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Posted:
June 23, 2008 |
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Goldsborough Family Portraits Exhibit is Open |
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A
special exhibit organized by the Hammond-Harwood House will be on view at
St. John s College in the Mitchell Gallery from June 17 - July 8, 2008. This
exhibit, Goldsborough Family Portraits, will focus on a distinctive American
painter, John Hesselius (1728-1778), who lived and painted in Maryland during the
colonial era. The Mitchell Gallery is free and open to the public;
hours are Tuesday through Sunday from noon to 5:00pm. A lectures series in
conjunction with this exhibit will be on the evenings of June 25 and July
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Posted:
May 30, 2008 |
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Seaworthy: The Story of the United States Navy's Black Admirals and Their Contributions to the Nation |
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The Banneker-Douglass museum announces a
new exhibit: Seaworthy: The Story of the United States
Navy's Black Admirals and Their Contributions to the Nation. Prior to World
War II, laws prohibited African-Americans from serving as officers in the United
States Navy. It was the combined pressures of World War II, with its growing
requirement for talented manpower, and the efforts of many civil rights
organizations, that finally convinced President Franklin D. Roosevelt to
establish a new policy to enable African Americans to earn a commission in the
armed forces. In the spring of 1944, thirteen African Americans were
commissioned as naval officers and soon became known as the "Golden 13" because
of the gold Ensign stripe they wore so proudly on their uniforms. Within a few
months, the "Golden 13" were joined by Francis Wills and Harriet Pickens, the
Navy's first African-American women officers.
In the years to follow many
more African-American college graduates would gain their commissions through the
Navy V-12 Cadet Program, Officer
Candidate School, the NROTC Program, and the United States Naval Academy
in Annapolis, Maryland. In 1971, after twenty-seven years of
dedicated service to the nation and exceptional performance as a leader on ships
at sea and in many high visibility assignments abroad, Samuel L. Gravely, a
native of Richmond,
Virginia, was selected for
promotion to the rank of Rear Admiral. Since then, a small but distinguished
group of African-American officers have followed in his
footsteps.
The exhibit will run through November
2008. The Banneker-Douglass
Museum is located in the old
Mount Moriah A.M.E.
Church at 84 Franklin Street
in Annapolis (off Church Circle in the
Annapolis
historic district). The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m.
to 4 p.m. Admission is free.
Parking is available by shuttle from the
Naval Academy Stadium parking lot, and there are nearby commercial parking
garages and limited on-street parking. For more information, contact the museum
by telephone at (410) 216-6180, fax at (410) 974-2553, or email at BDMPrograms@mdp.state.md.us.
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Posted:
May 27, 2008 |
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Southgate Memorial Fountain Rededicated with Celebration |
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On Sunday, May 18, 2008, the City of Annapolis rededicated
the newly restored Southgate Memorial Fountain with a celebration that included
flowers, music, speakers, a dedication ceremony and a reception. Musical
groups included the Church Circle Consort and members of the Annapolis Chorale,
Annapolis Youth Chorus, and St. Anne s Episcopal Church, St. Philip s Episcopal
Church, Asbury Methodist Church and First Baptist Church Choirs, conducted by
Ernie Green. Welcoming remarks by Annapolis Mayor Ellen Moyer were followed
by comments from Alderman Richard Israel and Reverend Robert Wickizer, St.
Anne s Episcopal Church.
According to city sources, Dr. William Scott Southgate
first came to Annapolis in 1869 to serve as rector to St. Anne s Episcopal
Church. During his 30 years in Annapolis, Reverend Southgate opened a mission
school on the corner of Prince George and East Streets, which subsequently
served as the Jewish synagogue. He was also instrumental in founding St. Philip
s Episcopal Church on Northwest Street, which served the African-American
community and fostered new teachers and leaders. One of Dr. Southgate s dreams
was to fund and build a fountain in the City 'to refresh horses as well as
humans.' Upon his death in 1899, the City Council quickly appointed a commission
to erect a fountain in Southgate s memory and to 'keep in remembrance a noble
life.'
