Maryland Historical Trust
The Maryland Historical Trust was formed in 1961 to assist the people of Maryland in identifying, studying, evaluating, preserving, protecting, and interpreting the state's significant prehistoric and historic districts, sites, structures, cultural landscapes, heritage areas, cultural objects, and artifacts, as well as less tangible human and community traditions. The Trust is the principal operating unit within the Division of Historical and Cultural Programs, which is an agency of the Maryland Department of Planning. The Board of Trustees of the Trust is composed of 15 members (12 of which are appointed by the Governor to serve four-year terms, as well as the Governor, the Senate President, and the Speaker of the House of Delegates, or their designees). Maryland's State Historic Preservation Officer, appointed by the Governor pursuant to the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, is a member of the Trust staff. As of this writing, the Trust and the Division employ 78 individuals at the central offices in Crownsville and at two satellite museum facilities.
Leading the state agency partners in IMPART, the Maryland Historical Trust is a national leader in policy and management of Maryland's architectural and archaeological resources. Trust staff members work with Maryland’s academic institutions as guest lecturers, host to student interns, and partners in a wide variety of cooperative projects on state, regional and national levels. Trust staff members serve as the administrative liaison to IMPART partners and associates.
Proposed Program: The Trust will administer the day-to-day requirements of IMPART in close association with Maryland Higher Education Commission staff. MHT staff convene meetings, develop policies and procedures, maintain IMPART reports and field public questions regarding IMPART. The Trust will also welcome opportunities to host IMPART assistantships.
Investments Toward IMPART: The Maryland Historical Trust has provided extensive staff support for the development of IMPART. In addition, it has provided grant funds to partner institutions, allowing them to implement IMPART goals. Staff from the Trust have increased their collaboration with faculty at the partner institutions and provided increased opportunities for students. The Trust has hosted IMPART assistantships both at its headquarters and in venues across the state.
MHT Financial Assistance & Easements
While with the Maryland Historical Trust, Beibei assisted the Financial Assistance and Easements unit (FA&E) of the Office of Preservation Services.
MHT Financial Assistance & Easements
- Partner: Maryland Historical Trust
- Student: Beibei Su
Beibei Su has a Bachelor's Degree of Art in Journalism and Communication from Peking University, Beijing, China and is currently pursuing a Master's Degree in Historic Preservation at the University of Maryland in College Park. While with the Maryland Historical Trust, Beibei assisted the Financial Assistance and Easements unit (FA&E) of the Office of Preservation Services. The goal was two-fold: the office wanted to teach a student what their mission and responsibilities to historic preservation are for Maryland as the State Historic Preservation Office, but also to introduce them to their methods for achieving their mission, thereby providing them with tools they could use in their studies and their career.
Ms. Su assisted FA&E on several assignments to achieve this goal. She participated in the Capital Grant Program threshold review process for prospective Capital Grants, which allowed her to better understand the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation and their application. She also provided support for the inspection of works-in-progress and photographic documentation for these inspections on MHT easement properties and potential easement properties. In developing her understanding of preservation easements and the National Register of Historic Places, she evaluated historical deeds and other title information, and provided extensive file research and database data-entry.
Specifically, Ms. Su prepared Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties forms, Determination of Eligibility forms for the National Register of Historic Places, and Easement Inspection forms for approximately multiple historic properties. She reviewed title documents and potential grants projects. She participated in property inspections and provided photographic documentation of properties. Though certainly not least, she provided extensive hard-file and database research, and data entry in MS Excel and MS Access.
Most importantly, Ms. Su completed the updating of the MHT Consultants List. The Consultants List is a database of approximately 300 preservation professionals throughout the state and the country who have expressed an interest in working on preservation projects in Maryland. The List is a tool used by a great number of property owners, non-profit organizations and local governments for finding qualified consultants for their projects, and requires detailed updating annually.
Developing a Searchable Shipwreck Database for Maryland
Intern Bridget McVae worked with data, including paper, microfilm and photographs at the National and State Archives and the U.S. Coast Guard's Office of the Historian, to locate references to shipwrecks in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries within Maryland.
