29 Organizations Receive Funding to Restore Cultural and Historical Sites
(CROWNSVILLE, MD) January 28, 2026 - The Maryland Historical Trust (MHT), a division of the Maryland Department of Planning, today announced the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture (MCAAHC), and the Maryland Historical Trust (MHT) have awarded twenty-nine African American Heritage Preservation Program (AAHPP) grants totaling $5,000,000 to various Maryland organizations for FY26. These grants offer assistance to organizations and private citizens in their sponsorship of projects involving acquisition, construction, or improvement of sites related to African American heritage.
MCAAHC is committed to discovering, documenting, preserving, collecting, and promoting Maryland’s African American heritage. The Commission provides technical assistance to institutions and groups with similar objectives. Through the accomplishment of this mission, the MCAAHC seeks to educate Maryland citizens and visitors about the significance and impact of the African American experience in Maryland.
"The Maryland Historical Trust is proud to partner with the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture to offer the African American Heritage Preservation Program,” said Elizabeth Hughes, Director and State Historic Preservation Officer at the Maryland Historical Trust. “This year's awards will assist threatened places that are often overlooked but are deeply significant to Maryland's Black history, including cemeteries and sites associated with fraternal organizations. The state's investment will honor their legacy and support their ongoing contribution to local communities.”
"The African American Heritage Preservation Program ensures that places like Frederick Douglass's summer house, the historic Orchard Street Church where civil rights organizing took place, schools that educated Black children during segregation, and cemeteries where freedom fighters and community leaders rest are preserved for today and future generations,” said Chanel C. Johnson, Executive Director of the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture and Banneker-Douglass-Tubman Museum. “Through our partnership with the Maryland Historical Trust, we're supporting communities across Maryland to preserve the actual sites where African American history happened, places that shaped our state and nation."
The Maryland Historical Trust (MHT) is a state agency dedicated to preserving and interpreting the legacy of Maryland’s past. Through research, conservation and education, the Trust assists the people of Maryland in understanding their historical and cultural heritage. Part of the Maryland Department of Planning, MHT serves as Maryland’s State Historic Preservation Office pursuant to the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966.
FY26 award recipients include:
Sumner Cemetery – Cumberland, Allegany County
$45,000 awarded to Cumberland Historic Cemetery Organization, Inc.
Brewer Hill Cemetery – Annapolis, Anne Arundel County
$250,000 awarded to Brewer Hill Cemetery Association, Inc.
Chew’s Memorial Church and Cemetery – Harwood, Anne Arundel County
$135,000 awarded to Chew’s Memorial Methodist Church
Frederick Douglass Summer House – Highland Beach, Anne Arundel County
$149,000 awarded to Town of Highland Beach
Goshen Farm – Annapolis, Anne Arundel County
$51,000 awarded to Goshen Farm Preservation Society Inc.
Margaret Jenkins House – Baltimore City
$226,000 awarded to The Women’s Housing Coalition, Inc.
Orchard Street Church– Baltimore City
$250,000 awarded to The Baltimore Urban League Inc.
Sanaa Center Project – Baltimore City
$250,000 awarded to Pennsylvania Avenue Black Arts and Entertainment District, Inc.
American Legion Mannie Scott Post 193 – Denton, Caroline County
$250,000 awarded to The American Legion, Department of Maryland, Mannie Scott Post #193, Inc.
Anna Murray Douglass Heritage & Visitor Center – Denton, Caroline County
$250,000 awarded to Bailey-Groce Family Foundation Inc.
Mt. Pleasant Acres Farm – Preston, Caroline County
$226,000 awarded to Mt. Pleasant Heritage Preservation, Inc.
Union Street United Methodist Church – Westminster, Carroll County
$250,000 awarded to Union Street United Methodist Church, Inc.
Alexandria (Alexander) Chapel United Methodist Church Cemetery – Chicamuxen, Charles County
$108,000 awarded to Alexandria United Methodist Church
Old Pomonkey High School – Bryans Road, Charles County
$250,000 awarded to Pomonkey High School Alumni Association, Inc.
Catoctin Furnace African American Cemetery – Thurmont, Frederick County
$73,000 awarded to Catoctin Furnace Friends Group Corporation
Point of Rocks Cemetery – Point of Rocks, Frederick County
$129,000 awarded to The Point of Rocks Colored Cemetery 1879
Chesapeake Lodge Number 48 / Jessie J. Shanks Lodge Number 137 – Havre De Grace, Harford County
$250,000 awarded to The Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons of Maryland and Its Jurisdiction, Inc.
Havre De Grace Colored School Museum and Cultural Center – Havre De Grace, Harford County
$147,000 awarded to The Havre De Grace Colored School Museum and Cultural Center, Inc.
St. James AME Church – Gravel Hill – Havre De Grace, Harford County
$137,000 awarded to The St. James A.M.E. Church of Gravel Hill Road, Inc.
Hopkins Educational / Community Building - Highland, Howard County
$250,000 awarded to Hopkins United Methodist Church, Inc.
West Liberty United Methodist Church – Marriottsville, Howard County
$170,000 awarded to West Liberty United Methodist Church of Marriottsville, Maryland, Inc.
Charles Sumner Lodge No. 25, GAR – Chestertown, Kent County
$40,000 awarded to GAR Post 25 Inc, T/A Sumner Hall
Mander House Museum – Worton, Kent County
$250,000 awarded to Mander House Museum Limited
Ash Memorial Cemetery – Sandy Spring, Montgomery County
$132,000 awarded to Beautification Club of Sandy Spring, Inc.
John Howard House – Brookeville, Montgomery County
$250,000 awarded to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources
Boy’s Village of Maryland Cemetery – Cheltenham, Prince George’s County
$200,000 awarded to the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services
Galilee United Methodist Cemetery – Mechanicsville, St. Mary’s County
$38,000 awarded to St. Mary’s College of Maryland
American Hall – Hagerstown, Washington County
$115,000 awarded to The Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons of Maryland and Its Jurisdiction, Inc.
St. James Free Methodist Church – Quantico, Wicomico County
$129,000 awarded to St. James Free Methodist Church
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