The Queen Anne’s County Commissioners recently unveiled their newest tool for promotion and marketing of local history with the publication of the Historic Sacred Sites of Queen Anne’s County. The compiled inventory of religious sites has an intrinsic historic and cultural value and is also important in its potential economic benefits for the region.
The spiral bound volume is a collaborative effort of the county Department of Economic Development, Agriculture and Tourism, the Historic Sites Consortium, Stories of the Chesapeake Heritage Area, Eastern Shore Heritage Inc. and the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority.
“We used 1925 and before as our guideline and there were originally supposed to be about 25 to 30 entries, but I don’t think people realize how many historic churches we have,” said Cynthia Schmidt, genealogist and avid history buff who, along with colleague Trish Surles, tirelessly researched and cataloged the book.
Schmidt said because this was a pilot project, it took time to come up with a plan for research. She and Surles spent hours searching land records, church history and vestry minutes, archives and newspapers in order to come up with an accurate a history as possible, she said.
“It really was a tremendous project…we were researching the facts only, this was not a church history but a survey,” said Schmidt, “and we tried to list everything attached to a particular church.”
There are 135 sites documented in the collection, many with detailed accounts gleaned from the various records, as well as photographs and a full color map to help guide visitors. In the back both an alphabetical and denominational index are included to assist those interested in finding a specific site.
“Queen Anne’s County is a true leader (with the publication of this collection)…there is a growing enthusiasm for church and cemetery tourism and we look forward to seeing more good things come from this county,” said Elizabeth Watson, director of Eastern Shore Heritage Inc, in presenting the Commissioners with a certificate of appreciation.
“We appreciate the efforts of everyone who worked on this project. This collection will encourage visitors and residents to explore the religious history of the county and the region, as well as educating people about the importance of historic preservation,” said Barbara Siegert, Tourism Manager for Queen Anne’s County’s Department of Economic Development, Agriculture and Tourism.
Copies of the collection are available at The Liberty Building in Centreville, the Chesapeake Exploration Center in Chester and at both branches of the Queen Anne’s County Free Library.