The original Southgate Memorial Fountain was designed as
an 'English market cross rising out of a molded pedestal placed in an octagonal
basin filled with water pouring from the mouths of two lions' and built out of
limestone and marble. In its 100-year life, the fountain was enjoyed by many
residents and visitors to Annapolis. In 2007, at the direction of the Mayor and
with the endorsement of the City Council and approval of the Historic
Preservation Commission, it was decided to restore the fountain, which had
fallen into disrepair. Led by City Public Works Engineer, Lily Openshaw,
monument restoration experts and trained technicians performed careful rinsing
and re-pointing, repairing and resealing of the stonework and refinishing of the
fountain s basin. A water-conserving circulation system was installed in
the newly refurbished fountain.
Funding for the project was provided by the City of
Annapolis, supplemented by grant funding from the Four Rivers Heritage Area and
Maryland Heritage Areas Authority. In keeping with the original spirit of
private support from the community, the Southgate Memorial Fountain Restoration
Committee conducted a broad-based effort garnering $25,000 toward the project.
Led by Alderman Richard E. Israel and supported by Historic Annapolis
Foundation, a select group of major benefactors and generous community members
provided additional funding. |
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Posted:
May 15, 2008 |
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Arundel Students Advance to National History Day Contest |
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ADVANCERS TO THE NATIONAL HISTORY DAY
CONTEST:
SENIOR GROUP
EXHIBITS
Students:
Ashley Barnes, Thomas Galligan, Meighan Middleton, Claire Olechowski, Kelsey
Wallace
Topic:
Crisis in Cuba: The Bay of
Pigs Invasion
School:
St. Mary's High School
County:
Anne
Arundel County
Teacher:
Susan Hottle-Schultz
Winner of SPECIAL PRIZE IN MILITARY
HISTORY, sponsored by the Historical Miniatures Gaming
Society
SENIOR GROUP
PERFORMANCES
Students:
Montana
Geimer, Sarah Landis, Peter Milliken
Topic: May
Fifth, 1967
School:
Annapolis
High
School
County:
Anne
Arundel County
Teacher:
Kimberly Chiang
Teacher
Recognition: Michael Yuscavage, Arundel High
School
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Posted:
April 21, 2008 |
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Arbor Day Foundation Honors the City of Annapolis |
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For the 16th year, the City of Annapolis was named a Tree
City USA Community by the Arbor Day Foundation in association with the National
Association of State Foresters and the USDA Forest Service. To receive the
award, the City met four standards including maintaining a tree board or
department, a tree protection ordinance, a comprehensive community forestry
program, and an Arbor Day observance. Annapolis also received the Tree City USA
Growth Award for its efforts to fund tree-planting on private property. The City
of Annapolis strives to cover at least 50% of its surfaces with
trees. |
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Posted:
April 14, 2008 |
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May is "Preservation Month" in Annapolis |
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Historic Annapolis Foundation encourages all visitors and residents of
Annapolis to
keep their eyes posted this May. In celebration of Preservation Month,
historically themed posters will take their place in storefronts along
Main
Street to highlight the evolution of these buildings.
Posters will be up May 1-31. |
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Posted:
March 10, 2008 |
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Exhibit Featuring Fishing and Country Club Era at Shady Side Museum |
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'For
Fishing, Family and Fun: Seven Decades of Communal Living by the Chesapeake Bay,' a
new exhibit featuring extensive research
conducted by the Shady Side Rural Heritage Society into the occupancy of the
Captain Salem Avery House Museum building from
1924 to 1989 by the National Masonic Fishing and Country Club, opened on
Sunday, April 27. The Museum is
located at 1418 EW Shady Side Road, and there is no admission charge.
The
professionally mounted exhibit features 15 panels - or Story Boards - with
photographs and quotes depicting various aspects of the Club's activities. In addition to the panels, there are displays
and artifacts. A catalog is
available with complete exhibit text and three essays, including a memoir by
Paul Foer and scholarly essays by Jeffrey T. Coster and Ilana Abramovitch.
Former Shady Side Rural Heritage Society Director Janet Surrett took the lead in
securing four grants to research and tell this little known but nationally
significant story. For more
information, call (410) 867 4486, or visit the Museum's web site, www.averyhouse.org.
