New Leadership for the New Year

By Elizabeth Hughes, Director and State Historic Preservation Officer

As we welcome the new year, I would like to share recent leadership changes on the Maryland Historical Trust Board of Trustees that will guide our organization into 2019. MHT’s 15-member Board includes the Governor, the Senate President, and the House Speaker (or their designees), and 12 members appointed by the Governor. 

Chairman Brien Poffenberger

In 2018, Charles Edson completed a distinguished six-year term as Chairman of the Board, turning the gavel over to Brien J. Poffenberger, elected as Chairman in July. Brien has held leadership positions in the public and private sectors and has worked for a range of businesses, both large and small. Previously he served as President/CEO of the Maryland State Chamber of Commerce, as Executive Director of the National Association for Olmsted Parks, and in various positions at General Electric and on Capitol Hill. Brien also has experience teaching, acting as an adjunct professor at Northern Virginia Community College and Shepherd College in West Virginia, where he taught American Architectural History. Brien has an MBA from Georgetown University, an MA in Architectural History from the University of Virginia, and a BA in Government from the College of William & Mary. His family is originally from Sharpsburg (Washington County) and he now lives in Annapolis with his family.

Vice Chairman Laura Mears

Elected as Vice-Chairman of the Board is Laura Davis Mears, an Eastern Shore native with a passion for history and historic preservation. A graduate of Salisbury University, Laura subsequently studied and trained in various aspects of fundraising and nonprofit management, working in the nonprofit arena for 18 years. Laura has served on the Boards of several entities related to history and preservation, including the Somerset County Historical Society, Preservation Trust of Wicomico, and the Maryland Heritage Alliance. She is currently on the boards of Historic St. Martin’s Church Foundation and Rackliffe Plantation House Trust. Laura resides in Berlin (Worcester County) with her husband Tom, two sons Davis and Will, and their Golden Retriever, Captain.

Treasurer Sam Parker

Continuing his position as Treasurer of the Board is Samuel J. Parker, currently a partner with the consulting firm Parker Associates Global, which promotes economic and sustainable development in Africa. Mr. Parker is Chairman of the Board of Trustees for Prince George’s Community College in Maryland, a board member of the Aman Memorial Trust, and a board member of the Housing Initiative Partnership. From 2006 to 2011, Mr. Parker served as Chairman of the Prince George’s County Planning Board and the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission. He is a graduate of Catholic University of America and has a Masters of Regional Planning from Cornell University. Sam lives in Riverdale (Prince George’s County) with his wife Patricia.

Congratulations to Brien, Laura, and Sam on their election and thank you to all of the MHT Board members who generously volunteer their time to support our preservation mission throughout the year.

Watching Irma

By Nell Ziehl, Chief, Office of Planning, Education and Outreach

As Hurricane Irma bears down, threatening southern Florida, I keep returning to what is precious about that place for me. My family and many of my childhood friends live in Tampa and St. Petersburg, well within the vulnerable area recently highlighted by the Washington Post. I was born there, not too far from where my mother and my grandmother were born. The connection is live, and I’m worried about my people.

But what else persists? From my great-grandparents’ time, some buildings still stand. My grandmother’s house still stands, I think. Emotionally, I can’t separate the historic bungalow cottages from the live oaks or from the pelicans standing on the bay’s stone wall. The pink bricks that pave my sister’s street warm and glow in the sun — the fabric and the light are equally important. Every year, our family gathers at the beach in one of the few small-scale, family-run motels left, a few doors down from the Don CeSar, a towering remnant of Florida’s early resort industry. Although the Gulf itself draws us, still full of life and beauty, these places also matter – the human record of their construction, their imprint of time and place, the memories and attachments formed there.

The author’s family in St. Petersburg

At the same time, our cultural heritage includes a heritage of loss. We understand that hurricanes come and go and that buildings, piers and even roads are ephemeral. Left alone, the landscape will reconquer. And behaviors also persist. After generations of weathering storms, many locals do not evacuate, despite news that the storms are not the same. Even armed with better knowledge about water management and the importance of ecosystem restoration to protect inland areas (not to mention the biological habitat and tourism dollars), Florida continues to permit development in ways and in places that are unsustainable, potentially exacerbating disasters and jeopardizing recovery.

The Don CeSar after a thunderstorm

As we move forward into an uncertain future, with climate change fueling rising tides and more dangerous storms, we must adapt in ways that take all of these elements into account. What is the spirit of the place? What should we protect? What *can* we protect? And what do we need to change?

Too often, our regulatory and philosophical frameworks force divisions between the “built environment” and the surrounding ecosystems, even though the full character of a place includes the architecture, infrastructure, streetscape, waterways, plants, animals – and the people who live there. Cultural heritage is cultural memory, and that includes traditional and historic ways of adapting to the natural environment, including storms. And when buildings collapse, when the tangible fails, the intangible remains valuable and can inform a more resilient future.

