Lithics, Ceramics and Fauna, Oh My! – An Internship Cataloging Adventure

By Grace Davenport, Maryland Historical Trust Intern

My name is Grace. I am an intern with the Maryland Historical Trust in Crownsville, MD. I have only ever worked in an archeology lab once before. All I did was put some dirty artifacts in some water, gently brush them with an old toothbrush and listen to other groups in the class become excited that they had a hair comb in their collection of artifacts. Meanwhile, when I looked at my bag it just looked like a clump of rust (which it was). That was a historic site, and we never went into much detail with it. Working in the Archeology Lab with the Maryland Historical Trust has been an entirely different experience. Continue reading

Harriet Elizabeth Brown: “The Quiet Heroine of 1937”

By Michael Gayhart Kent, Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture

Harriet Elizabeth Brown

Harriet Elizabeth Brown

1937 was an explosive year in history.  On May 6, 1937, the Hindenburg airship ignited over New Jersey and crashed to the ground in flames.  The June 3, 1937 wedding of Wallis Simpson to the former King of England also shook the world, dominating the news until the shock of Amelia Earhart’s disappearance over the Pacific on July 2, 1937.  The most earth-shaking event for the black community in Maryland came on November 11, 1937, when Harriet Elizabeth Brown, a Black teacher at Mt. Hope Elementary School, filed a lawsuit against the Calvert County Board of Education.

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Guest Blog – Old Bohemia Tenant House Curatorship Available

Guest Blog – Old Bohemia Tenant House Curatorship Available

By Peter Morrill, Curator Program Manager, Maryland Department of Natural ResourcesOld Bohemia Tenant 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 Wildlife Management Areas?  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. Continue reading