Town of Centreville Heritage Master Plan – Final

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HERITAGE DEVELOPMENT • HISTORIC PRESERVATION • CULTURAL LANDSCAPES • HERITAGE TOURISM &

INTERPRETATION

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LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE // URBAN DESIGN // PLANNING

CENTREVILLE HERITAGE DEVELOPMENT PLAN

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This project has been financed in part with State Funds from the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority, an instrumentality of the State of Maryland.

However, the contents and opinions do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority.

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CENTREVILLE HERITAGE DEVELOPMENT PLAN

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CCCCEEEENNNNTTTTRRRREEEEVVVVIIIILLLLLLLLEEEE HHHHEEEERRRRIIIITTTTAAAAGGGGEEEE DDDDEEEEVVVVEEEELLLLOOOOPPPPMMMMEEEENNNNTTTT PPPPLLLLAAAANNNN TTTTaaaabbbblllleeee ooooffff CCCCoooonnnntttteeeennnnttttssss Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................................................................... iv Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................................. 1

Project Purpose ...................................................................................................................................................... 1 Background ............................................................................................................................................................................. 1 Heritage Development in Centreville .................................................................................................................... 1

Centreville’s History .............................................................................................................................................. 3 Centreville’s Wharf Area ....................................................................................................................... 4 Centreville’s Railroads ........................................................................................................................... 4

Project Method & Summary of Accomplishments ..............................................................................................................5 Project Startup ...................................................................................................................................................... 6 Centreville Heritage Management Plan .............................................................................................................. 6

Centreville Wharf Property Concept Plan, Railyard Concept Plan ................................................................... 6 Heritage Trail Planning ......................................................................................................................................... 6 Interpretive Sign Installation ................................................................................................................................ 7

Heritage Development Opportunities .................................................................................................................................... 7 The Centreville Heritage Trail ............................................................................................................................ 10 Centreville Heritage Trail Recommendations ..................................................................................... 10

Concept Plan for Development of the Town’s Properties at Centreville Wharf .............................................. 11 Centreville Wharf Recommendations....................................................................................................12 Concept Plan for the Railyard ............................................................................................................................ 13

Railyard Recommendations ................................................................................................................... 16 Railyard Concept Plan: The Turntable Challenge .............................................................................. 17 Recommendations for Other Potential Heritage Development Projects .......................................................... 18

Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................................................ 19

Appendix A: A Too-short

History of Centreville ................................................................................................................ 21 Centreville’s Wharf Area .................................................................................................................................... 24 Centreville’s Railroads ........................................................................................................................................ 26

Appendix B:

Record of Major Public Outreach ................................................................................................................ 29

Appendix C: Centreville Heritage Sites

(Record of Startup) ............................................................................................ 39

Appendix D: Centreville Wharf Concept Development ...................................................................................................... 45

Appendix E: Centreville Railyard Concept Development ................................................................................................... 55

Appendix F: Centreville Heritage Trail, “Phase II” Installation ...................................................................................... 61

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Figure A.2 Railroad routes in the vicinity of Centreville) ................................................................................ 25 vi Members of the Centreville Heritage Management Plan Steering Committee and the planning team brief Town Manager Steve Walls before the start of the July 17 “Walk-and- Talk” field trip. (Photo by Elizabeth Watson, Heritage Strategies, LLC) Members of the Queen Anne’s Railroad Society were among those briefing the Steering

Committee and planning team at the former PNC Bank building at the corner of Water and Pennsylvania, work space lent courtesy of building owner Jack Ashley. Note the large painting showing a view (in the correct direction) of the Railyard. (Photo by Elizabeth Watson, Heritage Strategies, LLC) vii

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This document is intended to serve both as a report for the Centreville Heritage Management Plan project conducted by the Town of Centreville from June through September of 2013 and as a short-term plan to support heritage development projects that might extend from that project. This report for the Town has been developed under the auspices of the specially appointed Centreville Heritage Management Plan Steering

Committee. It was completed in April of 2014 following the completion of the installation of nine interpretive signs that comprise the Centreville Heritage Trail as called for in this plan.

Project Purpose The intent and vision of the project, as expressed in the original Request for Proposals to recruit the consulting planning team, is to leverage existing, significant local government and private investment by developing a framework to promote economic revitalization through heritage tourism, with the goal of transforming the town into a vibrant destination for heritage tourism on the Eastern Shore. The project aims to build on Centreville's history,

focusing on its role as maritime and rail transportation hub for the Mid-Shore, and to enable Centreville to grow as a tourism destination by facilitating development of an integrated mix of tourism, cultural, and recreational amenities, at the Centreville Wharf and Railroad properties and throughout the town.

Objectives pursued in the 2013 project included the following:

• Installation of nine interpretive signs, conceived as the second phase of a

“Centreville Heritage Trail,” plus planning for additional phases arising out of the planning needed for the nine signs (the first phase being the good start made already through existing signs, installed via the National Scenic Byway and National Historic Trail programs and older state and local historical markers);

• A concept plan for undeveloped properties owned by the Town of Centreville

in the old Centreville Wharf area at the head of the Corsica River (“Centreville Wharf”);

• A concept plan for the old Queen Anne’s and Kent Railroad railyard (the

“Railyard”) east of Pennsylvania Avenue between Kidwell Avenue and East Water Streets, purchased by the Town in 2007 and adjacent to significant new commercial/residential development on the west side of the avenue; and

• A plan to cover other ideas revealed throughout the project.

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Heritage Development in Centreville Centreville was well-positioned to undertake this project. Notable recent achievements in heritage development included the following:

1

• National Register recognition:

(1) A major portion of the historic town was listed in the National Register of

Historic Places in 2004, deemed significant for its association with the development of Queen Anne’s County and for its exceptional collection of 18th, 19th, and 20th century residential, commercial, and ecclesiastical buildings chronicling the architectural development of an Eastern Shore community.

Among other benefits, this permits owners of historic properties to access valuable tax credits when employing restoration guidelines via the Maryland Historical Trust.

(2) In addition, in 2007, the Queen Anne’s & Kent Railroad Corridor (QA-599 and K-

599 in the Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties) was determined by the Maryland Historical Trust to be eligible for listing in the National Register. This resource extends from Townsend, DE, to Centreville and includes the Pennsylvania Avenue property;

• Stories of the Chesapeake: In 2005, Centreville voted to become an official part of

the Maryland-certified Stories of the Chesapeake Heritage Area, a regional program supporting heritage tourism and preservation in Caroline, Kent, Queen Anne’s, and Talbot Counties;

• Old Kennard High: Restoration of Old Kennard High School, the county’s first and

only African American high school (1939-1969), and its development as a cultural heritage center, a continuing project also supported through the Town’s status with the Stories of the Chesapeake Heritage Area;

• Pedestrian connection to the Centreville Wharf area: In 2008, the Town took

over administration of Chesterfield Avenue from the state, installing sidewalks and rebuilding the street, allowing pedestrians better access to the Centreville Wharf area. The Park Advisory Board has also mapped an off-road walking trail connection; recently planned development in the area of the old Chesterfield Farm will include construction of the first segment;

• Main Street: In 2012, the Town achieved state Main Street recognition, marking

redoubled local activism to support commercial and retail development of the central business district; and

• Sustainable Community: In 2012, the Town was designated by the state of

Maryland as a Sustainable Community based on a Sustainable Community Action Plan aimed to increase economic, transportation and housing choices, and improve environmental quality and health outcomes (see http://www.townofcentreville.

org/uploads/file/SCApplicationPDF_Centreville.pdf). To participate, the Town identified local areas in need of revitalization to help guide investment in accordance with the principles of sustainability, including the Railyard and the Centreville Wharf.

Other supportive recent developments have been the purchase of Bloomfield Farm on the north edge of town by Queen Anne’s County and its subsequent (and continuing) development as a park; and development of the town’s popular farmers’ market, now offered twice a week (Wednesday afternoons, Saturday mornings). The old National Guard 2

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Armory (c. 1926) on South Commerce Street is currently undergoing adaptive restoration for use as a private school. The trail and park plan recently completed by the Park Advisory Board includes plans for multiple walking trails and conversion of the old Queen Anne’s and Kent Railroad right-of-way to a walking trail that will provide pedestrian access to parks and the county high school located on the eastern edge of town.

Centreville’s History For well over 200 years, Centreville (pop. 4,285, 2010 U.S. Census) has served as the center of commerce and government for Queen Anne’s County. For the knowledgeable observer able to “read” Centreville’s cultural landscape, tantalizing stories appear to exist at every turn, embodied in the town’s geography and its many interesting buildings.

Regrettably, public appreciation of the town’s history is limited, not for any lack of enthusiasm for history (Eastern Shore residents generally have a high regard for the region’s history), but owing to a distinct lack of accessible, up-to-date documentation and appealing public presentation. The town’s most recent historical documentation stems from two notable efforts, the nomination to the National Register; and in-depth study of the War

of 1812 in Queen Anne’s County encouraged by the current bicentennial commemoration.

Local historians have sought to address this lack through publication of articles in various local outlets, but public access after publication remains limited.

Appendix A

provides a longer summary of the town’s history – still too short, but it will at least set the scene in a length appropriate to this plan. It is a supplement to the Town’s history on its website at http://www.townofcentreville.org/government/history.asp.

