revitalization of historic structures and the communities in which they reside. This program allows us to protect historic resources through various approaches.
Today, as a result of the generosity of those funders and the support of the Board of Preservation Maryland, the Historic Property Redevelopment Program is engaged in historic rehabilitation projects across the state.
Current Projects
Burtis House in Annapolis, Anne Arundel County
The Burtis House is a late 19th c. historic home in Annapolis named for Captain William Henry Burtis, a local, larger-than-life Annapolitan. As one of only two remaining small frame 19th c. vernacular houses on its street and the only surviving historic waterman’s home, the Burtis House serves as one of the last reminders of Annapolis’ working maritime community.
In partnership with the City of Annapolis and NPS – Chesapeake Gateways, Preservation Maryland is leading Phase 1 of a multiphase initiative to protect and revitalize this irreplaceable resource. The goal of this first phase is to safeguard the building from coastal flooding by lifting it out of the flood zone, stabilizing the structural system, and mothballing the house to prevent further damage as it awaits subsequent work to be carried out by the City.
Funding for this project is provided by: Maryland Heritage Area Authority; National Park Service – Chesapeake Gateways; and State of Maryland.
Berlin House in Brunswick, Frederick County
The Berlin House is a ca. 1840 historic home located in Brunswick. Its construction date makes it one of the oldest structures in the city and one of only a handful of extent structures from when the town was known as “Berlin.”
Preservation Maryland is partnering with the City of Brunswick to protect and adapt the historic house. As part of downtown revitalization efforts, the City envisions rehabilitating the modest building into a heritage tourism destination and community asset. Preservation Maryland is overseeing the first phase of work, which is anticipated to include: structural stabilization, selective demolition of non-historic material, and exterior restoration.
Funding for this project is provided by: City of Brunswick; Delaplaine Foundation; Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development; Taft-Mills Group.
Ellicott City Jail, Howard County
Located in the Ellicott City Historic District, this two-story Romanesque Revival structure dates back to 1851 and 1878. The property holds over 170 years of sobering but noteworthy American history as a site of African American captivity, extrajudicial injustice, and civil rights violations while also standing as a testament to the effects of unsympathetic development and climate change.
Preservation Maryland is working closely with Howard County to adaptively reuse the site and activate the area. The current plan envisions rehabilitating the structure into collaborative space for Preservation Maryland and other preservation and conservation nonprofits, public multi-purpose space for community meetings and events, and an academic center for studying the intersection of preservation and climate change. The grounds will also play an integral role in augmenting the County’s stormwater management for Ellicott City and serve as publicly accessible contemplative greenspace that elevates the experiences of those whose lives were affected by racial injustices carried out onsite.
This project is being supported in part by a Save America’s Treasures grant from the Historic Preservation Fund administered by the National Park Service, Department of the Interior, as well as grants from: the 1772 Foundation; Howard County; Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development; Maryland Heritage Area Authority; Middendorf Foundation; National Endowment for the Arts; PNC Foundation; and State of Maryland; and private donations.
Rock Run Mill, Harford County
Built in 1797 along the banks of the Susquehanna River, the Rock Run grist mill in Susquehanna State Park is a surviving connection to when the wheat and flour trade provided a much-needed economic foundation for the new American republic. Constructed from recycled material from a mill built in 1736, Rock Run Mill is a relatively rare example of a fully intact industrial building from the early national period, with colonial- and revolutionary-era lineage.
Serving as project manager on behalf of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Preservation Maryland is overseeing phase 1 of a multiphase effort to restore the historic mill. The goal of this project is to stabilize the mill’s structural system and protect it against moisture infiltration until future sitework to redirect water away from the structure can take place, thereby ensuring continued public use for decades to come.
This project is being supported in part by a Semiquincentennial grant from the Historic Preservation Fund administered by the National Park Service, Department of the Interior, as well as funding provided through the Great Maryland Outdoors Act.
