Fortunately, the historical barn and 1.44 acres of the nearly 40-acre original farm (appraised at $1.5 million), is being deeded to the society by Sheaffer as a gift. And according to Marie Malaro, president of the society, the town of Centreville will annex this parcel of land.
Malaro is thrilled, as gaining rights to the property has been a long, hard struggle.
“Over the years, attempts to help have crashed, and efforts have been very costly,” she says. “But we have persevered and received a good deal of help from professional people who have donated legal and engineering services, and now it looks like we might be at the point where we gain control.”
Over the next year, the society plans to stabilize the farmhouse and to enter into an easement with the Maryland Historic Trust. “Once this is done,” says Malaro, “we will turn the [barn] over to a private party, who will restore it.”
Should the house finally be rescued, Malaro hopes to use it as an example of how residents must vocalize their desires to save the character of their counties through historic preservation.
“Our county has been very slow in paying attention to historic preservation because everyone has been so hung up on the burst of growth and on the bay,” says Malaro. “These things are important, but we’ve become so consumed by these issues that we have [ignored] historical preservation.
“I think this may wake up our towns and our community so that we realize we must take care of our [history], as well, before preservation becomes too costly or [happens] too late.”
For more information, visit http://cgc.centreville-md.net/historic_preservation.shtml.
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