Centreville was created to implement a 1782 act of the General Assembly authorizing removal of the courthouse and government functions of Queen Anne’s County from Queenstown to a more central location. The town was actually incorporated in 1794, two years before the completion of the courthouse, Maryland’s oldest continually occupied county courthouse. The maritime access provided by the ultimate location’s proximity to

the headwaters of the Corsica River (one mile from the courthouse) helped lead to the choice for the new town. Further inducements were the proximity of a flourishing mill on Mill Stream, Chester Mill, which gave its name to a nearby hamlet of the same name in the 18th century, and the nearby Episcopal church known as Chester Church, the home church of Saint Paul’s Parish. The parish’s first sanctuary was built at a location beyond Chester Mill

between 1640 and 1660; a new church, the parish’s third, was completed in Centreville in 1836.

Situated on an elevated ridge of land framed by two streams feeding the Corsica River, Mill Stream and Gravel Run (tributary to Yellow Bank Stream), the historic portion of Centreville is now primarily accessed by MD Route 213, the Chesapeake Country National Scenic Byway. Route 213 follows the historic north/south King’s Highway, known as Commerce Street in town. Liberty Street, originally known as Back Street, runs parallel to Commerce,

carrying Route 213 south. Centreville is laid out on a rough grid plan with several streets or alleys, principally Water Street (MD 304), intersecting Commerce and Liberty Streets. Water Street today is known as Chesterfield Avenue after Broadway, heading west, and as Railroad Avenue at its crossing with the old Queen Anne’s and Kent Railroad, heading east.

3 Centreville’s Wharf Area On the northwest side of Centreville, the section of MD 304 known as Chesterfield Avenue leads to a significant collection of historic buildings fronting the Corsica River, most of which were built by Capt. John Ozmon, one of the two major sea captains whose enterprises helped to expand Centreville at the end of the 19th century. As distant as this area appears from the center of town today, it is only a mile away. It was a thriving part of the town’s life,

with the Corsica providing a vital shipping outlet, sources of employment, and connection to the world of steamboats, circuses, floating theatres, and even Maryland’s first float planes.

These stories are now told in four interpretive signs devoted to the town’s maritime heritage, three installed at the Centreville Wharf and one on the Queen Anne’s County Board of Education property on Chesterfield Avenue.

In 2007, the town purchased the point of land that sits at the juncture of Mill Stream and Yellow Bank Stream, the start of the Corsica River. It covers more than two acres, and furthermore includes two modern buildings, an office building and warehouse, reminiscent of the area’s original use as a commercial area.

Along with the Queen Anne’s County landing (including parking and docks)that fronts the building and warehouse, this property was once owned by the other major sea captain whose efforts so strongly influenced the growth of Centreville in the late 19th century, Capt.

Cloudsbury Clash. Visitors to the Centreville Wharf Building, as the office building is known today, can view a large aerial photo of the E. S. Valliant Fertilizer plant that occupied the site through much of the 20th century.

Parcels of open land across Watson Road and beside the water are to be combined with the land at the point to expand the park use that has begun evolving on the site since the Town acquired the land. Even in its relatively undeveloped state with its boardwalk and fishing decks, added dock space, a kayak launch, and temporary playground, the new park has become a popular gathering place for fishing, sunset watching, Fourth of July fireworks, and

children at play. The town’s best winter sledding hill is located at the upper end of the site beside Watson Road.

Centreville’s Railroads Once railroads arrived in Maryland on the Delmarva Peninsula after the Civil War, Centreville came to be served by not one, but two railroads, one running east-west and the other north-south, both terminating in historic reaches of Centreville.

The construction, operation, and long-term ownership of the railroads form a complex history interweaving stories of short lines and local investors with the growth of regional commerce and industry and the formation of national lines. The Queen Anne’s Railroad Society is among the peninsula’s most active organizations preserving, researching, and interpreting the history of the region’s railroads, especially that represented by the quite

well-preserved sites in Queen Anne’s County.

The first line, originally the Queen Anne’s and Kent Railroad established in 1869, became the major, long-term line in Centreville, lasting until early in the 21st century; rails were removed only in 2009. It connected to a primary north-south route to Wilmington (basically 4

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following nearby U.S. Route 301). It terminated in an area just two blocks beyond the early central business district, on land donated by a major property owner who was determined that the line be brought to town (see Figure A.1 in Appendix A, p. 20 in the digital file).

Freight service continued until the early 2000s. The site included a passenger station (removed some years after passenger service terminated prior to 1950), a freight depot building, and a turntable, along with the site of a dairy and other railyard features such as an ash pit. After the Maryland Transit Administration determined that it was no longer feasible to maintain a rail connection in Centreville proper (the line remains operational to

serve an industrial park outside town), the Town bought the land in 2007; the Queen Anne’s Railroad Society moved the depot to county land on the edge of town in 2010 and is restoring it. It is this railyard that is the subject of the concept plan discussed below.

The Queen Anne's Railroad Company built a spur to Centreville from Queenstown (connecting there to Love Point on Kent Island and Lewes, Delaware) that was opened in 1902 and operated until September of 1937. This line led to the area of the old Chester Mill (the 19th century version of which stills stands at the south entrance to the historic part of town). Both passengers and freight were also carried by this line. It terminated at a cannery

and fruit packing facility that until recently stood across Route 213 and Mill Stream from the mill. For local residents, it is easy to understand why the two lines, so close on the map, do not meet: a hill too steep for a rail line barred the way. Though short-lived, the line was an important connection to Baltimore early in the 20th century.

These stories are now told in four interpretive signs devoted to the town’s railroading heritage, three installed at the Railyard and one at Millstream Park.

Coming into town from Queenstown to the south, after crossing Mill Stream, the Queen Anne's Railroad made its way up the small stream valley. Today the area is a town park, Millstream Park, and the remainder of the rail bed offers the entrance to an attractive walking trail that leads along the stream to the Centreville Wharf area. The right of way to Queenstown is mapped by the county and town for potential recreational use; trail

development of this route would join Centreville to the cross-continental off-road American Discovery Trail, mapped to cross Maryland on the Eastern Shore through Queen Anne’s and Caroline Counties, with its eastern terminus at Delaware’s Cape Henlopen State Park (http://www.discoverytrail.org/).

PPPPRRRROOOOJJJJEEEECCCCTTTT MMMMEEEETTTTHHHHOOOODDDD &&&& SSSSUUUUMMMMMMMMAAAARRRRYYYY OOOOFFFF AAAACCCCCCCCOOOOMMMMPPPPLLLLIIIISSSSHHHHMMMMEEEENNNNTTTTSSSS This project has been developed under the auspices of the specially appointed Centreville Heritage Management Plan Steering Committee with the assistance of a consulting planning team. Appendix B provides a record of major public outreach. The work of the steering

committee has included multiple meetings open to the public and two special public meetings:

• A “Walk-and-Talk” day-long field trip by the planning team to the Centreville Wharf

area, the Railyard, Millstream Park, and the courthouse square/downtown on July 17, with Town officials and residents joining the team at each point along the way;

and 5

• A public meeting on the evening of August 14 to review two options for concept

plans for the Town properties at the railyard and the Centreville Wharf area, which was videotaped (see http://vp.telvue.com/preview?id=affiliate1&video=164884 or http://youtu.be/ix-AjIT7Mo0).

This project was established to meet a tight timeframe required by the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority, imposed because of its concern that the grant be obligated and spent after some years’ delay in project startup. Following are accomplishments under each element of the project.

Project Startup Startup of the project included production of an interactive map showing the many historic sites along the proposed heritage trail, available at the Town’s website, www.townofcentreville.org (Appendix C).

Centreville Heritage Management Plan

• Project described to Park Advisory Board on June 4, Town Council on June 21, and

the first meeting of the CHMP Steering Committee on July 3, 2013.

• Outline presented to August 26, 2013, meeting of the CHMP Steering Committee.

• Reviewed by CHMP Steering Committee review on September 9, 2013.

• Reviewed by Town Council on September 19, 2013.

• Posted for public review on October 1, 2013.

Centreville Wharf Property Concept Plan, Railyard Concept Plan

• Public “Walk-and-Talk” event held July 17; CHMP Steering Committee meetings

addressed this event and its results on July 15 and July 22, 2013.

• Public review of draft concept plans held August 14, 2014 (two options per site);

Centreville Wharf concept plan included four drawings, not two (covering Town holdings on opposite sides of Watson Road); all were posted on the Town’s website at www.townofcentreville.org.

• CHMP Steering Committee review of final concept plans held August 26, 2013 (one

final, combined option); the Centreville Wharf concept plan included three drawings, a combined view of all Town holdings and close-up views of the two park areas on either side of the road.

• Reviewed by Town Council on September 19, 2013.

• Relevant visuals are included in this Centreville Heritage Management Plan as

Appendix D

and Appendix E, posted for public review on October 1.

Heritage Trail Planning

• Centreville’s Park Advisory Board and Town Council received briefings on status

and planning on September 3 and 5, 2013, respectively. This planning is incorporated into this Management Plan. Interpretive signs described in the section immediately following are portrayed here as “Phase II,” since an inventory revealed 6

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that Centreville already possessed more interpretive signs and markers than would be installed in a second phase, characterized in Table I as “Phase I.” Interpretive Sign Installation

• Text was planned and reviewed in concept at regular intervals by the CHMP

Steering Committee. Eight locations were identified: Railyard (three signs in two locations, all on railroad heritage), Millstream Park (one sign on railroad heritage), Centreville Wharf area (three signs in two locations, all on Centreville Wharf heritage), and Queen Anne’s County Board of Education property (Chesterfield Avenue, one sign on Centreville Wharf heritage).