Elkridge Furnace Plank Houses, Howard County
The Elkridge Furnace Plank Houses are modest, single-story dwellings built in the mid-19th c. using horizontal plank construction. Among the last known surviving structures of their kind in Maryland, these two buildings located within Patapsco State Park likely housed enslaved ironworkers, reflecting a construction style once common for outbuildings and housing for enslaved laborers.
In partnership with the Department of Natural Resources, Preservation Maryland is leading the restoration and interpretive design of these extraordinary historical resources. The project aims to preserve as much of the original historic fabric as possible, ensuring the longevity of these structures while preparing the site for expanded interpretation. Their preservation offers an opportunity to tell a fuller history of the region—one that acknowledges the immense contributions of enslaved people while also honoring their resilience.
Old South Mountain Inn, Frederick/Washington County
Historically known as the “Mountain House,” the Old South Mountain Inn is an 18th c. house located along the historic National Road corridor near the Appalachian National Scenic Trail and entrance to Washington Monument State Park. Having provided lodging to notable historic figures, including Henry Clay and Abraham Lincoln, and served as Confederate headquarters during the Battle of South Mountain, its history encompasses not only tales of the nation’s founding and development, but lesser-known stories of women’s roles, enslaved people and free Blacks, American Indians, frontier settlement, and the Appalachian Region as well.
On behalf of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Preservation Maryland is overseeing the preservation planning for adapting this dynamic site into a new visitor center, with design that is informed by stakeholder and community feedback, exhibits and programming that highlight associated histories and services, and amenities that support and attract park visitors. The project will produce a historic structure report, as well as a feasibility study that examines reuse concepts that are sensitive to the inn’s historic fabric and history and develops an implementation plan and cost analysis to inform funding appropriation, as well as preservation, operational, and interpretive planning for the site.
Fort Frederick, Washington County
Fort Frederick is an 18th c. stone fort located in Washington County constructed in 1756 for the French & Indian War. It was the only stone fort built by a British colony during that time, making it a rare extent resource. This, and the fact that much of its original historic fabric is still intact, resulted in its designation as a National Historic Landmark, one of only two owned and operated by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
To preserve this exceptional resource, Preservation Maryland and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources have partnered together to see much needed repairs brought to the fort walls. The project will result in a full condition assessment of the historic walls with prioritized treatment recommendations, a phased implementation plan, and cost estimates that inform subsequent structural stabilization and conservation and restoration work.
This project is being supported in part by a Semiquincentennial grant from the Historic Preservation Fund administered by the National Park Service, Department of the Interior as well as the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
The Williams Schoolhouse, Washington County
The Williams Schoolhouse is a single-room late 19th c. schoolhouse located within Fort Frederick State Park. The land on which it sits was stewarded by generations of the Williams family, whose story is a nuanced one of Maryland’s free Black community before and after the Civil War. The family was very involved in African American education and politics and in 1899 sold a 1/4-acre parcel to the County for $3 for construction of a new public schoolhouse for Black children, which stands today.
To honor the family’s legacy, Preservation Maryland and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources are working together to accurately restore the schoolhouse in such a manner as to retain as much historic fabric as possible and prepare the site for expanded interpretation and exhibits for public benefit. Serving as project manager, Preservation Maryland will oversee exterior repairs; interior restoration; sitework; and interpretive design, fabrication, and installation.
Funding for this project was provided through the Great Maryland Outdoors Act.
Our Partners
Download our Brochure
Preservation is revitalizing and investing in equitable outcomes—and using the best of our past to support that work. Learn about our initiative in this brief one sheet brochure.
Related News
Testimony: Anacostia Trail Heritage Area Boundary Expansion
Preservation Maryland supports the Maryland Heritage Area Authority, and each of the Heritage Areas - every county and Baltimore City are served by the Authority's heritage and cultural tourism promotion and dollar-for-dollar grants. When the Maryland Heritage Area...
Can we count on you?
Preservation Maryland isn’t just preserving the past – we’re investing in our future. In just the past year we’ve invested heavily in our work and refused to accept the mounting challenges as a reason to retreat or hold our position. You are making it all possible.