Historic Baldwin Hall

 

Dear Friends of Historic Baldwin Hall,

Spring is here, finally! The flowers, bushes and trees at Historic Baldwin Hall are starting to bloom and every day it gets prettier and prettier. We are so blessed to have this beautiful property and historic buildings in our community. I would like to take this opportunity to share with you some of what's happening at the Hall. Thanks to an amazing group of Trustees for the Severn Cross Roads Foundation, we were able to get a lot of things done during the last two years while things were quiet.

Grants and Fundraising

Due to covid, activity at the the Hall has been very limited and it is just starting to pick up. Of course, that has greatly impacted our revenue. However, the Trustees have worked very hard to apply for grants and have been fortunate enough to receive a MD Humanities Council Grant, a Preservation Maryland Heritage Fund Grant, a Unity Gardens grant, an Anne Arundel Economic Development Grant and a Community Crisis Response Fund Grant.This past fall we were finally able to hold a Craft Fair/Flea Market on the grounds and we look forward to bringing back our traditional Crab Feast, our Wine, Cheese & Chocolate event and some other fundraisers in the coming months.

Repairs and Updates

One result of our grants activity has been the ability to make the needed repairs and updates to the Hall. We have been very fortunate to have Chris Graae, an expert on historical buildings, to guide us with plans to keep the Hall in top condition. Thanks to Scott Blackketter and Blackketter Craftsmen, we have been able to reinforce the ceiling in the hall and correct a problem with sagging and also add insulation to help with our energy costs. We were also able to refinish the floors and make repairs to some of the windows where wood was starting to rot. We recently had three toilets installed on the main level and a new injector pump installed in the basement.

On the exterior, we have removed some overgrown plants and damaged tree limbs and we have added native plants on the General Highway side of the building.

Marvin Anderson Memorial

As many of you know, our long-time friend, Marvin "Bud" Anderson, passed away last year. Mr. Anderson was instrumental as one of the leaders of the group that organized and raised funds needed to move Historic Charles W. Baldwin Hall across Generals Highway to its present-day location on Millersville Road. Over the years he continued to be a staunch advocate for Historic Baldwin Hall and the replica Schoolhouse which he helped to build on the property. He also established the Cora Anderson Delaney History Room and library in the upper level of the Schoolhouse. In his memory, the Anderson/Reinhart family has donated a beautiful Kansan Cherry Tree at the at the front of the Baldwin Hall property.

New Challenge

We have recently learned that the HVAC system for the Hall needs to be replaced at the cost of nearly $20,000. Unfortunately, we do not have a grant to help us pay for this essential system. So we are asking for special donations to help us cover the cost. A generous benefactor has started us off with a $1,000 gift and has offered to match another $1,000 in donations towards this project. Your help with this fundraising effort would be greatly appreciated.

Support Severn Cross Roads Foundation

Historic Baldwin Hall, the Schoolhouse and the surrounding grounds are a treasure for our community. Over the years, thousands of people have celebrated weddings, memorial services, birthdays, graduations and retirement parties in our historic buildings and on our grounds. The Trustees are dedicated to keeping this space in excellent condition for community use for many years to come. But we really need your help.

If you have already joined the Severn Cross Roads Foundation, thank you. If you have not, please consider joining now and encouraging other family members and friends to join as well. A membership application/renewal form is included in this newsletter. Or you can join or donate online using the PayPal account on our website at www.baldwinhall.org. Your dues and donations are greatly appreciated and are crucially necessary to insure that Baldwin Hall continues to be a resource for future community celebrations.

Enjoy the beautiful Spring weather! Again, thank you for supporting Historic Baldwin Hall. We hope that you can join us in the coming year for one of our community activities.

Sincerely,
Janice Crowe, President
Severn Cross Roads Foundation, Inc.

Upcoming Events:
Crab Feast Fundraiser, Sunday, September 25, 2022
Craft Show/Flea Market Fundraiser, Sunday, October 2, 2022
Wine, Cheese & Chocolate Fundraiser, Saturday, March 4, 2023

 

So Much History to Share

On March 17, the Cross Roads Schoolhouse hosted the 3rd Grade class of Ms. Willa Cooke from the Severn Run Homeschool Academy. The students received a tour of the 1840's school room and the Cora Delaney Library. They also were able to see the location of the Time Capsule, to be opened in the
year 2061.
 