• Centreville’s Park Advisory Board and Town Council received briefings on status

and planning on September 3 and 5, 2013, respectively.

• At its September 9, 2013, meeting, the CHMP Steering Committee endorsed an idea

previously explored at its August 26 meeting, and explained to the Park Advisory Board and Town Council on September 3 and 5, to use excess funds (developed through careful budget management) toward the cost of a ninth sign. Final funding, development of design drawings and content, and identification of a suitable location near the Town Hall proceeded with the Committee’s encouragement and a modest grant extension provided by the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority.

Additional funds needed for this sign were identified through the Park Advisory Board’s annual funding. The two-sided sign provides orientation for the Centreville Heritage Trail, 24 x 36” for the sign area and approximately 6.5’ high. With approval of Circuit Judge Thomas G. Ross, County Administrative Judge for the 2nd Judicial Circuit, and Scott MacGlashan, Clerk of Circuit Court, Queen Anne’s County, and

encouragement from Barton Ross, president of the Queen Anne’s County Historical Society, the sign was sited on the southeast corner of the courthouse green. It occupies a key location near the Town Hall and the town’s central attraction, the 1792 Queen Anne’s County Courthouse, and next to the farmers’ market when in session.

Appendix F

provides visuals of the completed, installed signs.

HHHHEEEERRRRIIIITTTTAAAAGGGGEEEE DDDDEEEEVVVVEEEELLLLOOOOPPPPMMMMEEEENNNNTTTT OOOOPPPPPPPPOOOORRRRTTTTUUUUNNNNIIIITTTTIIIIEEEESSSS This is an unusual project, in that it combines planning with implementation, specifically implementation of “Phase II” of the newly named Centreville Heritage Trail. This phase embraces existing signs and establishes nine new signs.

The planning portion of this project has also revealed opportunities to (1) greatly improve the park experience at the Centreville Wharf and (2) interpret the town’s significant railroad heritage at the Railyard while improving parking and traffic safety and adding green space. The Steering Committee’s consideration of the Railyard’s potential took into account its possibilities for development should the Town so decide it is in the community’s best interest to pursue

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Table 1. Centreville Heritage Trail – Existing Interpretive Signs, Signs Installed in 2014, and Potential Locations/Themes for Additional Phases Ref Phase2 Location Theme/Story/Notes #1

I II ++

Bloomfield 1 Bloomfield Chesapeake Country Scenic Byway orientation kiosk 1 2 Bloomfield Railroad heritage of Queen Anne’s County and Centreville x (Recommendation: orientation sign within larger kiosk exhibit and associated public art/interpretive exhibits) Downtown Area 3 Wright’s Chance Maryland State Historical Marker re Wright’s Chance 2 4a Library Chesapeake Country Scenic Byway interpretive sign (orientation panel) 3

4b Library Chesapeake Country Scenic Byway interpretive sign - “Centrally Located” 4 (Centreville’s origins) 5 Corner of Lawyers Special marker re brass pin marking reference point for all of the original 5 Row & Commerce lots in the town 6a Courthouse Maryland State Historical Marker re Courthouse 6 6b Courthouse Special marker re Queen Anne’s County history (on the courthouse lawn 7 under the statue of Queen Anne)

6c Courthouse War of 1812 8 6d Courthouse Centreville Heritage Trail 2014 orientation sign - map for entire town and 1 list of heritage sites – "Walk to Points of Interest in Historic Centreville!” 7 Happy Lady Lane Maryland State Historical Marker re Goldsborough House 9 8 E. Water Street - Maryland State Historical Marker re William Carmichael House (new) 10 across from Post Office 9a Town Parking Lot on TBD (Recommendation: Railroad & Centreville’s development pattern x

E. Water St. ‘from river to rail’, location within the Eastern Shore’s rail service) 9b Town Parking Lot on TBD x E. Water St.

Railyard 10a Railyard - north end Centreville Heritage Trail 2014 interpretive sign - “The Railroad as 2 Community Connector to the World” 10b Railyard - north end Centreville Heritage Trail 2014 interpretive sign - “Connecting Centreville 3 to the Worlds of Commerce Beyond the Eastern Shore” 10c Railyard - south end Centreville Heritage Trail 2014 interpretive sign - “The Railroad as the 4 Backbone of Centreville’s 20th Century Commerce”

10 Railyard - south end TBD (Recommendation: plan any further signs in conjunction with larger X or elsewhere interpretive opportunities identified through the Railyard design exercise done for this plan) 1 Numbering system is to allow the reader to gauge the approximate number of sites/clusters of signs, totaling 21 locations.

2 “Phase I” comprises all signs and markers installed prior to this project. “Phase II” comprises eight interpretive and one orientation sign completed through this project. “++” implies future phases and represents a recording of ideas generated through this project for later consideration.

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Phase Ref # Location Theme/Story/Notes

I II ++

Centreville South 11 Old Kennard High Chesapeake Country Scenic Byway interpretive sign re Lucretia Kennard - 11 School “She Fought for Education” 12 “Pop” Taylor pocket TBD (African American heritage - “Pop” Taylor) x park (Commerce Street & Little Kidwell) 13a-x Kennard area TBD (African American heritage) x Millstream Park 14 Millstream Park Centreville Heritage Trail 2014 interpretive sign - “The Gift of a Second 5

Railroad” 15a-x Millstream Park Waterworks & Chester Mill (generally, development in this area of town) x Centreville Wharf/Front Street Area 16 Pocket park beside Chesapeake Country Scenic Byway interpretive sign - “Shuttle By Ship” 12 Route 304 17 Pocket park beside Centreville Heritage Trail 2014 interpretive sign - “John Ozmon: Captain 6 QAC landing of the Sea and Entrepreneur" 18a Centreville Wharf “Centreville Wharf Living Shoreline – a natural solution”

park area 18b Centreville Wharf War of 1812 13 park area 18c Centreville Wharf Centreville Heritage Trail 2014 interpretive sign - "Business at the Bridge” 7 park area 18d Centreville Wharf Centreville Heritage Trail 2014 interpretive sign - “The Centreville Wharf: 8 park area Adventure and a Link to Life on the Water” 19a -x Centreville Wharf TBD (Recommendation: further interpretive signs could be planned with x

park area - TBD larger plans for park development, with judicious insertion of a few more as appropriate, all under Park Advisory Board guidance) Chesterfield Avenue 20 Board of Education Centreville Heritage Trail 2014 interpretive sign - “Chesterfield Avenue: 9 rain garden River to Railroad Connection” 21a-x Chesterfield TBD x Avenue - TBD (?) SUBTOTAL - Phase I, number of signs and markers 13 SUBTOTAL - Phase II (Start of calling entire system the “Centreville 9

Heritage Trail”) SUBTOTAL - Later phases, number of signs (approx/at least) 10 GRAND TOTAL - Centreville Heritage Trail, number of signs(approx/at 32 least) 9

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development of this property. The committee, however, began the process with objectives for preservation and the public interest, ending with finding a “reserve” area where development might be possible – the reverse of the way a developer ordinarily would proceed.

The Centreville Heritage Management Plan Steering Committee believes these results answer the need and vision expressed at the beginning of this project, restated here:

...to leverage existing, significant local government and private investment by developing a framework to promote economic revitalization through heritage tourism, with the goal of transforming the town into a vibrant destination for heritage tourism on the Eastern Shore. The project aims to build on Centreville's history, focusing on its role as maritime and rail transportation hub for the Mid-Shore, and to enable

Centreville to grow as a tourism destination by facilitating development of an integrated mix of tourism, cultural, and recreational amenities, at the Centreville Wharf and Railroad properties and throughout the town.

In the following sections, we address each of these project elements in turn and provide final recommendations.

The Centreville Heritage Trail Centreville is already blessed with thirteen signs or markers at ten locations, counting installation of new War of 1812 signs at the Courthouse and Centreville Wharf. The existence of these signs, the opportunity of additional funding, and local capacity in the form of an experienced local historian who has written, designed, and installed a series of signs about the

War of 1812 throughout the county (and who furthermore did the same for the completed Phase II of the Centreville Heritage Trail) made the expansion of this program a logical choice for a way to provide a low-maintenance, fairly low-cost interpretive program for the Town of Centreville. This project adds another nine signs in four new locations and five existing locations (clustering with multiple existing signs), chosen to reinforce the heritage aspects of

Town properties at the Railyard and Centreville Wharf (three signs per location) and three other public locations to reinforce the “loop” distribution of the signs. Appendix F provides images of the nine completed signs.

Additional signs should be planned in the future as suggested in Table 1. Ideas discussed by the committee and recommended for further consideration by the Town are also shown in Table I.

Centreville Heritage Trail Recommendations The committee further recommends:

(1) That the Town establish procedures for maintaining the high quality of the newly

established heritage trail, specifically in terms of adding signs with attention to authenticity and quality of content, sign design and quality, siting, and cost; and

(2) That the Town plan for and pursue additional opportunities to reinforce the

heritage trail through the following:

(a) A brochure for visitors providing additional information about the town and

affording a walking tour of the town that would provide additional interest without the need for additional outdoor interpretive signs;

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(b) An “app” (smartphone/web application) to supplement the brochure with

additional material (video, audio, more photos);

(c) Special itineraries provided via apps and web-based information (for example,

schools in Centreville); and

(d) Public art installations at key places, including well-designed playground

experiences with artistic and heritage components that help to reinforce community and visitor awareness of Centreville’s heritage.

