Historic Preservation Grants Fund Capital Projects at National Historic Landmark and
Nine Other Notable Historic Properties
(June 20, 2019) Crownsville, MD - The Hogan Administration today announced that 10 projects were recently awarded funds by the Maryland Historical Trust (MHT) through the Historic Preservation Capital Grant Program, which assists brick-and-mortar historic preservation projects across Maryland. MHT, an agency of the Maryland Department of Planning (Planning), received nearly 50 applications for projects competing for $600,000 in available grants, demonstrating strong demand for the funding across the state.
“We are appreciative that Governor Hogan restored this funding, enabling more well-deserving projects to receive grants for the second year in a row,” said Planning Secretary Robert McCord. “The program encourages restoration and rehabilitation of historic properties across the state and is one more way we can preserve and protect Maryland’s history and culture.”
The Capital Grant Program provides support for physical preservation projects as well as for architectural, engineering, archeology, and consulting services needed in the development of a construction project. Acquisition of properties can also be funded. All assisted properties are either listed on or are eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Organizations may request up to $100,000 per project; the 2019 awards ranged from $15,000 to the full $100,000.
Governor Hogan restored funding for this program in 2018, the first time funding was made available in nearly a decade.
Since its inception in 1978, the Capital Grant Program has awarded nearly $15 million for physical preservation measures to more than 500 historic properties in every county and Baltimore City. Nonprofits, local jurisdictions, business entities, and individuals are all eligible applicants, encouraging a wide range of property owners or site stewards to apply.
Online applications for Fiscal Year 2020 Capital Grant funding will be available in early 2020 on MHT’s website at mht.maryland.gov/grants_capital.shtml. Application deadlines and workshop dates will be announced later this year.
For more information about the grant program, please contact Charlotte Lake, Ph.D. at charlotte.lake@maryland.gov, or (410) 697-9559.
Details on the projects receiving grants are listed below.
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Westminster Cemetery - Gates and Wall (Baltimore City) ($100,000)
Grantee: Westminster Preservation Trust (nonprofit)
The Westminster Cemetery is an important cultural landscape that illustrates changing burial customs and attitudes toward death, as well as the personal toll of infant and childhood mortality. Founded in the late 18th century, the cemetery is home to several large vaults and crypts, and is the burial place of a number of famous Marylanders, including Edgar Allan Poe. The grant will fund a project to restore the circa 1815 cemetery wall and entryway, which features a Greek Revival ironwork gate and two neo-Egyptian sandstone posts.
USCGC TANEY - Pit Log Room and Forepeak Tank (Baltimore City) ($29,000)
Grantee: Historic Ships in Baltimore, Inc. (nonprofit)
United States Coast Guard Cutter TANEY was commissioned in 1936, and had over a 50-year active career with the U.S. Coast Guard. It is the only United States fighting ship afloat that fought during the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. It is currently used as a memorial and museum ship. The TANEY is currently scheduled for dry docking in the fall of 2019, and grant funds will be used to make repairs to corroded areas of rooms that flank the ship’s hull.
Iron Hill Cut Jasper Quarry Archaeological Preserve (Elkton, Cecil County) ($50,000)
Grantee: Archaeological Conservancy (nonprofit)
The Iron Hill Cut Jasper Quarry is a National Register-listed archaeological site. The site is likely the only remaining Native American jasper quarry in Maryland and was a source of jasper prized for use in flint knapping. The quarry is undisturbed and has significant research potential as the only location in Maryland for examining ancient Native American methods of procurement of high-quality lithic material. The site was part of a larger parcel slated for residential development, and grant funds will assist in acquisition of this portion of the parcel for conservation.
Aberdeen B&O Railroad Station (Aberdeen, Harford County) ($100,000)
Grantee: Aberdeen Room Archives and Museum, Inc. (nonprofit)
The Aberdeen Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Train Station was constructed in 1885 according to a standard design created by Frank H. Furness and is the last of this design still standing. The station was a key factor in the canning industry used for shipping their products to not only Baltimore,but nationwide. The grant will fund permanent stabilization of the building and roof replacement.
Evergreen House Museum (Mount Savage, Allegany County) ($100,000)
Grantee: Evergreen Heritage Center Foundation, Inc. (nonprofit)
The Evergreen complex is comprised of 14 contributing buildings on a 167-acre parcel. The Evergreen House Museum consists of the original ca. 1780 stone cellar, 1820s two-story Federal-style addition, and late 19th century portion with Victorian embellishments that replaced the original log structure. The house features an unusual roof with crow’s-foot stamped metal shingles. The roof has reached the end of its useful life, and grant funds will assist in replacing it with matching metal shingles.
Hays House (Bel Air, Harford County) ($15,000)
Grantee: The Historical Society of Harford County, Inc. (nonprofit)
The Hays House was constructed ca. 1788 and has been little altered since. It is the oldest private residence located within the Town of Bel Air, and the original owner, Thomas A. Hays, was the cartographer of the earliest known map of the town. It is now the headquarters of the Historical Society of Harford County and serves as a living history museum. The grant will fund repair of the unique hand-riven wood siding.
Ebenezer A.M.E. Church and Parish House (Baltimore City) ($100,000)
Grantee: Ebenezer Kingdom Builders Inc. (nonprofit)
Built in 1865 for a congregation organized in 1836, Ebenezer African Methodist Episcopal Church was the first built by an African American congregation in the Federal Hill Neighborhood. It is thought to be the oldest standing church in Baltimore that was erected by African Americans and continuously occupied by the descendants of the same congregation. Grant funds will be used to replace the slate roof, which has reached the end of its useful life.
Beatty-Cramer House (Walkersville, Frederick County) ($16,000)
Grantee: Frederick County Landmarks Foundation, Inc (nonprofit)
The Beatty-Cramer House is comprised of two wings, the 18th-century saltbox-style west wing and the 1860s east wing, which were joined to create a homogenous structure. This timber frame structure features exposed and decorated interior framing members and was built using H-bent construction, a method characteristic of the Hudson Valley of New York. The grant will fund exterior work to prevent water intrusion, including repairs to exterior walls and the roofs of the porches.
Chesapeake Lodge No. 147 (Crisfield, Somerset County) ($30,000)
Grantee: Lost Towns Project, Inc. (nonprofit)
The Chesapeake Masonic Lodge No. 147 was constructed in 1926, and is a neoclassical lodge with a commanding temple front portico. The lodge is associated with Crisfield's heyday as one of Maryland's largest seafood producing centers and important maritime commercial port. Grant funding will be used to replace a missing section of the cornice, which is allowing water intrusion, as well as to repair interior water damage.
Fairgrounds Entrance Building & Keeper's Residence (Hagerstown, Washington County) ($60,000)
Grantee: City of Hagerstown (local government)
The Fairgrounds Entrance Building was constructed ca. 1913, and the Keeper's Residence between 1891-1907. These buildings historically functioned as the major gateway to the Hagerstown Fair, which grew from a small-scale, rural venture, to a nationally known exhibition and entertainment attraction. The entrance building may be the last of such 19th century fair structures statewide. The grant will fund repairs to the roof, windows, and structure.
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