Developing a Searchable Shipwreck Database for Maryland
- Partner: Maryland Historical Trust
- Student: Bridget McVae
Bridget worked with data, including paper, microfilm and photographs at the National and State Archives and the U.S. Coast Guard's Office of the Historian, to locate references to shipwrecks in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries within Maryland. (The Atlantic Coast had already been completed.) In addition, previous files and documents collected by and donated to the Office of Archaeology were synthesized and incorporated into this research. The corpus of all these materials was used to create a shipwreck database that researchers can search using numerous variables. Bridget tested the database by developing a paper for an actual project to take place in Baltimore Harbor and presented the results at the Mid-Atlantic Archaeological Conference in March 2005.
Not only did she gain research experience in utilizing diverse resources and facilities, Bridget's project was also accepted for credit as an independent study by St. Mary's College of Maryland, an IMPART partner institution. The State benefited greatly by obtaining crucial information in making the information more accessible to staff and researchers; results not otherwise possible without the expenditure of severely limited staff time.
Financial Assistance and Easements
Project research, documentation and evaluation was performed by intern Catherine Brown, providing FA&E with advancement of several rehabilitation projects and updating of their databases.
Financial Assistance and Easements
- Partner: Maryland Historical Trust
- Student: Catherine Brown
Catherine Brown has a Bachelor's Degree in Art History from Goucher College and was pursuing a Master's Degree in Community Planning, with a Certificate in Historic Preservation at the University of Maryland. While with the Maryland Historical Trust (MHT), Catherine assisted the Financial Assistance and Easements unit (FA&E) of the Office of Preservation Services. The goal was two-fold: MHT wanted to teach a student what their mission and responsibilities to historic preservation are for Maryland as the State Historic Preservation Office, but also to introduce them to their methods for achieving this mission, thereby providing them with tools they could use in their studies and their career.
Ms. Brown assisted FA&E on several assignments to achieve this goal. She participated in the Capital Grant Program threshold review process for prospective Capital Grants, which allowed her to better understand the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation and their application. She also provided support for the inspection of work-in-progress and photographic documentation for these inspections on MHT easement properties and potential easement properties. In developing her understanding of preservation easements and the National Register of Historic Places, she evaluated historical deeds and other title information, and provided extensive file research and database data-entry.
Project research, documentation and evaluation was performed by Catherine Brown, providing FA&E with advancement of several rehabilitation projects and updating of their databases. Ms. Brown developed a strong comprehension of the legal and political elements as well as the hands-on components of historic preservation. Specifically, Ms. Brown prepared Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties forms, Determination of Eligibility forms for the National Register of Historic Places, and Easement Inspection forms for approximately eight historic properties. She reviewed title documents, potential grants projects and potential bond bill projects. She participated in property inspections and provided photographic documentation of properties. Though certainly not least, she provided extensive hard-file and database research, and data entry in MS Excel and MS Access.
Nabb Center Inventory Videography
The purpose of this project was to create an historical video, approximately twenty minutes in length, of the items found in an eighteenth century colonial inventory, to serve as an educational tool for Salisbury University history students and other clients of the Nabb Center.
Nabb Center Inventory Videography
- Partner: Maryland Historical Trust
The purpose of this project was to create a historical video, approximately twenty minutes in length, of the items found in an eighteenth century colonial inventory, to serve as an educational tool for Salisbury University history students and other clients of the Nabb Center. The people involved in the production of this educational video were SU Graduate Assistant Pamela Knox Collins, (recipient of Md. Historical Trust Assistantship) serving as film director, under the Mentorship of Dr. G. Ray Thompson (History Department), Rebecca F. Miller (Director of Nabb Research Center), and Dr. Frances Kendall (Communication Arts Department), in conjunction with Mr. Bill Wilson and Ms. Pat Taylor of the Pemberton Hall Foundation and two S.U. undergraduate Communication Arts students, functioning as videographers and assistant editors.
During the course of the semester, meetings were conducted by all participants involved in the film process. Schedules were set for collecting data, researching the Handy estate inventory and creating video of these items in their natural habitat. When possible, the Pemberton Hall Foundation members served as appropriately costumed actors demonstrating the use of the 18th-century household, plantation and tools. All areas in the Handy home were filmed in many settings and at different times of the day; as well as the inventory items found in each of these rooms. After each segment of filming the director, the videographer, and the editor all met at the SU Communication Arts Television Studio under the direction of Ms. Cindy Cornish (Manager of S.U. Television Production Studio) and Mr. Ray Fantini (Television Studio Engineer) to log and edit each segment. This schedule was repeated weekly until the film was completed. The video is approximately 14.02 minutes in length.