As of the completion of this plan, the Town of Centreville has successfully sought funding from the Stories of the Chesapeake Heritage Area to complete the recommended brochure.

Concept Plan for Development of the Town’s Properties at Centreville Wharf The concept plan for the “Centreville Wharf” (see Appendix D) developed after feedback from participants was provided to the design team during the July Walk-and-Talk. Many ideas were put forth for the property with no real consensus established for specific programmatic elements, with the exception of the desirability of additional parking that could be placed on the

parcels across Watson Road. Initial past ideas for a restaurant on the site did not have momentum and it was agreed that the site’s ‘highest and best’ use would be recreational, providing both access to the water and opportunities for a variety of recreational uses. Thus the design team sifted though comments made to extract some of the most common and practical elements. Recreational programmatic elements suggested during the Walk-and-Talk included:

• Concert pavilion with associated viewing lawn

• Parking

• Dock access/drop-off/ kayak unloading zone

• Children’s play area/amenities

• Picnic pavilions

• Opportunity for tented events (e.g., weddings, etc.)

• Small building containing possibly restrooms and seasonal vendor space (e.g. ice cream

stand, bait store, etc.)

• Interpretive signage

• Retain existing boardwalk element (“Mill Stream Boardwalk”), 25’ mitigation zone

(generally a Chesapeake Bay water quality requirement), and pervious walkway alignment along the Yellow Bank Stream arm of the waterway.

Based on those programmatic desires the designers responded with two alternative concepts that provided the expressed desires in two different forms. The preferred alternative, which had been nicknamed the ‘nautilus plan’ during the public presentation, utilizes a spiral or nautilus form to arrange the various elements on the site. Appendix D includes the preferred alternative (pdf pp. 52-54); Appendix D in the digital version of this plan also includes the two

preceding alternative concept plans (pdf pp. 56-57 for Option 1; pdf pp. 58-59 for Option 2).

Concurrently, two other axis lines were established in the design based on the relative importance, either visually or functionally, of adjacent land uses or elements. The first and most important axis line runs from the center of the site north-northwest down the Corsica River.

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This line takes advantage of the ‘genius loci’ of the site, its spectacular water views, especially downstream. The second axis line provides a direct physical link to the adjacent marina. It is these three main organizational elements that form the basis for locating all other programmatic elements on the site. The major elements include:

• Concert Pavilion – The structure (exact size and architectural style to be developed in

future) is envisioned as an open air pavilion that can function both as a concert pavilion as well as a large rental pavilion for large special events. Immediately to the southeast of the pavilion, taking advantage of the sloping site, is an open lawn which is envisioned to function as an amphitheater or seating lawn for the pavilion. Careful siting and design will be needed to add to the site’s qualities without harm to water views.

• Picnic Shelters/Pavilions – These smaller open air pavilions are envisioned as picnic

shelters having direct association and access to the Mill Stream boardwalk. Envisioned in association with the pavilions are barbeque pits/grills and picnic tables to accommodate small gatherings/picnics. Again, careful siting and design will be needed to add to the site’s qualities without harm to water views.

• Play Area – A multi-age play area is envisioned immediately to the east of the picnic

area to provide recreational opportunities for children.

• Entry Plaza/Vendor Pavilion/Restroom Building – the formal pedestrian entrance to

the site is from the south or immediately adjacent to the marina. The small gateway plaza provides an entry to the park’s various amenities. The plaza is envisioned to house a small structure (approx. 1500 sq. ft.) whose exact programming is to be determined but which could possibly house restrooms and a flexible space for seasonal vendors.

• Parking – Pervious parking facilities are envisioned for approximately 38 vehicles with

direct access off Watson Road. The existing curb cut is envisioned to be utilized for the parking lot. Various pedestrian access points provide access to the various park amenities.

Also part of this study were the vacant Weaver parcels to the east of the wharf site proper, adjacent to Watson Road. The committee determined that, due to the shortfall of the availability of parking serving the area’s recreational uses, that the site would best be utilized for parking for the marina and future park (as intended by the Town in acquiring the parcels). The site could potentially accommodate approximately 45 vehicles, but not vehicles towing trailers

owing to the grade and configuration of Watson Road. It is envisioned that the parking lot would be paved with a permeable pavement system. In addition to that, amenities could be added to the site to include a small picnic pavilion and a boardwalk across the existing marsh (currently plagued with phragmites) east to a viewing and/or fishing platform located along the river. The picnic pavilion should be positioned to allow continued use of the slope in that area

for winter sledding (and seating/shelter for waiting parents).

Centreville Wharf Recommendations The committee further recommends:

(1) The Town should formally designate the parcels included in this concept design as

a park.

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(2) The Town should formally set forth guidance that the ultimate result of development of

the Centreville Wharf as a park will be to improve the site’s water quality impacts on the Corsica River, setting a high and measurable performance standard and affirming the Town’s commitment to protecting the river and the Chesapeake Bay. The public should be left in no doubt that as public access to this magnificent site and its amenities are improved over the coming years, at a minimum the park’s development will not

degrade the river’s water quality.

(3) The Town should also define a phased development program and consider how the

park will be maintained and operated. A specially formed committee (or subcommittee of the Park Advisory Board) could lead consideration of how to develop the park. (Note: Members of the CHMP Steering Committee continue to be interested in serving as the Town determines appropriate.)

(4) The next refinement of the design and program should consider the potential

opportunities that would be presented if the existing boardwalk and its associated elements were to be reconfigured. Concerns were expressed during the brief design process that as currently designed, the boardwalk and associated railing prevent visual and physical access to the water. A Maryland-based example of a highquality walkway installation that impacts the water view to a lesser degree can be seen

at the Leonardtown town dock, constructed in 2008.

(5) The plantings in the Centreville Wharf’s 25’ mitigation zone should also be

considered for their impacts on visual and physical access to the water, so that once mature (and successfully replanted), the native trees and shrubs in that area will enhance the view and park setting to the greatest degree feasible.

(6) As the Town moves forward with the project it must further consider relationships

(physical and operational) to the adjacent marina and associated facilities (Centreville Wharf Building and sports facility buildings) as that was not part of this planning effort.

In this context, the Town might usefully undertake additional concept planning that incorporates the entirety of Front Street, examining options for improving green space and pervious surfaces, recreational amenities, parking (especially trailer parking), and traffic safety throughout the area.

Concept Plan for the Railyard The Town’s ideas about programming for the Railyard at the start of this project were at a very preliminary stage – this concept planning exercise was intended, in fact, to help inform the Town’s sense of possibilities. As with the Centreville Wharf, the concept plan for the Railyard developed after feedback from participants was provided to the design team on the July Walkand-Talk. No real consensus or momentum for any particular idea was established and a

definitive development program was not put forth to the design team at that time.

Ideas for consideration generally identified included:

• Trailhead for the planned rail-trail conversion of the railroad right-of-way out to

U.S. Route 301 and the industrial park at the intersection of 301 with MD Route 304;

• Interpretation of the town’s railroad heritage;

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• Parking for the development on the west side of Pennsylvania Avenue, per an obligation

on the part of the Town to work with the developer to provide parking, some of it via use of the Railyard (a current use provided by a temporarily laid-out parking area);

• Town offices and facilities; and

• Commercial/retail/residential space more or less mirroring development on the west

side of Pennsylvania Avenue, which marks the property’s longer, western edge.

A prior development plan created in April 2010 by Torchio Architects suggested four ‘future buildings’ for the site totaling 12,700 sq. ft. along with 136 off-street parking spaces.

Conversations during the concept plan process suggested that these buildings would house retail activities similar to the development that had already occurred on the west side of Pennsylvania Avenue. The parking provided was envisioned to accommodate both the proposed new on-site development needs as well as spaces for the adjacent development (the avenue’s west side). The 2010 plan represents probable maximum build-out according to

current zoning and parking requirements.

Open space/parkland use was not part of the uses imagined for the area, although clearly attractive landscaping was always to be a part of the final design. The Park Advisory Board chairman was emphatic that the Town had limited capacity to support conversion of the entire site to park use. Even the bio-retention facility, in the first round of concept planning, was ignored in one draft (the most intensive development of the site would have required more

extensive engineering for stormwater management anyway).

The Railyard is zoned C-3 (Intense Commercial), reflecting its proximity to the central business district. Continuation of the existing development on the west side of the avenue was appealing to the design team and supported by participants’ feedback during the Walk-and-Talk. The Town had purchased the land at considerable cost, and sale of at least part of the property for such uses would recoup that investment and yield continuing dividends in the form of property

taxes, business activity, and, possibly, added residential spaces in the area.

For the designers, this very general guidance as to how to program the site left them free to go in a variety of ways. The Town did not have an economic development study to help resolve the many variables faced by the designers. A parking study did provide some guidance, and remarks by the Town Manager during the Walk-and-Talk allowed them to eliminate Town offices and facilities as a possibility.

Following the July Walk-and-Talk with the design team and as conversations with the Town evolved, three things clearly presented themselves. First, the town currently suffers from vacant retail space. This provided the design team with anecdotal evidence that market demand for additional retail space was lacking. Second, the team was told that quality of rental properties (apartments) was low and high-quality rental apartments were lacking in the

immediate downtown area. The design team knew that communities across Maryland and the nation as a whole, small as well as large, are experiencing greater demand for high-quality rental units – demand reflected in the low vacancy rate for the seventeen modern units built on the west side of Pennsylvania Avenue. Finally, some residents articulated their beliefs that the property has potential to capture much-needed green space in the downtown area and that that

space should celebrate the railroading heritage of the site’s and town’s history. It was these 14

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three elements that the design team focused on in the development of their concept plans for the site. Appendix E includes these two alternative concept plans (pdf-pp. 57-58).

