Annapolis London Town & South County Heritage Area

Maryland’s Heritage Areas are locally-designated and State-certified regions where public and private partners make commitments to preserving historical, cultural and natural resources for sustainable economic development through heritage tourism.  At the local level, Heritage Areas focus community attention on often under-appreciated aspects of history, living culture, and distinctive natural areas, thus fostering a stronger sense of pride in the places where Marylanders live and work. Four Rivers is the only entity through which heritage-related nonprofit organizations and municipalities within its borders are eligible for matching Maryland Heritage Areas Authority (MHAA) grants and low interest business loans. Since certification, ALTSCHA has brought more than $2.5 million in matched program and project grants, including one low interest loan to a heritage tourism business, resulting in total leverage of $8.3 million for heritage organizations and projects. 

The Heritage Area operates a mini-grant program each year from an annual mini-grant fund of $20,000. Mini-grants are awarded up to $2,500 (must be fully matched) to deserving heritage area partner organizations, local governments, and other heritage-related entities.

 Some projects funded through the mini-grant program include:

• A walking tour of Eastport 
• Development of a historic kayak tour of Spa Creek, and another of the Rhode River
• A virtual reconstruction of the Rumney and Long, a historic ship ca. 1747, in 3D for the Discover London Town! exhibit at Historic London Town and Gardens
• A cellphone tour for the “Annapolis: Centuries of Community” exhibit
• The Passport to Discovery, a children’s activity booklet by the Chesapeake Children’s Museum
• “I Dig Galesville Roots,” a multi-generational African-American history and genealogy project (Kunta Kinte-Alex Haley Foundation with the Galesville Community Center Organization)
• The preservation of Francis Scott Key’s Last Will and Testament (St. John’s College)

Capital projects in the Heritage Area funded through the MHAA grant program include:

• Renovation of restrooms in Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts
• Restoration and rehabilitation of the historic Charles Carroll House
• Restoration and rehabilitation of the historic gardens and repair and painting of damaged exterior wood at the William Paca House
• Preservation and renovation of historic McNasby’s Oyster Packing Co. Building at Annapolis Maritime Museum
• Restoration of the Southgate Memorial Fountain in Annapolis
• Expansion of the Visitors Center on West  Street
• Reconstruction of a carpenter’s shop at Historic London Town and Gardens using traditional building methods
• Installation of new restrooms in the Historic London Town and Gardens visitor center
• Renovation of the 99 Main Street building, Historic Annapolis Foundation
• Reconstruction of the 17th-C Lord Mayor’s Tenement at Historic London Town and Gardens

Other Activities:

-- “Familiarization Tours” to South County heritage sites for key stakeholders, heritage site interpreters and docents, as well as visiting tourism and public relations professionals.

-- Workshops for interpreters in collaboration with Historic London Town and Gardens, Anne Arundel County Public Schools, and other key stakeholders.