Will Create County Archaeology Collections Exhibits in St. Mary's and Washington Counties
CROWNSVILLE, Md. (September 27, 2010)—The Maryland Archaeological Conservation (MAC) Lab at Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum (JPPM) and the Maryland Historical Trust (MHT) received a $27,623 grant from the Department of Interior, National Park Service (NPS) through the Preserve America grant program, for a project entitled the County Archaeology Collections Exhibit (CACE) Project. The CACE project will create two public exhibitions, scheduled to open in 2011, that will bring archaeological objects held at the MAC Lab back home to their county of origin. Project partners include the St. Mary's County Public Libraries and the Washington County Historical Society.
As part of this project, objects excavated in St. Mary's and Washington Counties will be brought out of storage at the MAC Lab into public view along with interpretive materials and programs that will aid the public in understanding the rich messages of archaeological materials. In some instances, this will be the first time that the public will have an opportunity to see and understand this archaeological evidence.
"These exhibits provide us with a wonderful opportunity to showcase some of the state's most important archaeological sites," observed Patricia Samford, Director of the MAC Lab. "The lab holds more than eight million objects in trust for the citizens of Maryland. Here is an instance where the Lab, the Trust and county representatives are working together to assist the public in appreciating the importance of these historical resources."
The first of the two CACE exhibits will open at St. Mary's County's Lexington Park Library in February 2011, with the Washington County exhibit opening later in the year as a key element of the Washington County Historical Society's centennial celebration. Public programs will be created around these exhibitions with the assistance of the MAC Lab staff and representatives of the Archeological Society of Maryland and the Council for Maryland Archaeology.
Thirty-one Preserve America grants totaling $2.9 million were awarded during the first round of the 2010 grant competition. With these funds, communities and agencies support preservation efforts through heritage tourism, education, and historic preservation planning. Through these grant projects our country gains a greater shared knowledge about the Nation's past, strengthened regional identities and local pride, increased local participation in preserving the country's cultural and natural heritage assets, and support for the economic vitality of our communities.
For more information on this project, visit the St. Mary's County Library website at
www.stmalib.org or the Washington County Historical Society website at
rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mdwchs/. For more information about the MAC Lab, Maryland's state-of-the-art archaeological research, conservation, and curation facility located at Jefferson Patterson Park & Museum, go to
www.jefpat.org.
Source: Maryland Department of Planning