Judging that the best use of their limited budget would be to illustrate choices among moreintensive uses to help the community envision scale and possibilities, the team developed two options emphasizing residential development. Initial concepts explored various housing types (apartments and single-family) in combination with the creation of a small park on the northern end.

Feedback received during the public presentation of these initial concepts on August 14, 2013, suggested that a plan geared more toward rental apartments with the potential of first-floor retail, ample surface parking (to the extent possible), and maximum green space that celebrated the heritage of the site balanced with development was desired. Thus a third and final concept plan, also included in Appendix E on pdf-page 56, illustrates the following ideas:

• Maximize green space – There was a strong desire to capture a portion of the site as

green space. The configuration of the site suggested that green space would indeed be the best use for a portion of the site, particularly the narrow north end. A green space of approximately one acre has been suggested that would contain a small plaza located immediately adjacent to East Water Street; a seating promenade; and an open lawn space with a gazebo. Opportunities exist to interpret the site’s railroad heritage in any

number of ways in this area. It is also envisioned as a potential trail head for a proposed rail-trail leading north with bike racks and nearby parking (the design team assumed that off-site, street parking would also be utilized by trail visitors).

• Retain the existing storm water management facility – an existing storm water

management facility that was under construction during the period this study was undertaken should be retained in the ultimate site’s development to the degree practicable. The facility was developed to manage flooding that was occurring on the southern portion of the site. As designed, it will contribute to the sense of green space on the site. (Note: the Committee understands that it may be desirable to make

alterations to this facility in order to accommodate further/other site development;

however, designers and engineers considering such an option should understand that the sunk costs and grant restrictions of the recently installed facility remain formidable arguments against doing so and it will be necessary to make a strong showing to overcome those arguments.)

• Retain railroad turntable site and other railyard features to the degree

practicable in support of heritage interpretation and for the purpose of maintaining the unique qualities of the site – strong position statements were put forth during public comment and committee discussion on August 14 to retain the location of the historic railroad turntable, an idea the committee continued to develop in further meetings (identifying the ash pit near the turntable as another important

feature). The exact location of the turntable was precisely established only after completion of the design team’s work, which based its closing recommendations on the location and scale identified in a historic map from 1915; as explained below, that map was incorrect.

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• Maximize surface parking – as noted above there are parking requirements placed on

the parcel from the recently completed development along the west side of Pennsylvania Avenue. That requirement in conjunction with any new development proposal suggested that parking, to the extent possible, be maximized both on-site as well as with street parking. The actual need requires further analysis based on a Town parking study that was completed after the development of Pennsylvania Avenue was

begun.

• Development should be considered only after the preceding four conditions are

satisfied in the public interest, and with due consideration of further recommendations explained below. The Committee explicitly does not endorse any of the three concept plans – for reasons explained below to do with the dimensions and location of the buried turntable, the third plan is deemed to remain on the same preliminary basis as the first two options. Moreover, our determination of the kind of

development that is needed would be premature in light of what we know we do not know at this point on a variety of issues – existing (buried) features, interpretive potential, market potential, funding available for further town-supported design work, etc. Determining the specific use(s) of any building(s) that might be constructed remains the prerogative of the Town and needs further study. Developing the first floor

as office/commercial with rental apartments on the second and third floors (similar to development on the west side of Pennsylvania Avenue) would conform to existing zoning. It would be desirable for any development on the east side of the street to reflect the scale and design of the development already completed on the west side.

Railyard Recommendations The committee further recommends:

(1) As the Town moves forward with any development of the site it should have a

firmer understanding of (a) what market conditions will support development and (b) the best process for undertaking such development. The next design process should be based on greater knowledge of possibilities and should be closer to the engineering level required to guide any process of recruiting a developer. The opportunity for public-private cooperation appears to be significant, but the public should receive

reassurance that public access and public benefit will be maximized through welldesigned legal understandings while taking best advantage of any development opportunities to benefit both public and private interests. While the committee does not have a specific recommendation as to how to proceed, we believe criteria for success in the next part of the process – whether or not any building(s) are to be built –

should include:

• Transparency in identifying and developing specifications for Town interests;

• Competition among those who would be recruited to design and develop the

site; and

• Design criteria to guide site development (addressing site design, buildings,

landscaping, etc.).

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(2) The Town should vet out more completely with heritage and other interested groups

the options for celebrating the town’s railroading history at this site (and elsewhere as appropriate) and develop secure funding and operational plans on how to finance such commemorative efforts – both capital and operational costs, private as well as public. Among Town guidance to be provided in the next stage should be consideration of options for revealing and interpreting the turntable foundation, as

discussed in the next section, and how to proceed with other commemoration of the town’s railroad heritage through use of public art or installation of railroad memorabilia (including objects that would have been present at the railyard, from switches to a caboose).

(3) Given that the property has officially been determined eligible for listing in the National

Register of Historic Places, future planning processes for the property should include the appropriate reviews by historic preservation authorities.

(4) In view of the heritage of the property, the property should be given a distinguishing

name than simply “the railroad property” or “the Railyard” as adopted for this plan, perhaps “Centreville Railyard,” which is more specific to this property’s historic use.

Thus the Town, and not future developers, can claim and exercise the right to assign a long-term name to the property.

(5) As parking development and any other development on-site proceeds, Pennsylvania

Avenue presents an opportunity for demonstration of green, innovative “complete street” development with careful attention to streetscaping, shade, pedestrian and bicycle use, festival/event use, water quality impacts, automotive traffic flow and safety, and aesthetics. The street and its right of way, in other words – everything between the walls of buildings on either side, and the on-site parking –

should be part and parcel of the final design approach and should be designed to accommodate as many possible users and uses as safely and attractively as possible.

Railyard Concept Plan: The Turntable Challenge As this project began, the Town was generally aware of the existence of a railroad turntable foundation known to exist below grade on the south end of the Railyard. Little information existed as to its condition, location, and size. The designers were told about its existence at the start of the project along with much other information, but their initial impression was that it

appeared likely that planned installation of a stormwater management facility (“bio-retention” basin with native landscaping) at the south end of the property would eliminate this feature, or alter it sufficiently to render it not capable of preservation sufficient to support interpretation.

It was not until after the development of the first-draft concept plans for the Railyard were completed and shown to the public on August 14 that a 1915 Sanborn map showing the location of the turntable came into the designers’ possession (via the Queen Anne’s Railroad Society, a member of whom, Royden Powell, III, serves on the Steering Committee).

Public comment on the drafts presented on August 14 provided clear guidance that it would be unfortunate to lose the opportunity to interpret the turntable; and that more green space in the context of added development is desirable. The committee asked the designers to reduce the less-intensive of the two options and make space for the turntable (and assume permanence for 17

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the bio-retention facility). Lacking more definitive information, the designers employed the dimensions and location provided on the aforementioned 1915 map and finalized the last drawing.

Prior to the construction of the bio-retention facility, the Queen Anne’s Railroad Society, in cooperation with the Town, undertook a preliminary excavation to research any remaining infrastructure. This effort uncovered a portion of the turntable foundation sufficient to gain a sense of its scale and location. The Steering Committee learned from this preliminary work in a presentation on August 26 that the turntable foundation’s location and size are far from that

assumed from the 1915 map (despite Sanborn’s much-vaunted precision when it comes to buildings); it is further south and considerably larger, enough to require major alteration to assumptions and final drawings.

This belated information has occasioned much consideration of how to advance the Town’s decision-making following completion of this project. Sufficient funding was not available at the time to further evaluate design options nor investigate further the extent and ramifications on the site design of existing archeological remnants, and in any case that portion of the project needed to come to a close.

We now believe that the concept planning process has indeed accomplished what we had hoped, which is to provide a springboard for a new process with more Town guidance and decisions.

Recommendations for Other Potential Heritage Development Projects In the process of addressing the projects described above, the Steering Committee learned of other projects and possibilities that would support the vision expressed at the beginning of this report. We recommend the following for accomplishment as top priorities over the next five years:

(1) Development of the planned rail-trail for recreational and interpretive purposes

(identified in Parks Advisory Board plan), which would support heritage tourism in general, connect the Railyard to other park space along the rail-trail, and also encourage our citizens to be more active;

(2) Development of the planned walking trail to Centreville Wharf (identified in Parks

Advisory Board plan), which would support heritage tourism in general, build community spirit around creating a second beautiful linkage to a beautiful gathering place, and furthermore encourage our citizens to be more active;

(3) Development of an interpretive plan to convene interested organizations and help

lead a town-wide discussion of how to interpret the town’s heritage overall and over the longer term, including the development of ways beyond the Centreville Heritage Trail to provide interpretive and educational experiences to our town’s residents and visitors;

and

(4) Development of a complete wayfinding system for autos under Maryland’s current

Tourist Oriented Directional Signage; while somewhat developed in Centreville and the surrounding area, we believe a second look at TODS planning and installation is now warranted, given the new Centreville Heritage Trail and the planning that will be 18

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needed to support the heritage tourism opportunities at the Railyard and Centreville Wharf.