BSA Troop 192 participated in Wreaths Over America 2021 at the Veteran's Cemetery in Crownsville. The Scouts assisted by placing Wreaths on the graves, showing respect to all our Veterans. Currently, the Troop is meeting virtually and in outdoor settings due to the rise in Covid cases. We will have an Outdoor Movie night and an outdoor cooking night. If you know a girl aged 
11-17 who would like to join us for our next adventure, contact Scoutmaster Annie Medford at damedford@aol.com.

News from Chesapeake Harmony Chorus-

Chesapeake Harmony Chorus was thrilled to begin rehearsing in person again at Historic Baldwin Hall last fall. We performed a holiday set at Greater Severna Park and Arnold Chamber of Commerce Holiday Taste and Sip event on December 9th. In March we enjoyed an all-day session at the hall with two great coaches. After two cancelled Sweet Adelines Regional Competitions, we are preparing a video for submission to this years convention in April. We have continued to look out for the health and safety of our members by wearing masks while singing indoors.

We stayed busy in the past two years, beginning with Zoom rehearsals. Later, our drive-in "Carbershop" rehearsals gave us a chance to sing together in person, with everyone in the safety of their own cars using individual microphones connected to a mixing board. While we missed performing live, we completed a virtual choir recording of Happy Holidays in December 2020.

Women of all ages and singing experience are welcome to join us! Consider visiting a Wednesday night rehearsal. For more information visit http://chesapeakeharmony.org/ or find us on
Meet Up.

The Kansan Cherry Tree above was donated by the Anderson/ Reinhart family as a memorial to Marvin "Bud" Anderson It will frame Historic Baldwin Hall with beautiful blooms in the years to come and be enjoyed by our community. 
 

From Trustee, Joyce Rosencranz

The beautiful Charles W. Baldwin Hall, slated for demolition by its church owners, was rescued by caring and generous residents. Severn Cross Roads Foundation (SCRF) was established in 1980 to assume stewardship of this historic treasure.

As evaluated by our Professional Historical Consultant, Mr Christoffer Graae, determined that the Hall is in remarkable condition, having been relocated twice since its founding. The SCRF initial application for the Preservation Maryland Historic Grant was rejected as not definitive enough. Mr. Graae consulted with us pro bono, to determine that a building of Baldwin Hall  stature will greatly benefit from a Historic Resourses Evaluation to evaluate the specific needs . In November 2020 he identified EHT/Traceries of Washington, DC. This was led by Principal Laura Hughes, as the qualified firm with extensive expertise in historic preservation to conduct this needed assessment. 

This Phase 1 effort comprehensively surveyed both interior and exterior conditions and assessed the needs.They donated in-kind $2K of project management time to reduce the cost of their proposal. They prioritized the load of the historical plaster ceiling on a tin ceiling as a critical issue The original wood windows were identified for restoration. Externally, vegetation adjacent to the building were identified for replacement to protect the foundation.
Trustee, Anne Agee, sponsored the EHT Preservation Assessment contract cost

The Trustees decided to pursue these Capital improvement projects via Grants, donations, volunteers and maintenance budget expenditures. Our second Preservation Maryland Historic Grant for ceiling stabilization was then successful. 

Mr. Graae has donated over 80 hours as a professional historic consultant to initially evaluate the Hall, educate the Trustees and advise on this journey to preserve our treasured gem. He guided the Trustees and worked with our contractors and volunteers for the projects we implemented. 

Mr. Matthew Daw, Senior Principal of SGH donated 18 hours of professional time to collaborate on the building condition.

In 2021, Mr. David Baldwin of American Cedar and Millwork installed three new historically comparable windows in an addition at a discounted cost of $10K. A descendant of the Baldwin family, he also donated the materials and labor to finish off the casings and trim.

Our local Watershed Steward Academy Restoration Technician, Rob Pavlik, Replant AA County Lead, Josh Yetter Clark and Outreach Coordinator Noelle Chao donated many hours to advise on the replacement of overgrown vegetation with native shrubs and planting 15 native trees. Our Scout Troop and volunteers planted the trees.

Scott Blackketter and Blackketter Craftsmen performed the ceiling work. We are fortunate to have the historic building professionals,
Chris Graae and Scott Blackketter on our team to advise and guide us on our Preservation journey..