Announcing the FY 2021 Historic Preservation Non-Capital Grant Awards

By Heather Barrett, Administrator of Research and Survey, and Allison Luthern, Architectural Survey Administrator

We are pleased to announce the recipients of this year’s Historic Preservation Non-Capital grants! With funding from the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority Financing Fund, these grants support and encourage research, survey, planning, and educational activities involving architectural, archaeological, and cultural resources.  This year, the Maryland Historical Trust (MHT) awarded eight grants totaling $300,000 to Maryland nonprofit organizations and local jurisdictions.

MHT identified several special funding priorities for the FY 2021 grant cycle, including:  comprehensive archaeological or architectural surveys; assessment and documentation of threatened areas of the state due to impacts of natural disasters; and projects undertaking in-depth architectural or archaeological study of a specific topic, time period, or theme. This year’s grant awards, listed below, ranged from $18,000 to $64,000, benefitting projects across the state.

Geophysical Survey of the Mill Field Surrounds – St. Mary’s County

($18,000 awarded)

 In 2018, with funding from the Historic Preservation Non-Capital Grant Program, Historic St. Mary’s City (HSMC) undertook a geophysical survey, which identified the remains of an early 17th-century site. HSMC will feature the excavation and interpretation of the site prominently in its master planning efforts, currently underway. To inform the effort, HSMC will utilize this grant to carry out a rapid, high-resolution, ground-penetrating radar survey on the full 12 acres surrounding and encompassing the resource.

Tim Horsley collects GPR data with the Jesuit Church at St. Mary’s in the background. The FY 2021 non-capital work will include a GPR survey of the full 12 acres surrounding and encompassing an early 17th-century site. Photo courtesy of Historic St. Mary’s City.

Documenting Early Women Architects in Maryland – Statewide Project

($40,000 awarded)

Baltimore Architecture Foundation, Inc., will research and document properties designed by the state’s first licensed women architects in Maryland. Funds will be used to hire a consultant to develop a National Register Multiple Property Documentation Form focused on women architects practicing in Maryland from 1920 to 1970.

Recovering Identity: Northern Frederick County Cultural Resource Survey – Frederick County

($50,000 awarded)

The African American Resources, Cultural Heritage Society (AARCH), Frederick County Division of Planning and Permitting, and the Catoctin Furnace Historical Society, Inc. (CFHS) will combine efforts to complete a comprehensive historic context statement and a survey of northern Frederick County, with an emphasis on previously undocumented African American resources. The project will prepare new or updated architectural survey forms for a sampling of building types, focusing on vernacular structures, for inclusion in the Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties (MIHP).

Maryland Slave Dwelling Survey – Statewide Project

($36,000 awarded)

The Maryland Slave Dwelling Survey, led by Texas A&M University, proposes to investigate, document, and digitally visualize a statewide cross-section of buildings associated with enslaved African Americans. These resources are at risk from myriad forces including development, environmental change, and neglect. The project will produce investigative reports, digital photographs, measured drawings, and 3D digital models for a pilot dataset that can grow to include more sites across the state

Woodlawn Slave Quarters, Howard County (HO-411). The Maryland Slave Dwelling Survey will include the documentation of a selection of extant quarters across the state. Photo courtesy of Ken Short, Howard County Department of Planning & Zoning.

Investigating Jesuit Plantation Landscapes in Maryland: Archaeological and Geophysical Survey – Cecil and St. Mary’s Counties

($64,000 awarded)

This project, launched by the Catholic University of America (CUA), will examine archaeological evidence of built landscapes on former Jesuit plantations on the Eastern Shore and in southern Maryland. Archaeological investigations on these properties have identified few concrete architectural features such as slave quarters, tenant dwellings, or outbuildings. A combination of geophysical survey, surface survey, shovel testing, and test unit excavation will be used to examine the interrelationship between free and enslaved landscapes, resulting in a detailed summary report and new MIHP data. CUA will collaborate with landowners and stakeholders to develop public educational materials to interpret the findings.

Documenting Maryland’s Education History: A Context Study of School Architecture – Statewide Project

($46,000 awarded)

For this project, Preservation Maryland will hire a consultant to prepare a historic context report on Maryland school construction from early education efforts to the 1970s. The goal is to identify trends and patterns in school architecture, identify major styles and architectural features, and develop a framework for evaluating architectural and historical significance

Galesville Rosenwald School, Anne Arundel County (AA-914). Preservation Maryland received a grant to hire a consultant to prepare a statewide historic context on school architecture from the earliest education efforts to the 1970s. MHT staff photo.

Asian American Historical and Cultural Context of Montgomery County

($24,000 awarded)

MNCPPC-Montgomery County Historic Preservation will hire a consultant to conduct a historical and cultural resource survey associated with Asian American history, covering the period from the founding of Montgomery County in 1776 to the present, with a principal focus on the late 19th to early 21st centuries when the Asian American community grew in Montgomery County. The project will produce a series of oral histories and a research report identifying trends and themes related to Asian American history for future property designations.

U-1105 Historical and Archeological Survey, Inc.

($22,000 awarded)

The Battle of the Atlantic Research and Expedition Group will conduct archival research and documentation using direct measurements and imagery that will produce a report, update records, and disseminate results to the public.  U-1105 is a German U-boat equipped with a snorkel that extended its submerged operation, an advanced hydrophone array to detect vessels, an anechoic coating to evade opponents, and an advanced communication system.  It is believed to be the only German submarine equipped with this suite of innovations to conduct an operational patrol during WWII. U-1105 marks a significant milestone in the evolution from submersible to true submarine capable of indefinite submerged operation, and the changing tactics of undersea warfare between WWII and the Cold War.

