On Monday, May 24, 2004 the National Trust for Historic Preservation
announced that the tobacco barns and ten other sites have been
selected for its America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places.
This
distinction came about as a result of efforts begun in the fall of
2003 by historic planners in St. Mary's, Calvert, Charles, Prince
Georges, and Anne Arundel Counties. St. Mary's County Historic
Preservation Planner, Teresa Wilson spearheaded the effort by
suggesting the group nominate the tobacco barns of Southern Maryland
to the annual list of endangered historic places as a class of
buildings.
Ms.
Wilson, who had written a thesis on the barns in graduate school, was
chosen to
write the draft of the nomination. Wilson sought editorial suggestions
and revisions from the group, as well as the advice of an expert on
architecture of the Chesapeake region, Orlando Ridout V of the
Maryland Historical Trust. The nomination application submitted to the
National Trust for Historic Preservation also included letters of
support and slides of the historic barns.
For
more information on the tobacco barns of
Southern Maryland,
visit the National Trust for Historic Preservation website at
www.nthp.org
.
In the coming months more information will be available as farmers,
preservationists, agricultural experts and others meet to formulate
strategies for saving the tobacco barns that are so much a part of
Southern Maryland’s rural heritage.
The Historic Preservation Commission offers
Tobacco Barn
Tips (PDF document)
that
provide
information on maintaining tobacco barns. For more information,
contact Teresa Wilson, Historic Preservation Planner, Department of
Land Use and Growth Management at 301-475-4200 ext. 1549.
