Guest Blog – Gardner Farm Curatorship Opportunity

By Peter Morrill, Curator Program Manager, Maryland Department of Natural Resources

Gardiner Farm House

Do you ever dream about restoring and living in a historic house? Or living on pristine rural land within one of Maryland’s beautiful state parks?  If so, check out the Department of Natural Resources Resident Curatorship Program.  The Curatorship Program offers historically significant state-owned properties to private individuals for rehabilitation.  In exchange for rehabbing and maintaining the property, curators are given lifetime tenancy – rent free.  The Curatorship Program allows private individuals to breathe new life into significant historic properties which might otherwise be lost.

Orlando Ridout V Field Survey Day

by Heather Barrett, Administrator of Research & Survey

Forgeman’s House at Catoctin

On October 9^th, the Trust held its first Orlando Ridout V field survey day in honor of our friend, mentor, and cherished colleague.   It was a crisp fall day in the village of Catoctin in Frederick County, a kind of day Orlando would have enjoyed.   A large group of over 30 – past and present MHT staff members and our local guides – visited various historic buildings and sites throughout the district, including:  the 1774 Catoctin Furnace; several stone worker’s cottages; a slave cemetery undergoing archeological investigation; the ruins of the late eighteenth century Iron Master’s House; and, the grand ca. 1805 house of Baker Johnson, one of the furnace’s original owners.  Throughout the day, Elizabeth Comer, our tour guide and organizer, provided insight into the area’s rich history.