As second priority for completion in the next five years or longer term, we recommend

(5) Planning and development of a complete wayfinding system for pedestrians, which

would support the Centreville Heritage Trail and heritage tourism in general, and also encourage our citizens to be more active; and

(6) Planning for the preservation, interpretation (including public archeology), and

recreational development of the historic mill race and mill pond upstream of Millstream Park (see illustration at lower left of Figure A.1 in Appendix A, p. 20).

CCCCOOOONNNNCCCCLLLLUUUUSSSSIIIIOOOONNNN

In closing, the Centreville Heritage Management Plan Steering Committee would like to thank the Town of Centreville for the opportunity to serve our citizens. Our town’s heritage is considerable, and it has been gratifying to discover the very great opportunities to benefit us all through projects that support public education, recreation, and heritage tourism.

Finally, we recommend that

(7) the Town of Centreville convene a group such as ours to prepare and present an

annual report to the Town Council on progress on recommendations herein and make other such recommendations as would be appropriate to a citizens’ committee charged with celebrating and commemorating the town’s heritage, encouraging heritage tourism and recreational benefits that relate to our visitors’ needs, and supporting the town’s Main Street program.

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Figure A.1 The Town of Centreville as it appeared in 1877. (Source:

http://nabbhistory.salisbury.edu/resources/geography/maps/mdqactr1877.jpg) 20

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AAAAPPPPPPPPEEEENNNNDDDDIIIIXXXX AAAA:::: AAAA TTTTOOOOOOOO----SSSSHHHHOOOORRRRTTTT HHHHIIIISSSSTTTTOOOORRRRYYYY OOOOFFFF CCCCEEEENNNNTTTTRRRREEEEVVVVIIIILLLLLLLLEEEE For well over 200 years, Centreville (pop. 4,285, 2010 U.S. Census) has served as the center of commerce and government for Queen Anne’s County. For the knowledgeable observer able to “read” Centreville’s cultural landscape, tantalizing stories appear to exist at every turn,

embodied in the town’s geography and its many interesting buildings.

Regrettably, public appreciation of the town’s history is limited, not for any lack of enthusiasm for history (Eastern Shore residents generally have a high regard for the region’s history), but owing to a distinct lack of documentation and appealing public presentation. The most recent history written about the Queen Anne’s County as a whole remains the centennial-era history (c. 1876) published by Frederic Emory, re-published by the Maryland Historical Society in

1950, Queen Anne's County, Maryland: Its Early History and Development. Queen Anne’s County lacks a book of architectural history similar to others sponsored by the Maryland Historical Trust for many counties throughout the state. Centreville itself has no modern history. The town’s most recent historical documentation stems from two notable efforts, the nomination to the National Register of Historic Places for Centreville’s very large historic district, accepted by

the Secretary of the Interior in 2004; and in-depth study of the War of 1812 in Queen Anne’s County encouraged by the bicentennial commemoration. Local historians have sought to address this lack through publication of articles in various local outlets, but public access after publication remains limited.

Following is a summary of the town’s history – too short, but it will at least set the scene in a length appropriate to this plan. Sources include “Proposal for the Centreville Target Investment Zone” (report by the Stories of the Chesapeake Heritage Area (Eastern Shore Heritage, Inc.), March 20, 2008, and the primary basis for this summary), the National Register nomination for the town’s historic district, an old Maryland Municipal League history web page known to have

been used in the Stories of the Chesapeake report, and the Town of Centreville’s history on its website at http://www.townofcentreville.org/government/history.asp.

Centreville was created to implement a 1782 act of the General Assembly authorizing removal of the courthouse and government functions of Queen Anne’s County from Queenstown to a more central location. It took years of negotiations before the town was actually incorporated in 1794, two years after the completion of the courthouse. The maritime access provided by the ultimate location’s proximity to the headwaters of the Corsica River helped lead to the choice

for the new town. Further inducements were the proximity of a flourishing mill on Mill Stream, Chester Mill, which gave its name to a nearby hamlet of the same name in the 18th century, and a nearby Episcopal church known as Chester Church, the home church built between 1640 and 1660 by Saint Paul’s Parish.3 3 The parish originally covered most of present day Queen Anne’s County, all of Caroline County, and part

of Talbot County. Wye Parish (Old Wye Church in Wye Mills and St. Luke’s in Queenstown), St. Luke’s Parish in Church Hill, and St. Paul’s in Hillsborough were once chapels of St. Paul’s.

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The name Centreville was intended to echo its central location, with its French-style spelling meant to reflect the admiration felt throughout Maryland for the efforts of the French and particularly Lafayette for their assistance during the Revolutionary War.

Situated on an elevated ridge of land framed by two streams feeding the Corsica River, Mill Stream and Gravel Run, the historic portion of Centreville is now primarily accessed by MD Route 213, the Chesapeake Country National Scenic Byway. (Gravel Run is tributary to the main northern branch of the Corsica, Yellow Bank Stream.) Route 213 follows the historic north/south highway that connects the principal towns of the upper Eastern Shore, splitting

into one-way streets at the north and south entrances to the heart of Centreville and its historic district. Commerce Street, originally known as the King’s Highway, and then Front Street, is on the east as the northerly route through the center of town. Liberty Street, originally known as Back Street, runs parallel to Commerce Street, heading south. Centreville is laid out on a rough grid plan with several streets or alleys, principally Water Street, intersecting Commerce and

Liberty Streets. Water Street today is known as Chesterfield Avenue after Broadway, heading west and continuing as MD Route 304, and as Railroad Avenue at its crossing with the old Queen Anne’s and Kent Railroad, heading east also as Route 304.

Centreville’s large National Register historic district is significant for its association with the development of Queen Anne’s County and for its exceptional collection of 18th, 19th, and 20th century residential, commercial, and ecclesiastical buildings chronicling the architectural development of an Eastern Shore community.

The heart of Centreville is defined by the historic public square occupied by the county courthouse, the oldest courthouse in Maryland in continuous use. The first recorded case was heard there in 1794, but building of the Federal-style courthouse began in 1791. Desperate to leave tough conditions at the original courthouse in Queenstown, officials held court in Centreville in private homes owned by Henry Storey and Mary Nicholson, according to county

records for payment to each of these individuals. As the county has grown, pressure on the courthouse has expanded to the point that a new courthouse is now planned, but officials are committed to continuing the old courthouse’s traditional use, and to building the new courthouse on the square.

Courthouse Square is flanked on its south side by Lawyers’ Row, a particularly important street in Centreville boasting a fine assortment of 19th and early-20th century commercial and public buildings. Broadway Street, on the opposite side, feeds into Chesterfield Avenue, leading to the town’s wharf area, exactly a mile from the town center.

Most of the central business district is defined by 18th, 19th, and 20th century structures in varying degrees of alteration and/or preservation. It is primarily confined to the area bounded by Liberty Street on the west, Banjo Lane on the east, Fayette Street on the south, and the juncture of MD 213 on the north end, although the area zoned as “central business district” now includes Pennsylvania Avenue, the western edge of the Railyard for reasons discussed in the

Centreville Heritage Management Plan. Today, the courthouse square remains the center of this district, hosting a popular farmers’ market on Wednesday afternoons and Saturday mornings, and a Main Street program was recently organized to support the merchants of the central business district.

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The southeastern end of this central business block was destroyed by fire in1902 (in an era when a number of major fires occurred on the Eastern Shore). The former Queen Anne National Bank, now the town hall, was rebuilt at the end of 1902, a classic of the eclectism in commercial buildings popular at the time. The Centreville National Bank at the southeast corner of North Commerce Street and Lawyers’ Row opted for the grand Beaux Arts style being used in public

architecture by that time, in 1903-04. The fire destroyed much of the same block on the side facing Water Street. As a result, the Town decreed that all buildings rebuilt would have to be built of brick – no more wood construction. The Town also took advantage of the catastrophe to widen Water Street and put in sidewalks.

The historic housing stock of Centreville surrounds the business district on the north, south, east, and west. More than two dozen brick and frame dwellings date from the first generation of the town’s history, between 1794 and 1820, known as the Federal period. Particularly conspicuous is the large number of gambrel-roofed dwellings, the most known for an Eastern Shore town (some of which predate the town). This includes one of the two properties owned

by the Queen Anne’s County Historical Society on Commerce Street, Tucker House (1794). The second owned by the society stands across the street, also gambrel-roofed and known as Wright’s Chance (c. 1744); it was moved to town from a nearby farm in order to save it. Both are house museums.

Another cluster of early structures is located on the district’s north end. Among these is the former Centreville Academy (c. 1803), a two-story Flemish bond building considered to be the oldest school in the county, and possibly the state. It operated in its original function for a century. Another significant building just south of the Academy on Commerce Street is a 1794 structure that was one of the first taverns in town.

The early stock of Centreville’s domestic architecture is oriented largely to Commerce and Liberty Streets, the two principal avenues that constituted the town’s focus during its formative years. Intermingled with the Federal dwellings is a smaller number of second-quarter 19th century houses that represent the influence of the Greek Revival of the 1840s and 1850s. A number of Federal houses along Commerce and Liberty Streets were heavily modified in Greek

taste during this period. In the post-Civil War era, a range of popular romantic revival and eclectic Victorian house forms and designs were erected, a few among the most elaborate on the Eastern Shore. One of the larger homes seen today on Commerce Street is a large two-story gable-roofed brick building, which was first built as the Female Seminary (c. 1876) and is listed separately in the National Register.

