FREDERICK, Md., July 19, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- On July 13, the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority (MHAA) voted to approve nearly $5 million in matching-grant funding for heritage tourism projects across the state. This is a record-breaking funding year for Maryland Heritage Areas; in 2017 the Hogan Administration and the Maryland General Assembly voted to double the amount available to the program, paving the way for an increase in FY19 grants from $3 million to $5 million.
Dan Spedden, President of the Board of Directors of the Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area, helped put the funding change in motion by securing the interest of then Delegate Brett Wilson, who sponsored the bill, and the help of the Washington County Community Lobbying Coalition, which made it a legislative priority. Likewise, the advocacy of Preservation Maryland, Partners for Open Space, and the Coalition of Maryland Heritage Areas was key to achieving a new level of MHAA funding. The Heart of the Civil War Executive Director, Elizabeth Scott Shatto, concluded a two-year term as co-chair of the Coalition of Maryland Heritage Areas this month. She noted, "We are proud to have helped organizations in all three Heart of the Civil War counties, Carroll, Frederick and Washington, secure grant funds. The funded projects will help preserve our built and natural environments, promote recreation in our historic landscapes, and share compelling, inclusive and relevant stories of interest to wider audiences."
14 projects located in the Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area will receive grants for the 2019 fiscal year. The Heart of the Civil War is one of 13 certified Heritage Areas in the state.
- The Carroll County Farm Museum will receive $10,275 to enhance the museum's Hoff Log Barn with updated signage and oxen exhibit.
- The Catoctin Furnace Historical Society will receive $28,000 to create facial reconstructions of the Furnace's enslaved workers, as well as $15,600 for the rehabilitation of the Collier Log House.
- The Historical Society of Carroll County will receive $50,000 for exhibit: "Carroll County Legacy: In Context" at Cockey's.
- Main Street Middletown MD, Inc. will receive $37,860 for the acquisition of specific historic Main Street properties.
- Monocacy National Battlefield Foundation, Inc. will receive $12,500 for a river launch and landing on the Monocacy River.
- The National Museum of Civil War Medicine, Inc. will receive $23,343 for the production of collections video and orientation video.
- The National Park Service- Catoctin Mountain Park will receive $29,500 for new interpretive exhibits at the Catoctin Mountain Park Visitor Center.
- The Save Historic Antietam Foundation, Inc. will receive $17,500 for the restoration of the Poffenberger Tract.
- The Town of Emmitsburg will receive $9,000 for Main Street wayside exhibits.
- The Town of Thurmont will receive $12,300 for wayfinding signage.
- The Town of Sykesville will receive $18,000 for its Gate House Museum.
- The Union Mills Homestead Foundation, Inc. will receive $24,159 for a historic resource study.
- The Washington County Museum of Fine Arts will receive $50,850 for the refurbishment of its Smith-Mason-Thieblot galleries of American Art from the Colonial Era to the Gilded Age.
In addition to the project grants listed above, the Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area was awarded grants of $100,000 for management of the heritage area and $25,000 to be distributed as mini-grants to stakeholders in the region. Altogether, $463,887 in MHAA funds were secured for nonprofits and government units in the Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area.
For each of these MHAA grants, state support is matched dollar for dollar with other funding. The total investment leveraged by these MHAA grants is nearly $1 million in the Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area alone.
For more information, contact the Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area at info(at)heartofthecivilwar(dot)org or (301) 600-4031.
SOURCE Maryland Heritage Areas Authority
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