Historic Eastern Shore Home Available For Curatorship

Open House to be held July 17

Warwick, MD (June 7, 2010) — The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announces the availability of a historic property known as the Old Bohemia House for restoration under the Resident-Curatorship Program. In exchange for a $1 per year lifetime lease, curators, who can be individuals or organizations, agree to restore and maintain the house and grounds according to historic preservation standards and at no cost to the state.

“The Resident-Curatorship Program has been a great example of public and private partnerships,” said Bruce Alexander, Manager of DNR’s Curatorships and Cultural Resources. “Curators benefit by restoring and living in an historic house on State park land, and the State benefits by preserving an important part of Maryland’s history at almost no cost to taxpayers.”

The Resident-Curatorship program requires interested parties to submit curatorship proposals to represent about $175,000 worth of improvements to the property, which must be completed within five to seven years. In addition, the curatorship is subject to regular inspection by state officials, and resident-curators must open the property to the public three to five times each year.

The Old Bohemia house dates from about 1840 and was built as a tenant house for those who farmed the adjacent land. The house and over 1,000 acres surrounding it were owned by the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits), and was purchased by the State in 2009 as part of the 4,500-acre acquisition of the Maryland Province Properties. Those ecologically and historically significant properties have a direct connection to the earliest colonial settlements of Maryland.

An open house will be held from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday, July 17 for those interested in learning more about the program. The property is located on the grounds of the Old Bohemia Wildlife Management Area at 300 Church Road, Warwick, Md.

Since 1982, the Resident-Curatorship Program has helped to preserve over 40 historic buildings on state parkland. For more information, call the program manager, Bruce Alexander at 410-260-8457, or visit the program website, which includes photographs and bid proposal guidelines: www.dnr.state.md.us/land/rcs/.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR), which celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2009, is the state agency responsible for providing natural and living resource-related services to citizens and visitors. DNR manages more than 467,000 acres of public lands and 17,000 miles of waterways, along with Maryland's forests, fisheries, and wildlife for maximum environmental, economic and quality of life benefits. A national leader in land conservation, DNR-managed parks and natural, historic, and cultural resources attract 12 million visitors annually. DNR is the lead agency in Maryland's effort to restore the Chesapeake Bay, the state's number one environmental priority. Learn more at www.dnr.maryland.gov