A saw palmetto preserve

Preservationists sometimes focus on limiting rather than accommodating change. But we, more than many other professions, have the ability to understand the evolution of a community over time and to help manage change in ways that protect quality of life and respect the character of place. I pray that Irma passes by without much damage. But more storms will come, and how we respond and rebuild will determine what we can carry forward.

Introducing Map-Based Medusa: Viewing Maryland’s Historic Places in Real Time

By Gregory Brown, Cultural Resource Information Manager

To kick off Preservation Month this May, the Maryland Historical Trust is pleased to announce a new interactive map-based tool, “map-based Medusa,” to explore the state’s inventory of historic places and archeological sites.  Taking advantage of new web-based mapping technology, map-based Medusa offers the opportunity to view Maryland’s extensive geographic database of historic and cultural properties and to access the records linked to these resources, all within an easily accessible user friendly interface.

The new system allows both in-house and remote access to the documentation of over 60,000 architectural and archeological resources in a variety of ways. Consultants and staff can view a proposed project area and see all known cultural resources, with links to Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties forms, National Register nominations, determinations of eligibility, and other detailed documents. Map-based Medusa also allows you to look up a property by name, address or inventory number, and view that property on a map along with associated forms and photos.

Most architectural information is freely available in Medusa. Archeological site location is restricted to qualified archeological professionals as mandated in the state’s Access to Site Location Policy. Any qualified professional can apply for a Medusa account to get access. For assistance using map-based Medusa, tutorials and FAQs are available online. We will introduce webinars and introductory videos in the coming months.

The new map-based Medusa application was created with the technical assistance of the Applications Development team of the Maryland Department of Planning, the Maryland Historical Trust’s parent agency. We are grateful for the efforts of Information Services Manager Ted Cozmo, Doug Lyford, Greg Schuster, and Debbie Czerwinski, building on earlier database development work of Maureen Kavanagh, Carmen Swann and Jennifer Falkinburg. The online version of Medusa was supported in part through a Preserve America grant administered by the National Park Service, Department of Interior, and by funding from the Maryland State Highway Administration through its Transportation Enhancement Program.

To start using map-based Medusa, go to https://mht.maryland.gov/secure/medusa/.

For more information, please contact Gregory Brown, Cultural Resource Information Manager, at gregory.brown@maryland.gov.

Preparing for Future Floods

By Nell Ziehl, Chief, Office of Planning, Education and Outreach

Hoopers Island

As we turn from Ellicott City’s disaster response to recovery, and watch hurricanes threaten Florida and Hawaii, it’s hard not to think about all the places throughout Maryland that are prone to flooding. We built our earliest towns, cities, roads and rail lines along the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. As ports and fishing industries boomed, we developed more. And let’s be honest: we all love to live and play near water.

Memory Mapping in the Bottom and Hammond Town

By Jen Sparenberg, Hazard Mitigation Program Officer

Easton’s Bottom and Hammond Town neighborhoods served vibrant African American communities in the decades after the Civil War.  Located adjacent to “the Hill,” an early free African-American settlement, both neighborhoods have suffered a slow decline over decades. As Easton considers the redevelopment of nearby Easton Point, the Port Street Master Plan presents an opportunity to revitalize the Bottom and to record and interpret the history of the Bottom and Hammond Town.

Old Moton, a Rosenwald School in Easton. Credit: Michelle Zachs

The Maryland Resiliency Partnership: State Agencies Working Together for a More Resilient Maryland

By Jen Sparenberg, Hazard Mitigation Program Officer

Several Maryland state agencies have come together to work collaboratively to increase the ability of buildings and infrastructure to withstand the damaging effects of natural hazards and climate change.  The Maryland Resiliency Partnership is comprised of the Department of Natural Resources, the Maryland Department of the Environment, the Maryland Emergency Management Agency, the Maryland Historical Trust, and the Maryland Environmental Service.  All five agencies are working together to leverage funding, personnel, and projects to support efforts that integrate floodplain management, hazard mitigation, and coastal resiliency.

Maryland Resiliency Partnership members at the 10th Annual MAFSM Conference

The Maryland Association of Floodplain and Stormwater Managers 11^th Annual Conference held on October 15, 2015 in Linthicum, Maryland was the perfect opportunity to promote the Maryland Resiliency Partnership.  Kevin Wagner of the Maryland Department of the Environment and I co-presented a paper on historic structures and flood mitigation, after which several Maryland Resiliency Partnership members took the stage to participate in a mitigation showcase. The showcase featured information on how to use the Maryland flood insurance rate maps to assess, plan for and mitigate flood risk to historic and non-historic buildings, and infrastructure.

Mark James, the State Hazard Mitigation Officer, presenting information to Smith Island residents at a flood risk workshop

Recently, the Maryland Department of the Environment coordinated flood risk outreach workshops in Crisfield and Smith Island with several local, state and federal partners.  All of the Maryland Resiliency Partnership members were on-hand to provide residents with additional information on grant programs and flood mitigation best practices, like elevating houses above the predicted flood water level.  Look for information coming soon to our Facebook page on upcoming Maryland Resiliency Partnership workshops.