Four Rivers: The Heritage Area of Annapolis, London Town & South County announces five new mini-grant awards resulting from its spring grant round. Made possible for the fifth year through financial support from Anne Arundel County, the City of Annapolis, and the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority, Four Rivers’ mini-grants assist local heritage-related non-profit organizations in developing new heritage and preservation-related programs, activities, products, and events. Mini-grant awards of up to $2,500 are available for projects within the heritage area that incorporate regional historic, cultural, and natural resources, collaborative partnerships, and the heritage area’s regional interpretive themes.
The Anne Arundel County Trust for Preservation/Lost Towns Project, in cooperation with the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, will receive $2,500 to support the development of a kayak tour entitled “Paddle Through History: A Cultural and Natural History Tour of the Rhode River.” The collaborative program will develop both a professionally guided paddling tour and a self-guided version available as waterproof tour cards with a map. The tour will tell a comprehensive story of the Rhode River ’s interrelated history and ecology, and will also result in a template that can be used for paddling tours of other Four Rivers locations.
The Annapolis Maritime Museum, in cooperation with the Anne Arundel County Trust for Preservation/Lost Towns Project, will receive $2,500 to support the development of a guided kayak tour, with an additional self-guided version, exploring the Back Creek shoreline. This collaborative heritage tourism program will encourage visitors and residents to experience the maritime history of Annapolis from a new perspective – from the water itself.
Galesville Heritage Society will receive $2,168 to create a new color brochure that highlights the many recent additions to the Galesville Heritage Museum, including the addition of six interpretive panels and native plant and wetland garden areas on the museum’s grounds, and new items recently added to the museum collection.
Historic Annapolis Foundation will receive $2,500 to update their “Architecture in Annapolis” brochure that describes each of the styles and periods featured in the HAF Historic Marker Program. Since 1969, the Marker Program has awarded markers to identify residential and commercial buildings of architectural integrity, encourage restoration and preservation, and educate the public about the city’s architectural heritage.
The London Town Foundation will receive $2,500 to redesign their website, www.historiclondontown.org, in order to encourage visitation to the site and highlight some of Historic London Town and Gardens’ major recent improvements, including the new visitor center facility that encompasses a museum, classroom, archaeology lab, and horticultural center, the recent expansion of the historic area, and new elements of the park’s woodland and ornamental gardens.
Four Rivers: The Heritage Area of Annapolis, London Town & South County, one of Maryland’s 11 certified heritage areas, is a partnership among the State of Maryland, Anne Arundel County, the City of Annapolis, the town of Highland Beach, and local historic sites, heritage organizations, and heritage-related businesses, to encourage economic vitality through historic preservation and heritage tourism. For more information, please contact Executive Director Carol Benson at 410-222-1805.
