Sykesville curator outlines town participation in Maryland 250 celebration

Adrienne Smith, gatehouse curator for the Gatehouse Museum, told the Sykesville mayor and town council on Nov. 12 that the town will “work alongside our community partners in the promotion and celebration of the last 250 years of growth and transformation,” and described how the municipality could join the statewide Maryland 250 effort.

Smith said the Maryland 250 commission “is about the celebration of 1776” and noted the state guidance frames the observance to include the Revolutionary era through the War of 1812. She gave the council a QR code and a handout linking to the Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area and to state-level resources for local programming.

Why it matters: Smith said organizers are trying to avoid one-off events and instead encourage a sustained “civic season” of programs – for example expanding Juneteenth–July 4 civic activity and embedding educational and service opportunities into ongoing local programming. She said the state issued an initial executive order in January 2021 that was revised in 2023 and that the commission has staff and monthly meetings for participating organizations.

Smith outlined partners and resources the town could tap, including Preservation Maryland, the National Park Service’s Chesapeake Bay Gateways program, and the Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area (director Emily Huebner). She identified Michelle Johnson as the state-level staff lead for Maryland 250 and said Carroll County has branded its local initiative “Carroll Voices America 22 250,” with county-level programming and a student-produced symbol.

Smith suggested several near-term local steps: publicizing state resources, developing a town-level statement of intent, connecting with county forums (the next county forum she cited is Dec. 4 in Westminster), and hosting a Carroll County community forum in March at the Eldersburg Library. She also said museum programming and civic events such as a proposed “Civics Day” on an investiture date in May are being considered.

Smith said the Gatehouse plans to examine local historical materials — including a schoolteacher’s mid-20th-century instructional materials — to identify stories previously omitted from local narratives and to consider how to make programming inclusive. She also noted practical limits and opportunities at the county and state levels: many county and Westminster programs are not scheduled until 2026, and the state initiative encourages projects that will persist beyond 2026.

Council members asked about who runs the state effort and how Carroll County is organizing; Smith said the state staff holds regular Google Meet sessions and that Laurel Bankert at the Historical Society of Carroll County is a county contact. She invited council and residents to join the listed forums and to use the QR code for links and contact information.

Looking ahead, Smith said the Gatehouse and the town will continue to develop ideas and return to commissions — she specifically noted an upcoming historic district commission meeting where she will expand on built-environment and “power of place” themes.