Events

The Only Revolutionary War Battle in Maryland (St. George Island)

Commissioners Meeting Room, Chesapeake Building, 41770 Baldridge St, Leonardtown, MD 20650

Join Preservation Maryland President and CEO, Nicholas Redding, to learn about Maryland's only Revolutionary War Battle, its impact, and the often overlooked  tale of the Battle of St. George Island.

Nicholas has led the organization since 2014, and oversees the operations, programs and growing professional staff. Since his arrival he has overseen a complex merger and the subsequent creation of Smart Growth Maryland, a dynamic new program of the organization. Additionally, he has worked in partnership with the National Park Service’s Historic Preservation Training Center to establish the Campaign for Historic Trades, a new program dedicated to developing the next generation of traditional tradespeople. Outside of the organization, he serves as the vice-chair of the National Preservation Partners Network, the national network of statewide and local preservation organizations. Previously he has served as the chair of the Maryland Partners for Open Space, the statewide open space advocacy coalition, and also served as the vice-chair of the Frederick County Historic Preservation Commission. Prior to arriving at Preservation Maryland, he served in leadership positions at several heritage and preservation organizations including Executive Director of Long Branch Plantation, a 19th century historic site in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, and as Deputy Director for Advocacy at the Civil War Trust in Washington, DC. During time spent at the Civil War Trust, Redding led a national coalition to prevent the construction of a casino on the iconic Gettysburg battlefield. Prior to the Trust, he served as a Park Ranger at Gettysburg National Military Park and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park. He is a graduate of West Virginia’s Shepherd University and lives outside of Frederick, Maryland with his wife, daughter, and two beagles.

Historic Barns of Southern Maryland

Chesapeake Building, 41770 Baldridge St. Leonardtown Maryland

Dependence on tobacco shaped the social, economic, and physical development of the five Southern Maryland counties for more than 300 years, spanning from their founding until its demise by the end of the 20th century.  The Southern Maryland Tobacco Barn Survey is a two-year project aimed at identifying and documenting the dwindling numbers of the region’s surviving pre-1870 air-cured tobacco barns.  The survey is a partnership between the University of Maryland and the Maryland Historical Trust, supported by an award to the university from the MHT Non-Capital Grant Fund.  Dr. Dennis Pogue and Chris Bryan, project staff working for the University, will share their findings and offer new insights into both the past and the future of these iconic features of the cultural landscape. This presentation is sponsored by the St. Mary's County Historic Preservation Commission.