Several Southern Maryland organizations will be able to start new projects after the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority recently awarded more than $500,000 in Maryland Heritage Grants.
A news release said the the eight grants to seven organizations totaling $548,000 — the largest amount of the annual grants awarded — will “support efforts to preserve, enhance and share Southern Maryland’s unique cultural and natural resources, including its parks, museums and historic places.”
More than $5 million in grants were awarded statewide.
“It shows the tremendous growth that we are experiencing as a region and as a national heritage area,” Southern Maryland National Heritage Area Executive Director Lucille Walker said in the release, “and each of these grants will have a significant impact for Southern Maryland.”
The Tri-County Council for Southern Maryland was awarded $100,000 as a Southern Maryland National Heritage Area Management Grant, and $25,000 as a Southern Maryland National Heritage Area Block Grant.
Historic Sotterley in St. Mary’s County received $99,720 for the rehabilitation of an existing structure into a visitor center.
“It will improve the visitor experience as well as create a new and different space so we can better serve those who are coming to the site,” said Historic Sotterley Executive Director Nancy Easterling, who added the new center, which is currently being used as office space, will have more interpretative space both inside and outside. “No building here will ever go to waste.”
The current visitor’s center will be transformed into meeting spaces and a space for education.
Other funding sources are also expected to be coming through for the project, which Easterling said could take up to two years to complete.
The Farm Heritage Conservancy was awarded $95,000 for a Southern Maryland Heritage Garden and Pavilion and the town of North Beach was issued $79,500 for a project connecting natural resources and heritage tourism.
The Calvert Marine Museum Society received $50,000 to assist with the book “Patuxent: A Pictorial Encyclopedic History of Maryland’s Forgotten River.”
“It was amazing because you never know if you’re going to get funded,” said Ralph Eshelman, who was director of the Calvert Marine Museum from 1974-1990. “I thought it was a good project, but you never know what your competition is.”
Eshelman said he had always thought of putting a book together on the 115-mile long Patuxent River that has more than 700 miles of shoreline and is the longest river entirely within the state.
The Lusby resident said the million-word, 1,000-photo manuscript currently has 40 chapters of about 300 pages, and includes points of interest and facts. Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md., 5th) is slated to write the forward.
Eshelman said the grant will go toward copyrights and clearances as well as an employee or two.
“It’s a massive project and it’s possible we may have to go back for additional funding,” he said of the book, which he expects will be online as well as limited copies at libraries and the museum.
The Official Piscataway Conoy Tribe of Maryland Inc. was awarded $50,000 for a cultural museum, while The Living Classrooms Foundation received $48,950 that will go toward Southern Maryland Trail Stewards.
“These projects will make Maryland more competitive, support a diverse array of new partnerships, and enrich the lives of both visitors and residents alike,” Gov. Wes Moore (D) said in the release.
For more information about the Maryland Heritage Areas Program and certified heritage areas, go to mht.maryland.gov and click on “Grants” under the “Funding” tab.
Seed grants issuedThe Southern Maryland National Heritage Area recently announced that nearly $40,000 in seed grants have been awarded to heritage tourism projects in Calvert, Charles and St. Mary’s counties.
The Historic McConchie One-Room School in the Charles County was given $5,000 for two documentaries on the history and legacy of one-room school.
“We are very excited and we look forward to having continued partnership with the Southern Maryland National Heritage Area and like-minded organizations,” Edward Holland with the McConchie school said in a telephone interview.
Holland said the aim of the documentaries is to “draw traffic into the McConchie One-Room School at the Charles County Fairgrounds.” He added that the organization is always on the lookout for new volunteers.
Other seed grants were awarded Calvert Marine Museum ($5,000, Out of the Vault), Farm Heritage Conservancy ($5,000, Southern Maryland Quilts: A Southern Maryland Tourist Attraction), Ivy and Pearls of Southern Maryland Community Charities, Inc. ($5,000, Juneteenth Cultural Heritage Day), Historic Sotterley, Inc. ($5,000, visitor brochure), Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum ($4,000, interpretive and educational material for the \gardens), American Chestnut Land Trust ($3,700, Interpretive Panels for the Parkers Creek Heritage Trail), Historic St. Mary’s City ($2,200, website for the Chancellor’s Point Project), Friends of the St. Clement’s Island and Piney Point Museums ($2,165, Preserving St. Mary’s County’s Traditional Wood Boat Building Tools) and Southern MD Equity in History Coalition/Middleham & St. Peters Parish ($2,000, Accessing the Diverse History of Southern Maryland).
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