Historic photograph of a U-1105 submarine. This grant, awarded to the Battle of the Atlantic Research and Expedition Group, will fund diving and direct measurements, photography, and videography of the U-1105 submerged in Maryland waters. Photo courtesy of the Naval History & Heritage Command.

Availability of FY2022 funds through the Historic Preservation Non-Capital Grant Program will be announced in the spring of 2021 on MHT’s website (https://mht.maryland.gov/grants_noncap.shtml). Application deadlines and workshop dates will also be found on this page at that time. 

For more information about the grant program, please contact Heather Barrett, Administrator of Research and Survey at MHT, at 410-697-9536 or heather.barrett@maryland.gov.  For information about organizations receiving grants, please contact the institutions directly. 

Updates to the National Register of Historic Places Listings in Maryland

By Peter Kurtze, Evaluation and Registration Administrator

Charles F. Wagner, Jr. house (1946-51) at the Moyaone Reserve. Photo by Daniel Sams

The National Register of Historic Places is a program of the National Park Service, administered in Maryland by MHT.  Listing in the National Register confers recognition for a property’s historic character, and provides access to financial incentives for preservation, as well as a measure of protection from harm by federal- or state-funded projects. Among the properties that received National Register recognition in 2020 were two communities whose architecture and landscape are uncommonly intertwined. The Moyaone Association nominated the Moyaone Reserve Historic District and the Town of Washington Grove requested an expansion of the boundaries of the Washington Grove Historic District on historic and architectural merit. In both communities, the natural landscape plays an especially important role in defining their character. The National Park Service approved these additions to the National Register in Fall 2020. 

Map of the Moyaone Reserve Historic District

Moyaone Reserve Historic District 

Located in Accokeek, approximately 10 miles south of the Capital Beltway, the Moyaone Reserve Historic District encompasses a residential landscape of roughly 1,320 acres that spans parts of Prince George’s and Charles counties. The historic district, comprised primarily of single-family houses situated on large, wooded lots, is located entirely within Piscataway Park, a unit of the National Park System established in 1961 to preserve the historic viewshed across the Potomac River from Mount Vernon. The district holds 189 single-family houses, most built after 1945; around fifty undeveloped parcels, including a 29-acre tract of protected marshland owned by the Alice Ferguson Foundation; and the Wagner Community Center, which was built in two phases in 1957 and 1960. 

The wooded landscape of the Moyaone Reserve.

The houses within the Moyaone Reserve Historic District reflect a range of late twentieth-century residential forms and styles. Many demonstrate key tenets of Modernist design and embrace the architectural theory that buildings should be visually and environmentally compatible with their natural surroundings. The residential character of the Moyaone Reserve was highly influenced by architect Charles F. Wagner, Jr., who designed over a dozen houses in the community – starting with his own home, which was begun in 1946 and expanded in 1947-51. While some Moyaone Reserve residents commissioned architect-designed houses, others purchased plans through trade magazines or catalogs, and worked with contractors or built kit houses using prefabricated elements. Five-acre house lots, with covenants and scenic easements restricting development, help preserve the nationally significant viewshed of Mount Vernon, protect the local ecosystem, and safeguard the rustic character, historic identity, and environmental values of the Moyaone Reserve. A dense tree canopy, natural terrain, meandering roads, and scenic views characterize the internal setting of the historic district and reinforce the unspoiled, rural quality of the community. 

Its role in the protection of the Mount Vernon viewshed, its distinctive land planning qualities, and the character of its innovative, site-sensitive buildings all confer significance in the areas of Conservation, Community Planning and Development, and Architecture spanning the period 1945-1976. The nomination effort was supported in part by a grant from the Certified Local Government Program. 

Washington Grove Historic District 

Carpenter Gothic cottage at 15 The Circle in Washington Grove.

The 225-acre Washington Grove Historic District encompasses nearly all the land within the municipal boundary of the Town of Washington Grove in central Montgomery County. The district includes 216 single-family houses, three commercial buildings, two municipal buildings, a community clubhouse, and a church – all set within a secluded, wooded landscape that vividly reflects the town’s origin as a nineteenth-century Methodist camp meeting.  

McCathran Hall at Washington Grove.

The Washington Grove Historic District was listed in the National Register in 1980. Documentation standards at that time were less exacting than they are now. This amended nomination provides additional information that present a fuller picture of the community’s history and also offers a firm basis for planning decisions. It identifies and describes the architectural resources, landscape features, and viewsheds that reflect the district’s physical evolution during the period 1873-1969. Lastly, it expands the boundaries to more completely encompass the area historically associated with Washington Grove’s development. 

A map of the Washington Grove Historic District.

The buildings within the Washington Grove Historic District represent a range of late 19th- and 20th-century architectural styles and forms. For example, a grouping of architecturally distinctive Carpenter Gothic cottages complement the forest – the “sacred grove” – that was the setting of the outdoor religious revival upon which the community was founded.  The informal, rustic style remained prevalent as the town grew through the 20th century.  The revised nomination thoroughly documents the role of the landscape in defining the character of Washington Grove.  Its towering oaks, broad pedestrian avenues, public parks, recreational pond, and woodlands create a sylvan suburban experience.

A bungalow at 109 Maple Avenue in Washington Grove.

The Circle at Washington Grove.