May 2022

Dear Preservationist subscriber,

Each May, we mark national Historic Preservation Month by taking the opportunity to celebrate preservation successes and promote the diverse projects underway in our Historic Preservation Office. We hope you join us for these upcoming programs and take the opportunity to read about our work in progress!

Montgomery Planning’s staff archaeologist Brian Crane works on the county’s Burial Sites Inventory.

Montgomery Planning is proud to co-sponsor, “Preserving Legacies: Resources for Reconciliation,” a virtual symposium on May 14 organized by Montgomery County’s Commission on Remembrance and Reconciliation. The program will provide resources for the preservation of African American historical and cultural legacies for communities who have suffered historical racial inequities. The event is held in remembrance of three known victims of lynching in Montgomery County, Mr. George W. Peck and Mr. John Diggs-Dorsey in 1880, and Mr. Sidney Randolph in 1896.

Montgomery Planning’s staff archaeologist Brian Crane is a panelist for “Cemeteries and Burial Grounds – Discovery and Documentation” and will discuss tools for locating and preserving family burial grounds.

Please join us for this important symposium on Saturday, May 14 from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The program is free, but attendees must register in advance. Register and view the symposium agenda.  

The Clipper Family Cemetery, one of many burial sites in Montgomery County’s Burial Sites Inventory.

On May 26, Historic Preservation staff will present several important updates to the Montgomery County Planning Board.

Historic Preservation Office program supervisor Rebeccah Ballo will present the Historic Preservation Annual Report to the Planning Board. The presentation will highlight the program’s accomplishments in the 2021 calendar year. View last year’s report.

Brian Crane will present the annual briefing on updates to the Montgomery County Burial Sites Inventory and the Planning Board will hold a public hearing on the proposed updates. Read Brian’s recent Third Place Blog post on his ongoing work to locate lost Montgomery County cemeteries.

Keep an eye on the Planning Board’s agenda page to view the forthcoming staff reports and tune into the meeting livestream to view the presentations.

Graduate student intern Karen Yee highlights her work on the AAPI Heritage Project in a new Third Place Blog post.

In case you missed it: Last Thursday, staff provided an update to the Planning Board on the county’s first Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Project. The Planning Board also issued a proclamation recognizing the county’s Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander residents for their contributions to Montgomery County. View the staff report and watch the briefing on demand (starts at 1:21:00).

Graduate student intern Karen Yee highlighted her work on the project in a recent blog post that explores her personal connection to the project as an Asian American who grew up in Montgomery County.

Read now: “Honoring my heritage: How Montgomery Planning’s Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Project brought me closer to my family.”