J. Rodney Little, who for decades as Maryland State Historic Preservation Officer and Director of the Maryland Historical Trust, passed away last month; Preservation Maryland’s staff and Board would like to recognize the lasting impact of his work on the field of preservation, particularly in Maryland.
Rodney served as the director of the Maryland Historical Trust (MHT) from 1978 until his retirement in 2014. In 2015 Preservation Maryland honored Rodney with the President’s Award, presented to an individual with exceptional leadership and commitment to preserving Maryland’s rich and diverse heritage. As detailed in that award presentation, early in his tenure as State Historic Preservation Officer, Rodney broadened the Maryland Historical Trust’s mission to address the needs of history museums and intangible cultural resources – undertakings that would establish the agency as a model State program.
In 1995, Rodney worked with Maryland legislators to create the Maryland Heritage Preservation and Tourism Areas Program, now serving twelve certified heritage areas and bolstering local economic development throughout the state.
Importantly, the Heritage Areas legislation included provisions creating the Maryland Rehabilitation Tax Credit. Now a 20% refundable credit available for the rehabilitation of both residential and commercial properties, the Maryland Rehabilitation Tax Credit has distributed over $321 million dollars and leveraged over $1.1 billion in private investment.
Under Rodney’s leadership, MHT developed the Jefferson Patterson Historical Park and Museum, including construction of the Maryland Archeological Conservation Laboratory. With the MAC Lab, Maryland once again set the standard, this time in the area of archeological conservation and museum quality collections care.
In his many years as SHPO, Rodney Little made enormous contributions to Maryland’s preservation movement, and we are proud to have served with him.