The Maryland Preservation Plan - 2005 - Maryland Historical Trust

The Status of Heritage Resources2. State ProgramsMaryland Inventory of Historic PropertiesThe Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties is a broad based repositoryof information on districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects of knownor potential value to the prehistory, history, upland and underwater archeology,architecture, engineering, or culture of Maryland. The inventory was createdshortly after the Maryland Historical Trust was founded in 1961, and nowincludes data on approximately 11,000 archeological sites and 140,000 historicaland architectural resources. Inclusion in the Inventory of Historic Propertiesinvolves no regulatory restrictions or controls. Materials included in the inventoryare maintained by the MHT Library and Archives.D. ProtectionAs Maryland's population increases, so does the demand for newresidential, commercial, and industrial development. Although Maryland’sPlanning Act of 1992 directs growth towards communities already containingadequate infrastructure, the continued urbanization of Maryland has increasedthe threat to the State's historic resources. New development in those historiccommunities designated as Maryland’s growth areas can adversely effecthistorical and cultural resources, as can sprawling development beyond urbancenters. Mechanisms which are successful at curbing or minimizing actions thatendanger the State’s heritage resources include the use of Historic PreservationEasements, Project Review and Compliance, and local preservation plans.1. Protective and Conservation EasementsEasements are used throughout Maryland to preserve historic, archeological,natural, and scenic properties. The State’s major holders of easementsare the Maryland Historical Trust, the Maryland Environmental Trust, theMaryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation, and local land trusts. Aneasement does not prevent alterations to a resource; rather the easement helpsmanage future changes that may occur.Historic Preservation EasementsMHT Easements are acquired through donations and as a condition ofTrust grants, loans, and State bond funds. Gift easements are accepted onproperties listed on, or eligible for, the National Register of Historic Places orlocated within a locally-designated or National Register-listed historic district.Gift easement donations provide property owners with financial incentives andform an important part of estate planning. The Trust currently holds 566perpetual easements on 590 significant architectural and archeological propertiesencompassing nearly 10,900 acres. Easement properties include resourcessuch as a seventeenth century meeting house, eighteenth-, nineteenth-, andtwentieth century dwellings, schools, mills, farms and archeological sites.Certain local preservation organizations also accept preservation easements.Archeologists from MHT joined withmembers of the Archeological Society ofMaryland, Inc. and the Maryland-NationalCapital Park and Planning Commission atthe Mt. Calvert Site, Prince George'sCounty, to search for the lost settlementof "Charles Town," the first county seat ofPrince George's County, during the 1997Annual Archeological Field Session.Archeological artifacts excavated at theFriendsville site, Garrett County, weremade c. AD 1400-1550 by peopleassociated with what archeologists callthe "Monongahela" culture. Pictured are:partial bird's beak (top); a decorated claysmoking pipe, drilled canine tooth, andtwo complete and one broken triangularstone projectile points or "arrowheads"(bottom, l. to r.).Underwater archeologists from MHT'sOffice of Archeology and volunteersexplore the remains of the 18th centuryStephen Steward shipyard in AnneArundel County. The shipyard wasburned by the British during the RevolutionaryWar because of its important rolein supplying ships to the Americans.17