St. Mary's County museum division outlines sites, preservation plans

Deborah Pence, a representative of the St. Mary's County Museum Division, told the Department of Recreation and Parks board on Dec. 5 that the division manages four historic sites and is preparing for an accreditation review and several preservation projects.

Pence said the division "does take care of 4 separate sites," listing the Drayton African American Schoolhouse, the St. Clement's Island Museum and annex, the Piney Point Lighthouse Museum and the Little Red Schoolhouse. She said the division operates with a small staff and serves a substantial annual audience: "we're still serving over 50,000 visitors a year," she said.

The overview described each site and recent work. The Drayton African American Schoolhouse (built in 1895) came under museum care in 1990 and later received interpretive panels developed with a local research group. The St. Clement's Island Museum (founded in the 1970s) houses four galleries and the division's main offices and a 2,500-square-foot collections management facility opened in 2009–2010. Piney Point Lighthouse Museum was deeded to the county in 1990; Pence said it remains under periodic review by the National Park Service and that the division reports to the service every two years on stewardship of the lighthouse.

Pence described partnerships and collections stewardship. The division coordinates with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the Maryland Historical Trust on island access, interpretive signage and preservation work. She said the division is custodian and interpreter for the U-1105 "Black Panther" submarine underwater preserve and communicates with the Maryland Historic Trust and diving groups about that site.

On emergency planning, Pence said the division prepares early for major storms and has plans to move artifacts to higher floors or off-site storage when needed. She described ad-hoc support in past storms — local farmers providing wagons, use of county detention-center crews for maintenance, and arrangements with local schools and private storage when necessary. She said the museum community also shares conservation teams that can respond after major events.

Pence said the division is preparing for reaccreditation by the American Association of Museums (national accreditation) and is focused on updating exhibit galleries and completing preservation work at Piney Point, including sealing exterior building envelopes and installing HVAC and lighting for additional exhibit space. She said the division is a staff of four and is pursuing exhibit design updates through the county capital-improvement process.

Pence closed by promoting current programming: a doll and train show and the Piney Point Lighthouse Museum's historic-Christmas program, and by giving public-contact phone numbers for St. Clement's Island and Piney Point.

The presentation prompted questions from board members about emergency storage and the pace of preservation work. Pence said the division maintains electronic and paper collections inventories and coordinates with county and regional partners when temporary storage is required.

The division did not present or request any formal board action during the meeting. The board and staff will continue planning for exhibit updates and the accreditation review scheduled by the division.