Senator Ben Cardin and Congressman Steny Hoyer, with Senator Chris Van Hollen as an original co-sponsor, have introduced federal legislation that would designate the existing Southern Maryland State Heritage Area known as Destination Southern Maryland as a National Heritage Area.
Partners for Open Space is launching a social media campaign to generate statewide support for Maryland’s parks, nature, outdoor spaces, as well as its rural and historic heritage, all with a strong nod toward Maryland’s Program Open Space.
Leading preservation economics firm, PlaceEconomics recently completed an analysis of Baltimore City’s Historic Preservation Tax Credit program that supports positive assumptions about the value of the credit, and brings to light new information about the use and benefit of the credit in communities across the city.
In December, the Civil War Trust and Institute for Advanced Study announced a compromise to expand the Princeton Battlefield and provide additional housing for the Institute – ending a battle over the future of this historic site that dragged on several years.
Rendering of Princeton Battlefield. Graphic from Civil War Trust.
While the proposed project, which would have reduced a key Revolutionary War battlefield to new housing, fell beyond Maryland’s physical borders, Maryland soldiers fought for American Independence and shed their blood on the hallowed Princeton Battlefield. As a result, Preservation Maryland made the extraordinary decision to take a stand on this issue and formally announced their opposition to a project that would dishonor Maryland’s Revolutionary veterans.
Under the latest plan, the Civil War Trust, through its Campaign 1776 initiative to protect Revolutionary War battlefields, will purchase 14.85 acres of land from the Institute for $4 million, to be conveyed to the State of New Jersey as an addition to the existing Princeton Battlefield State Park. The acquisition includes approximately two-thirds of the Maxwell’s Field property in questions, along with an additional 1.12-acre tract north of the property that has been identified by historians as part of the battlefield.