Historic Preservation Non-Capital Grants Awarded for FY 2018

After receiving over $1.1 million dollars in requests for research, survey and other non-capital projects, the Maryland Historical Trust awarded nine grants totaling $200,000 to nonprofit organizations and local jurisdictions throughout the state. Historic Preservation Non-Capital grants, made available through Maryland General Assembly general funds, support and encourage research, survey, planning and educational activities involving architectural, archeological and cultural resources.

The goal of the Historic Preservation Non-Capital Grant Program is to identify, document, and preserve buildings, communities and sites of historical and cultural importance to the State of Maryland. These grant funds have not been available since 2012, and thus, the Maryland Historical Trust identified several special funding priorities for the FY 2018 grant cycle, including:  broad-based and comprehensive archeological or architectural surveys; assessment and documentation of threatened areas of the state due to impacts of natural disasters and ongoing natural processes; and projects undertaking in-depth architectural or archeological study of a specific topic, time period, or theme. This year’s grant awards, listed below, ranged from $10,000 to $45,000.

Preservation Maryland received a FY 18 grant for “Documenting Maryland’s Women’s Suffrage History.” Photograph: “Maryland Day” Pickets at White House, 1917. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division. Credit: Harris & Ewing. 

The availability of fiscal year 2019 non-capital grant funds will be announced in the spring of 2018 on the Maryland Historical Trust’s website, along with application deadlines and workshop dates.

For more information about the Historic Preservation Non-Capital Grant Program, please contact Heather Barrett, Administrator of Research and Survey, at 410-697-9536 or heather.barrett@maryland.gov.  For information about organizations receiving grants, please contact the institutions directly.

The Somerset County Historical Trust, Inc. received funding to document threatened sites in Dorchester and Somerset counties. Photo of Smith Island house: Heather Barrett.

Somerset County Historical Trust, Inc. – Somerset and Dorchester Counties ($45,000)

Project work includes the completion of a historic sites survey of threatened sites in Somerset and Dorchester counties.

The Society for the Preservation of Maryland Antiquities, Inc./Preservation Maryland – Statewide Project ($20,000)

Project work includes research and educational activities related to the women’s suffrage movement in Maryland, including the development of new and updated National Register of Historic Places nominations and Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties forms for specific sites. This work is timely due to the upcoming 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th amendment, which gave women the right to vote.

St. Mary’s College of Maryland – Prince George’s, Charles, Calvert, and St. Mary’s Counties ($45,000)

This project includes the survey and documentation of early domestic outbuildings in southern Maryland with high-resolution digital photography and measured drawings.

The Archeological Society of Maryland, Inc. – Frederick County ($13,500)

This project involves the preparation of a final report on multiple 20th and 21st century excavations at the prehistoric Biggs Ford site.

Anne Arundel County, Cultural Resources Division – Anne Arundel County ($17,500)

The project includes a review of heritage themes and sites in Anne Arundel County, which will result in a survey report on one major, underrepresented heritage theme and completion of new and updated Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties forms.

Historic St. Mary’s City – St. Mary’s County ($16,000)

This grant will fund a geophysical prospection effort to locate the 17th century palisaded fort erected by the first European settlers of Maryland.

The Archeological Society of Maryland, Inc. – Location Undetermined ($13,000)

This grant will provide the public the opportunity to participate in a supervised archeological excavation through the 2018 Tyler Bastian Field Session in Archeology. The specific site has not been identified yet, but this is an annual event supported by the Archeological Society of Maryland and the Maryland Historical Trust.

The Morgan Park Improvement Association, Inc. – Baltimore City ($10,000)

Project work includes the completion of a National Register nomination for Morgan Park, an African-American neighborhood in Baltimore with strong ties to Morgan State University.

Chesapeake Bay Watershed Archeological Foundation, Inc. – Dorchester County ($20,000)

Project work includes survey of the shoreline of the Honga River Watershed for undocumented prehistoric and historic sites and to supplement the Maryland Historical Trust’s data concerning previously documented sites.

A Story Map of Women’s Suffrage in Maryland

By Kacy Rohn, Graduate Assistant Intern

As a graduate student in the University of Maryland’s School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, I had the opportunity to spend over a year interning with the Maryland Historical Trust and to work on a personally significant project – documenting the Maryland women’s suffrage movement.

Image from the Baltimore Sun article “Maryland Is Invaded,” which detailed the Elkton, Maryland stop on the 1913 suffragists’ march from New York to Washington, DC. 

Generously funded by the Maryland Historical Trust’s Board of Trustees, this special project allowed me to develop a history of the statewide women’s suffrage movement and to identify significant suffrage sites, a timely endeavor as we approach the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment. Before this research, we had little idea that that Maryland’s suffragists (a term they preferred to the derogatory “suffragette”) had been so active or that they had worked in dozens of hitherto forgotten places around the state. In previous blog posts (which can be found here and here), I highlighted two of these stories and two historic sites with previously overlooked connections to the movement.

Now, I’m excited to share one of my final projects: a story map that presents a chronological overview of the important places and milestones of the Maryland suffrage movement. This story ranges from the earliest beginnings of the movement to the final passage of the 19th Amendment, showcasing Maryland women’s dedication to this long fight.

The women’s suffrage story map can be found on the Maryland Historical Trust website.

Though my internship has almost ended, I’m happy to see that this important project will continue. My research will be used by Maryland Historical Trust staff to nominate significant women’s suffrage sites to the National Register of Historic Places and will support other statewide efforts to preserve these sites and tell their stories.