Summer/Fall 2024

Dear Friends of the Severn Cross Roads Foundation,
2024 is off to a great start for the Foundation.

Thanks to our wonderful Scouts and our hardworking caretaker and trustees, we were able to do a lot of
clean-up on our grounds including painting the schoolhouse and putting down new gravel on our
parking lot.

We joined with dozens of other county organizations to celebrate Maryland Day with an Open House at
the Cross Roads Schoolhouse. Julie Reinhart and Sarah Griffith acted as our docents to explain 19th -
century education to our visitors.

We hosted our popular Wine, Cheese and Chocolate event in April and were happy to welcome many of
our neighbors to our beautifully decorated hall for a pleasant evening with good wine and good friends.

In June, we celebrated the 43rd anniversary of Historic Baldwin Hall’s move to its present location with the unveiling of brand-new interpretive signage showing the history of the Severn Cross Roads community.

We have been fortunate to receive two grants this year, one from the Maryland Historical Trust and one
from the Maryland Legislative Bond Initiative. We will be using the funds to restore our beautiful arched
windows and fix some drainage issues on the grounds.

Looking ahead, we are planning a fun evening in December making a lighted sea glass tree just in
time for the holidays.

More details about all of this elsewhere in the newsletter.

If you are not yet a member of the Foundation, please consider joining us. Membership information is
available on our website: https://www.baldwinhall.org/membership-application If you are already a member, consider serving as a trustee. We have a lot of upcoming projects that can use your skills.

Thanks for all that you do to support the Severn Cross Roads Foundation. We depend on your support
to keep Historic Baldwin Hall and the Cross Roads Schoolhouse available as community treasures. We
hope to see you at Historic Baldwin Hall for one or more of our community events.

Anne Scrivener Agee
President, The Severn Cross Roads Foundation

Updates at Historic Baldwin Hall

It has been another busy year at Historic Baldwin Hall as we continue our preservation efforts. You may remember that last summer, Exquisite Painting spent many weeks providing a facelift to our community treasure. The main hall received two coats of fresh white paint. In addition, the louvered shutters received some much-needed repair, new hardware and paint.

This spring, Boucher Landscaping did a fabulous job of pruning the existing plantings and giving our grounds a seasonal clean-up. They continue to provide excellent weekly maintenance for our historic property.

Later in the spring, Exquisite Painting returned to refresh the exterior of the schoolhouse. The exterior was cleaned, prepped and painted. It now stands proudly next to the freshly painted hall of which we are all very proud.

Recently, our parking area was groomed, and new stone was added to smooth out the lot. These improvements will make it easier to access the property.

If you have driven past the hall in recent weeks, you will notice that a new sign has been placed on the corner of General’s Highway and Millersville Road. It has been constructed with attention to historic design and it displays the groups that currently use the hall on a regular basis. The sign also shares the 1861 construction date, so that those who pass by will realize the long history of this building in our community. This sign graces our property along with the new historic signage that was unveiled on June 9.

Grant Activity in 2024

Grant from the Maryland Historical Trust

SCRF was very fortunate to receive a Capital Grant for $34,000 from the Maryland Historical Trust (MHT). The funds will go toward repairing a drainage issue behind Historic Baldwin that has led to some damage at the back of the building and toward restoring our lovely windows. The 24 historic windows are in need of various degrees of re-glazing, repair, repainting, and restaining in order to bring them to top condition. We are also considering adding some kind of clear panel on the exterior to protect the windows from further damage. MHT holds an easement on Historic Baldwin Hall, so they will be working very closely with us to ensure the historic integrity of any work that we do. We hope to be able to begin work on the drainage project in the near future and on the windows sometime later this year.

Legislative Bond Initiative Funding

They say that “three times is the charm.” After applying in two previous years for an LBI award from the Maryland General Assembly, without success, this year SCRF received $25,000 in funding from the state for our historic windows. The windows are described as tall, narrow, double hung, nine-over-nine, arched “Gothic Style.” We have already begun working with consultants who are knowledgeable in historic window restoration. This LBI request was sponsored by Maryland State Senator Bryan Simonaire. SCRF is extremely grateful for his support.

Recent Events

Wine, Cheese and Chocolate Fundraiser

Neighbors, friends, and family gathered at Historic Baldwin Hall on Saturday, April 27th for the annual Wine, Cheese and Chocolate Fundraiser to benefit Severn Cross Roads Foundation. There was lots of excitement leading up to the event, and the evening did not disappoint! About 70 people enjoyed fabulous food and live music all evening. Our silent auction was a big hit, raising over $1,100 for the hall. The wheelbarrow of cheer auction was a new addition this year and was well received by those who attended! The 50/50 raffle added even more excitement to the evening. All wine was again donated by
Tina Serio of General’s Wine and Spirits. This donation made a huge difference in the funds we raised from this event. The trustees would like to thank all those who attended this year and supported our fundraiser. We are already making plans for another Wine, Cheese and Chocolate event on March 15, 2025. You won’t want to miss it!

Happy Re-Birthday, Historic Baldwin Hall

On June 9, we celebrated the 43rd anniversary of Historic Baldwin Hall’s move to its current location and the unveiling of brand-new signage highlighting the history of the Severn Cross Roads community. We enjoyed hearing from both Anne Arundel County Council Member Lisa Rodvien and Dr. Carol Benson of the Chesapeake Crossroads Heritage Area, which helped fund our new sign. The Chesapeake Harmony Chorus provided musical entertainment, and Scout Troops 804 and 192 provided a stirring flag-raising ceremony. There were exhibits on the history of Charles W. Baldwin Hall, tours of the 1840 Cross Roads Schoolhouse, and cupcakes!