Chesterfield Avenue, between Broadway and the intersection of Watson Road, is lined with a series of late-19th and early-20th century houses, mostly of frame construction erected after 1880 when the town center had been substantially built out. Among these are Victorian revival styles as well as Colonial Revival and bungalow forms.

Centreville’s black population resided on the south side of the town, in the vicinity of the original African-American Methodist Church, the Charles Wesley U.M. church, which was erected in 1873. Now known as the New Life Church, the original structure has been expanded.

The lots south and east of the church were occupied by the town’s black population during the third and fourth quarters of the 19th century, especially along Little Kidwell and Holton Streets.

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erected during the 1930s. It was the first high school for African American residents of the county and is now a historic site undergoing restoration for use as a cultural heritage center.

The old National Guard Armory (c. 1926) on South Commerce Street and St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, a building fronting on South Liberty Street that has evolved over the years since its construction in 1836 (a replacement for the old Chester Church beyond the town limits), mark a transition from the town’s southernmost historic neighborhoods. The armory was converted to a residence and business site in the mid 1990’s, but is currently undergoing restoration for

school use. A second church at 206 South Commerce has been converted to the Centre for the Arts with an auditorium and offices for the Queen Anne’s County Arts Council.

By 1950, the town had substantially achieved its present form and appearance. Today, Centreville remains the governmental and legal center of Queen Anne’s County and the commercial center of the surrounding agricultural community of Queen Anne’s County, one of the state’s most productive agricultural counties, a status it has enjoyed throughout its history.

Centreville’s Wharf Area On the northwest side of Centreville, Chesterfield Avenue leads to a significant collection of historic buildings fronting the Corsica River, most of which were built by Capt. John Ozmon, one of the two major sea captains whose enterprises helped to expand Centreville at the end of the 19th century. Ozmon transported grain, lumber, and other merchandise by sailing schooners

between Baltimore, Norfolk, and points on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay. He built approximately forty structures to house members of his family and crews, including a remarkable ensemble of four nearly identical “captain’s houses” built in the last quarter of the 1800’s. Standing near an old wharf site further up Mill Stream, they are unique mementoes of the town’s significant maritime and shipping history. Architecturally, they are reminiscent of a

style of small house or cottage common throughout the maritime areas of the Deep South, finding particular favor in the Carolinas and the Gulf Coast.

Capt. Ozmon also had a warehouse and a granary which fronted the Mill Stream just near his store (1880), which today has become a residence. This combined two-story store-anddwelling, built into a high bank overlooking Mill Stream, is of an unusual form, unique in Queen Anne’s County. It was apparently used to market a variety of goods included in the schooner cargoes. An inventory of the contents of the store included in the administration accounts of

Ozmon’s estate upon his death in 1902 ranged from spices to fishing hooks, and included mundane grocery items, one bag of gold dust, and a surprising amount and variety of tobacco products.

In 2007, the Town purchased the point of land that sits at the juncture of Mill Stream and Yellow Bank Stream, the start of the Corsica River. It covers more than two acres, and furthermore includes two modern buildings built by Tidewater Publishing, an office building and warehouse, reminiscent of the area’s original use. Along with the Queen Anne’s County landing that fronts the building and warehouse (parking and docks), this property was once

owned by the other major sea captain whose efforts so strongly influenced the growth of Centreville in the late 19th century, Capt. Cloudsbury Clash. He and his wife lived in a home just at the point of the bridge that crossed to the northern side of the Corsica River. His warehouse was on the other side of the road, right at the tip of the land at the water’s edge. There are many 24

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wonderful photo postcards of this scene from the end of the 1800’s, and the Centreville Wharf Annex, as the office building is known today, houses a large aerial photo of the E. S. Valliant Fertilizer plant that occupied the site through much of the 20th century. Today, the Town also owns open land across Watson Road and beside the water. These recently purchased parcels are to be combined with the land at the point to expand the park use that has begun evolving on

the site since the Town acquired the land.

As distant as this area appears from the center of town today, it is only a mile away. It was a thriving part of the town’s life, with the Corsica providing a vital shipping outlet, sources of employment, and connection to the world of steamboats, circuses, floating theatres, and even Maryland’s first float planes. The mile-long road from the courthouse to the bridge once proved Figure A.2 Railroad routes in the vicinity of Centreville (Source:

http://www.qarrs.org/index.php/qarrs-routes) irresistible to the area’s horse racing contingent, long a flourishing part of Maryland’s heritage.

Recently, the Town took over administration of Chesterfield Avenue from the state, installing sidewalks and rebuilding the street, allowing pedestrians better access to the Centreville Wharf area. The Park Advisory Board has also mapped an off-road walking trail connection and recently planned development in the area of the old Chesterfield Farm will include construction of the first segment. Even in its relatively undeveloped state with its boardwalk and fishing

decks, added dock space, a kayak launch, and temporary playground, the new park has become a popular gathering place for fishing, sunset watching, Fourth of July fireworks, and children at play. The town’s best winter sledding hill is located at the upper end of the site beside Watson Road.

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Centreville’s Railroads Once railroads arrived in Maryland on the Delmarva Peninsula after the Civil War, Centreville came to be served by not one, but two railroads, one running east-west and the other northsouth, both terminating in historic reaches of Centreville (Figure A.1).

The Eastern Shore’s towns first grew beside the water in the 18th century. In the upper Chesapeake Bay region this frequently meant they were sited along meandering water bodies and hilly shorelines not easily traversed by rail. Thus, the coming of the railroads did not always spell prosperity for an existing town if the terrain did not afford the level grades required. As with other nearby county seats, however – Chestertown, Easton, and Denton – Centreville’s

railroad builders found ways to accommodate the original location of the town despite its somewhat challenging topography. Hillsboro, a port town not far away, and Queen Anne, the “twin” railroad town, on either side of the Tuckahoe River (and a county boundary) exemplify how other river towns were forced to accommodate 19th century change.

The construction, operation, and long-term ownership of the railroads of the Eastern Shore form a complex history interweaving stories of short lines and local investors with the growth of regional commerce and industry and the formation of national lines. Rails along the Chesapeake: A History of Railroading on the Delmarva Peninsula, 1827-1978, by John C. Hayman (Marvadel Publishers, 1979) remains the definitive source for this history. The Queen Anne’s

Railroad Society is among the peninsula’s most active organizations preserving, researching, and interpreting the history of the region’s railroads, especially that represented by the quite well-preserved sites in Queen Anne’s County.4 The first line, originally the Queen Anne’s and Kent Railroad when it was established in 1869, became the major, long-term line in Centreville, lasting until early in the 21st century; rails were

removed only in 2009. It connected to a primary north-south route to Wilmington (basically following nearby U.S. Route 301) and thence to Philadelphia and New York. It terminated in an area just two blocks beyond the primary central business district, on land donated by a major property owner who was determined that the line be brought to town. (Figures A.1-2) For years, this line served the region’s farmers and industries, including a thriving dairy

industry for not only Queen Anne’s County but counties beyond, owing to a major dairy, Harbison’s, located at the terminus and which the Town allowed to tie into its water system.

Both freight and passengers were transported daily; passenger service ended well before the mid-20th century (the station is not shown on a 1945 map showing town structures) but freight service – most, if not all, inbound in later years – continued until the early 2000s. The site included a passenger station, freight depot and a turntable, along with the site of the dairy and 4 Rail lines built on the Delmarva Peninsula are delineated in a table found at

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_railroad_lines_in_the_Delmarva_Peninsula. For those curious to see how the lines related to the peninsula’s geography, an excellent map from 1877 (with lines proposed that were later built) can be found at http://www.historicmapworks.com/Map/US/37533/State+Railroad+Map/. The website for the Maryland and Delaware Railroad Company (MDDE), a shortline railroad operating 120 miles of rail lines

on the Delmarva Peninsula which serves the line now ending outside Centreville proper, is http://www.delmarvarails.com.

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other railyard features such as an ash pit. When the Maryland Transit Administration determined that it was no longer feasible to maintain a rail connection in Centreville, the Town bought the land in 2007; fearing for the depot’s safety, the Queen Anne’s Railroad Society moved it to county land on the edge of town in 2010.

The Queen Anne's Railroad Company became operational in 1896 from Queenstown to Denton, with the line completed to Lewes, Delaware, in 1898. The line was later extended to Love Point on Kent Island, serving trains ferried from Baltimore. According to Hayman, the spur to Centreville was opened in 1902 and operated until September of 1937. This line led to the area of the old Chester Mill (the 19th century version of which stills stands at the south entrance to

the historic part of town). Both passengers and freight were also carried by this line. It terminated at a cannery and fruit packing facility that until recently stood across Route 213 and Mill Stream from the mill. Engines were not turned to return back down the line to Queenstown.

For local residents, it is easy to understand why the two lines, so close on the map, do not meet:

a hill too steep for a rail line barred the way.

After crossing Mill Stream with a trestle no longer standing – part of the engineering solution to the challenge posed by the high terrain to the west of the stream – the rail line made its way up the small stream valley. Today the area is a town park, Millstream Park, and the remainder of the rail bed offers the entrance to an attractive walking trail that leads along the stream to the Centreville Wharf area. The right of way to Queenstown is mapped by the county and Town for

potential recreational use; trail development of this route would join Centreville to the crosscontinental off-road American Discovery Trail, mapped to cross the Maryland on the Eastern Shore through Queen Anne’s and Caroline Counties, with its eastern terminus at Delaware’s Cape Henlopen State Park (http://www.discoverytrail.org/).

