Eleven preservation projects, including four in the Baltimore area, will receive grants totaling $1M from the Maryland Historical Trust

The Patterson Park Observatory and three landmark churches in the Baltimore area are among 11 historic properties around the state that will receive preservation grants from the Maryland Historical Trust.

The state agency announced this month that it’s awarding grants totaling $1 million to fund much-needed restoration work through its Historic Preservation Grant Program for Fiscal 2026.

The grant program provides support to organizations and private citizens for preservation-related acquisition and construction projects as well as for architectural, engineering, archaeology and consulting services needed in the development of construction projects.

The agency received 58 applications requesting more than $4.9 million for a wide range of projects. The grant awards range from $62,000 to $100,000. The awardees include:

• The Patterson Park Observatory. The sponsor, Friends of Patterson Park Inc., will receive $100,000. Constructed in 1891, the 60-foot-high Observatory was designed by Charles Latrobe and built at the northwestern edge of Patterson Park in East Baltimore. The octagonal structure was designed to mimic a pagoda with four stories, each with a different window design and decorative balcony. The funds will support rehabilitation of its roof.
• First and Franklin Presbyterian Church at 210 W. Madison St. in Baltimore. The sponsor, the Committee of the Presbyterian Church in the City of Baltimore, will receive $100,000. Part of the Mount Vernon historic district, the church was designed by English-born architect Nathan Starkweather and his protégé, E. G. Lind, and built between 1854 and 1859. Home of the city’s oldest Presbyterian congregation, founded in 1761, it’s considered one of the finest examples of Gothic Revival architecture in Baltimore. It has also played a key roles in local LGBTQ history, hosting the first local public forum on the AIDS crisis in Baltimore on June 8, 1983 and the first local AIDS support group outside of a clinical setting the same year. For years, the exterior has been surrounded by scaffolding to prevent passersby from falling debris. The $100,000 grant will help fund repairs to the brownstone on the building’s spires.
• Old Otterbein United Methodist Church at 112 W. Conway St. The sponsor, Old Otterbein United Methodist Church Inc., will receive $100,000. Designed and constructed by local builder Jacob Small, Sr, the church was constructed in 1785 and significantly remodeled in 1839. Much of its original glass remain as do the bells, which were cast in Germany and installed in 1789. It is the only continuously used 18th-century church building in the City of Baltimore and it held the first Conference of United Brethren preachers, resulting in the official organization of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ. Funding will support restoration of the church’s distinctive cupola.
• Cowdensville A.M.E. Church, 1100 Sulphur Spring Road in the Arbutus section of Baltimore County. The sponsor, Friends of Cowdensville A.M.E. Church, Inc., will receive $80,000. Cowdensville A.M.E. Church is a frame and shingled church with a gabled roof that was constructed between 1904 and 1907. Its roots go back to 1857 in the free Black community once known as Crowden Town; it’s the last known building associated with that community.  A complete rehabilitation was undertaken in the late 1990s to save the church from condemnation and demolition. Funding will support exterior rehabilitation, including framing, siding and masonry repairs, and protective measures to guard against potential automobile damage.

The other seven grant recipients are: 

• The Michael Cresap Museum, a house museum in Allegany County. The sponsor, Michael Cresap Museum Inc., will receive $100,000. Built around 1765, the Michael Cresap House is a two-story, fieldstone structure that was the home of Michael Cresap, a Revolutionary War captain and co-founder of Oldtown in Allegany County.  The original three-bay building is side-gabled, with a smaller, side-gabled, brick-clad wing dating from the early 19th-century.  The building is currently home to the Michael Cresap Museum.  Funding will support interior and exterior rehabilitation.
• Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse in Anne Arundel County. The sponsor, the United States Lighthouse Society Incorporated, also known as the United States Lighthouse Society, will receive $62,000. Constructed in 1875 in the Chesapeake Bay, Thomas Point Shoal Light Station is a hexagonal frame lighthouse, one and a half stories high, supported by nine steel frame screw piles. Several partially submerged steel icebreakers that also date to 1875 are located within 30 yards of the lighthouse.  It is the only intact cottage-style lighthouse in its original location still used as an aid to navigation today. Funding will support the repair of the historic icebreakers. 
• The Stone House at Elk Landing, in the Elkton section of Cecil County. The sponsor, the Historic Elk Landing Foundation Inc. will receive $95,000. Built in 1782 and 1783, the Stone House at Elk Landing is a two-story building with several features characteristic of 18th-century vernacular dwellings in northeastern Maryland. It’s significant for its association with early Scandinavian settlers in Maryland and as the mid-Atlantic’s northernmost navigable inland waterway. The house is currently used for historical interpretation and fundraising activities, although access is currently limited due to its condition. Funding will support an engineering study to stabilize the northern and western walls.
• Customs House in Chestertown, Kent County. The sponsor, Washington College, will receive $100,000. Located in the Chestertown Historic District, the Customs House is more than 275 years old and contains what is believed to be an underground holding cell for enslaved people – an extremely rare example of an architectural feature associated with the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Now part of the Washington College campus, the Customs House hosts a number of public events and is expanding its community outreach to educate the public on local African American history. Funding will support interior and exterior rehabilitation, including the stabilization of an exterior wall.
• Kent News Building in Chestertown, Kent County. The sponsor, Sultana Education Foundation, will receive $66,000. Originally constructed in 1859 for the Methodist Protestant Church, the Kent News Building is a simple structure that displays elements of the early Classical Revival style. It was used as a church until 1888, when the congregation relocated, and the county school system moved in. By 1904, the county had sold the building and the first floor was home to a newspaper, while the second floor was a very early film theater. The Kent County Newspaper was housed at the building until the Sultana Education Foundation purchased it in 2013 and began rehabilitating it.  A previous repointing of the exterior used Portland cement, which is incompatible with the softer historic brick, and the brick has begun to spall and fail. Grant funding will be used to repair and replace the historic brick and mortar with appropriate materials.
• Tudor Hall in Leonardtown, St. Mary’s County. The sponsor, St. Mary’s Historical Society, will receive $100,000.Built around 1795, Tudor Hall is a two-story, brick-clad, five-bay residence that is the earliest existing private structure in Leonardtown. The original gabled building was flanked by one-story wings that were later raised to the height of the central block, and the roof was replaced with a hipped roof in the early 19th century. Four interior chimneys represent the envelope of the original main block. Stucco parging that was applied during the 19th century has since been removed. The building is currently home to the St. Mary’s Historical Society. Funding will support interior and exterior rehabilitation. 
• Girdletree Church Museum in Girdletree, Worcester County. The sponsor, Girdletree Historical Foundation Inc., will receive $97,000. Girdletree Methodist Church was built around 1875 to house a Methodist Episcopal congregation. Constructed in the vernacular Gothic Revival style, it has wood siding, a dentiled cornice and a unique cross-braced bell tower and spire. Now home to the Girdletree Church Museum, it hosts tours, weddings and other events. Funding will support interior and exterior rehabilitation.