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Posted:
March 05, 2008 |
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"Seeking Liberty" Exhibition Opens at the Banneker-Douglass Museum |
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The Banneker-Douglass Museum has opened its
new exhibit, 'Seeking Liberty: Annapolis, an Imagined Community,' an archaeology
exhibit featuring artifacts excavated in some of Annapolis' most historic sites,
never before displayed in a single, comprehensive presentation. Celebrating three centuries of African American and
European heritage, the Banneker-Douglass Museum is hosting this exhibition as its way of
commemorating the 300th Anniversary of the signing of
Annapolis Royal Charter. The exhibit investigates and
celebrates the 'quest for liberty' in Annapolis. There is also a comprehensive
website devoted to the exhibit, complete with an exhibit 'blog,' at http://www.bsos.umd.edu/anth/aia/seeking_liberty/.
One of the most interesting pieces in the exhibition is a piece
of printer's type depicting a 'Death's Head,' which was excavated at the Jonas
Green House in Annapolis and is on loan from HistoryQuest. The image was used to
protest the Stamp Act in 1765.
The exhibit will run through November 29. The
Banneker-Douglass Museum is located in the old Mount Moriah A.M.E. Church at 84
Franklin Street in Annapolis (off Church Circle in the Annapolis historic
district). The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Admission is free.
Parking is available by shuttle from the Naval
Academy Stadium parking lot, and there are nearby commercial parking garages and
limited on-street parking. For more information, contact the museum by telephone
at (410) 216-6180, fax at (410) 974-2553, or email at BDMPrograms@mdp.state.md.us. |
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Posted:
February 26, 2008 |
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New Heritage Library Collection at Anne Arundel Archaeology Lab |
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A new heritage library
collection sponsored by Anne Arundel County Public Library (AACPL) is open to
the public at the Anne Arundel County Archaeology Lab at
Historic
London
Town in
Edgewater, Maryland.
This
growing special reference collection encompasses over 360 specialized books
devoted to the material culture of the 17th and 18th centuries, with an emphasis
on works related to our county's earliest history. These volumes are
available for on-site public use and scholarly research at the lab
facility. Internet access to JSTOR, a digitized collection of thousands of
journal articles is also available.
The heritage library is available by
appointment only. The archaeology lab is generally open to the public
Monday-Friday between 9:00 am-3:00
pm. Please call the
lab at 410-222-1318 if you have questions concerning how to access this special
collection. The lab is located at Historic
London
Town,
839 Londontown
Road, Edgewater, MD
21037. |
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Posted:
December 28, 2007 |
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Annapolis Maritime Museum Launches ‘Chesapeake Champions’ Initiative |
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The Annapolis Maritime Museum recently completed the first phase
of a new education initiative, Chesapeake Champions, a year-long Title One
Extended Day program launched in October with a $10,000 grant from Bank of
America. Through three six-week
sessions, more than 100 students from Eastport Elementary
School are connecting to the environment and culture of the
Chesapeake Bay through hands-on, life-changing
activities that are a direct application of their school curricula in reading,
math, and science.
Each week the students
measure water temperature, salinity, and clarity; they observe, measure,
and document the Museum's terrapins and oysters; and account for funds they are
raising to support the upkeep of the terrapins. The first six weeks included a boat ride on the Bay the first for
a third of the children an in-depth exploration of oysters and terrapins,
meeting a working waterman, and writing their own Bay-inspired song with
folklorist and song-writer Janie Meneely. At the end of each session students record facts and their
thoughts in observation logs, which their teachers review and respond to with
thought-provoking questions and comments. The next six-week session starts in
late January. |
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Posted:
November 29, 2007 |
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Explorer's Guide Recognized with HAF 2007 Preservation Award |
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The heritage area’s new publication, Discover Four Rivers: A History Explorer’s
Guide, was recognized at Historic Annapolis Foundation’s annual meeting and
awards ceremony with the 2007 Community Service Preservation Award. The attractive 30-page guide was
designed in tandem with a detailed map of the area with 130 listings of historic
buildings, monuments and sites, with support from the Maryland Heritage Areas
Authority, Anne Arundel
County and the City of Annapolis. The booklet
features lively photos and illustrations on every page and describes thematic
“trails” that the history explorer can follow to learn about our area’s rich
history and heritage. Order your copy today ($8, plus $2 S/H) by calling our
office at 410-222-1805. |
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Posted:
November 20, 2007 |
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Four Rivers Mini Grant Suports Archeological Discovery in Fairhaven |
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In
March of 2007, Anne Arundel
County's Lost Towns Project
discovered the location of the circa 1700 home of the Samuel Chew family of
Herring Creek Hundred. A Four Rivers Heritage Area Mini-Grant awarded to the
Anne Arundel County Trust for Preservation supported historical research and
archaeological fieldwork related to the search. Members of the Deale Area
Historical Society also assisted with this effort, providing volunteer help and
historical background. Several
generations of the Samuel Chew family resided in a substantial brick home
situated on property originally owned by Samuel Chew, a close associate of Lord
Baltimore and a founder of the circa 1660 town of Herrington.
In
the course of excavating the Chew home site at present-day Fairhaven, the Lost Towns
Project
archaeologists uncovered a stone foundation that measures 66 x 66 feet or 4,356
square
feet. Incredibly, a two-story brick structure with these dimensions is bigger
than better-known historic
mansions such as Tulip Hill or Mount Clare. Once
one of the great mansions of the Chesapeake, the Chew home was virtually
forgotten following its destruction in a 1772 fire. This large brick building
also occupied one of the highest spots in South County,
which made it plainly visible when approaching from the Chesapeake Bay. Ceramics
such as Rhenish stoneware, Delftware, creamware, and pearlware suggest
that the house probably dates to 1700 and was occupied until the late 18th
century.
Personal
artifacts reflect the wealth of the Chew family, including a fragment of an
English Borderware candlestick (only the second candlestick ever recovered by
the project), a crystal wine glass stem with a swirled white pattern, and an
olive-green glass wine bottle seal marked 'S. Chew'.
Excavations at the Samuel Chew family home represent one of
the more ambitious research projects undertaken by the Lost Towns Project. Much
more historical research, archaeological fieldwork, and laboratory processing
and analysis needs to be carried out before this fascinating site can be fully
understood. Students and the public can help with this project by
volunteering in the field, archives and archaeology lab. To join, please call
the Lost Towns Project offices at 410-222-7440 or the project's laboratory at
410-222-1318. |
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Posted:
November 20, 2007 |
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The "Big Read" Comes to Annapolis |
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Annapolis Alive! has been
awarded a $40,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to conduct a
city wide reading of The Great
Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The program is to be conducted in the
Spring of 2008 as part of the 300th anniversary of the city charter and the Big
Read, a nationwide reading initiative. The Big Read is an initiative of the
National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) designed to restore reading to the center
of American culture. The NEA presents the Big Read in partnership with the
Institute of Museum of Library Services and in cooperation with Arts Midwest.
F. Scott Fitzgerald is related to,
and named after, St.
John's College graduate Francis Scott Key.
St
John's
College, Anne Arundel County Library
System, the City of Annapolis and the City of Annapolis Royal,
Canada, will be joining in creating the programming. |
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Posted:
June 26, 2007 |
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Shady Side Rural Heritage Society Launches Education Site about Watermen and the Chesapeake Bay |
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The Shady Side Rural Heritage Society has launched
a new website, 'Seasons of a Chesapeake Bay Waterman,' that contains extensive
educational materials for teachers and students studying the history and ecology
of the Chesapeake Bay. The site offers a 139-page activity
guide for educators, which can be downloaded as a whole or browsed by individual
sections or topics. The online version of the activity guide was financed in
part with a Mini Grant from Four Rivers Heritage Area. Visit the site at
www.chesapeakewaterman.org.
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Posted:
June 12, 2007 |
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Maryland Byways Program Features 19 Byways with FREE Map and Guide |
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Maryland has designated 19 byways that encompass
2,487 miles of beautiful roads, which offer a taste of Maryland s scenic beauty,
history and culture. Take the roads less traveled including four entirely new
byways featuring nationally significant themes: the Star-Spangled Banner,
Antietam Campaign, Booth s Escape and the Mason and Dixon byways. Anne Arundel
and Calvert Counties are home to the newly-expanded 'Roots and Tides'
Byway, that runs 47 miles from Annapolis to Plum Point and features the scenic
historic South County landmarks of the Four Rivers Heritage Area.
A 176-page guidebook featuring Maryland's Byways,
developed by the Maryland SHA in partnership with Maryland's office of Tourism
development and the National Scenic Byways program, has just been
published, and will be available free of charge to the public at Welcome
Centers and other centers for visitor information.
To link to the State Highway Administration's
Maryland Byways map, click here. |
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