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AAAAPPPPPPPPEEEENNNNDDDDIIIIXXXX BBBB:::: RRRREEEECCCCOOOORRRRDDDD OOOOFFFF MMMMAAAAJJJJOOOORRRR PPPPUUUUBBBBLLLLIIIICCCC OOOOUUUUTTTTRRRREEEEAAAACCCCHHHH 29

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Media Releases

MEDIA RELEASE #1

Release date: For publication week of July 8, 2013 Contact: Carolyn Brinkley, Centreville Town Clerk, (410) 758-1180;

cbrinkley@townofcentreville.org Date: July 9, 2013 Centreville’s Heritage Area Plan Kicks Off July 17 with Public “Walk and Talk” Event At its initial meeting on July 3, Centreville’s new CHAMP Committee (“Centreville Heritage Area Master Plan”) laid out plans for inviting the public to participate in identifying needs and wishes for the town’s Centreville Wharf and Railroad properties, a heritage trail loop, and Centreville’s heritage

development needs in general.

“We think a ‘walk and talk’ event will work best for giving Centreville residents the opportunity to get on-site with our consulting planners, at whichever sites members of the public are most interested in,” said Steve Walls, Centreville Town Manager. “The planning team can meet many people and gain many ideas as they tour and learn about the town in-depth.” On July 17, members of the Committee and the planning team will be at the Centreville Wharf site

(Watson Road) from 10:30 a.m. to noon; host a bring-your-own-brown-bag lunch at the Centreville Wharf Annex building (2nd floor meeting room) from noon to 12:45 p.m.; tour Millstream Park (pavilion) from 1:00 to 1:45 p.m.; tour the Railroad site (corner of E. Water Street and Pennsylvania Avenue) from 2:00 to 2:45 p.m.; and visit the downtown and Farmers Market from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m.

(Queen Anne statue).

Members of the public are invited to any and all locations to provide information about site issues and ideas for developing the sites.

Plenty of parking is available at each site for those who choose to visit more than one site, driving in between.

“It’s a three-mile loop walk and we cannot provide shuttle service,” notes Michael Whitehill, chairman of the Park Advisory Board and the town’s contract supervisor for the planning team. “And it will be hot. But we hope people will begin to realize how close all of our heritage sites are and sometime soon go out and enjoy the walk, even if only a few hardy souls try it on July 17.” Among results of this first public event will be draft concept maps for the Centreville Wharf and

Railroad properties, which will be presented to the CHAMP Committee at a meeting in early August, when the public will have a further opportunity to enter into dialogue with the Committee and planners. Details about this second public meeting will be provided later this month.

Members of the consulting team are planner Elizabeth Watson, AICP, principal at Heritage Strategies, LLC, of Chestertown, the project manager; landscape architect Krista Schneider and architect Peter Benton, also principals at Heritage Strategies, both based in Pennsylvania; landscape 30

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architect and urban designer Scott Scarfone, ASLA, principal at and founder of Oasis Design Group of Baltimore; and Mary Margaret Revell Goodwin, Centreville’s town historian. Watson, Schneider, Scarfone, and Goodwin will form the team for the July 17 event.

Ms. Watson is a nationally recognized heritage planner who served as the executive director of the Stories of the Chesapeake Heritage Area, of which Centreville is a key part, for most of the 21st century’s first decade. She wrote the town’s Target Investment Zone nomination for the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority (MHAA), which is available at www.townofcentreville.org. The MHAA has provided the grant supporting CHAMP, with matching funds from the town.

The Centreville Heritage Area Master Plan (CHAMP) project seeks to leverage existing, significant local government and private investment by developing a framework to promote economic revitalization through heritage tourism, transforming the town into a vibrant destination for heritage tourism on the Eastern Shore.

Members of the CHAMP Committee are: Lou Armstrong, Larry Bigbie, Dan Burris, Kara Snyder Dunham, Gus Gartner, Ridgely Kelly, Royden Powell, Laura Sanford, Dan Tabler, and Greg Torchio.

Town advisors are Steve Walls, Michael Whitehill, Carolyn Brinkley, and Carol D’Agostino.

The Heritage Area Master Plan will build on Centreville's history, focusing on its role as maritime and rail transportation hub for the Mid-Shore, and enable Centreville to grow as a tourism destination.

The project includes conceptual master development plans for the Centreville Wharf and Railroad properties and a plan for the Centreville Heritage Trail that includes design and installation of exterior panels that implement the master plan and build on the good start made already through signs installed via the National Scenic Byway and National Historic Trail programs.

The plan will also facilitate the development of an integrated mix of tourism, cultural, and recreational amenities, at the Centreville Wharf and Railroad properties and throughout the town.

A link to an interactive map showing the many historic sites along the proposed heritage trail can be located at the town’s website, www.townofcentreville.org.

Addendum to Press Release for July 17: Schedule - Walk-n-Talk Public Event 10:30 a.m. Centreville Wharf site (meet @ porch of Centreville Wharf building) Noon Brown bag lunch (BYO), in Centreville Wharf building (air-conditioned) 12:45 p.m. Depart for Millstream Park 1:00 Millstream Park site visit (meet @ pavilion) 1:45 Depart for Railroad site (meet @ empty bank building w/ big green roof on the

corner of Pennsylvania Ave. and E. Water St. (which becomes Railroad Ave. further east)) 2:00 Railroad site visit 2:45 Depart for Centreville central square (meet @ courthouse steps); grab snacks and drinks at the Farmers Market (BYO); alternate location for extreme heat, Queen Anne’s County Liberty Building 3:00 Main Street visit 4:30 Closing 31

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MEDIA RELEASE #2

Release date: For publication August 2 and 9, 2013 Contact: Carolyn Brinkley, Centreville Town Clerk, (410) 758-1180;

cbrinkley@townofcentreville.org Date: July 29, 2013 Centreville’s Heritage Plan Committee to Review Draft Concept Plans for Centreville Wharf and Railroad Properties on August 14 Centreville’s Heritage Master Plan Committee will invite the public to participate in the committee’s review of draft alternative sketch concepts for the Town’s Centreville Wharf and Railroad properties on August 14. The event will be held at 7:00 in the Liberty Building.

“Following our successful ‘walk and talk’ event on July 17, our team’s designer, Scott Scarfone of Oasis Design Group, has returned to his Baltimore studio to sketch out ideas for the two properties,” said Elizabeth Watson, principal of Heritage Strategies, LLC, of Chestertown and leader of the planning team hired by the town. “The committee will be able to see how various ideas play out in site-plan sketches and compare possibilities. By the end of the evening, we should be able to give

Scott direction for his final concept plans.” “The event gives the public a further opportunity to enter into dialogue with the Committee and planners,” commented Town Manager Steve Walls. “This entire project will facilitate the development of an integrated mix of tourism, cultural, and recreational amenities, at the Centreville Wharf and Railroad properties and throughout the town. We hope we’ll have a great turnout.”

The Heritage Master Plan seeks to leverage existing, significant local government and private investment by providing a framework to promote economic revitalization through heritage tourism, transforming the town into a vibrant destination for heritage tourism on the Eastern Shore.

Members of the Committee are: Lou Armstrong, Larry Bigbie, Dan Burris, Kara Snyder Dunham, Gus Gartner, Ridgely Kelly, Royden Powell, Laura Sanford, Dan Tabler, and Greg Torchio. Town advisors are Steve Walls, Michael Whitehill, Carolyn Brinkley, and Carol D’Agostino.

Members of the consulting team also include landscape architect Krista Schneider and architect Peter Benton, also principals at Heritage Strategies, both based in Pennsylvania; and Mary Margaret Revell Goodwin, Centreville’s town historian.

The Heritage Master Plan will build on Centreville's history, focusing on its role as maritime and rail transportation hub for the Mid-Shore, and enable Centreville to grow as a tourism destination. The project includes conceptual master development plans for the Centreville Wharf and Railroad properties and a plan for the Centreville Heritage Trail that includes design and installation of exterior panels that implement the master plan and build on the good start made already through

signs installed via the National Scenic Byway and National Historic Trail programs.

A link to an interactive map showing the many historic sites along the proposed heritage trail can be located at the town’s website, www.townofcentreville.org.

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MEDIA RELEASE #3

Release date: October 2, 2013 Contact: Carolyn Brinkley, Centreville Town Clerk, (410) 758-1180; cbrinkley@townofcentreville.org Date: October 2, 2013 Centreville’s Heritage Plan Released for Review - See Concept Plans for Centreville Wharf and Railyard, Town Heritage Trail Centreville’s Heritage Management Plan is now available for review on the town’s website, www.townofcentreville.org.

The Heritage Management Plan builds on Centreville's history, focusing on its role as maritime and rail transportation hub for the Mid-Shore, and will enable Centreville to grow as a tourism destination. The project includes conceptual master development plans for the Centreville Wharf and Railyard properties and a plan for the Centreville Heritage Trail that includes design and installation of exterior panels that implement the master plan and build

on the good start made already through signs installed via the National Scenic Byway and National Historic Trail programs.

“Following review of the Centreville Heritage Master Plan Committee’s work at a Town Council meeting on September 19, the consultants put finishing touches on the presentation and it is now ready for public review. This gives the public a further opportunity to enter into dialogue with the Committee and planners,” commented Town Manager Steve Walls.

The Centreville Heritage Management Plan seeks to leverage existing, significant local government and private investment by providing a framework to promote economic revitalization through heritage tourism, transforming the town into a vibrant destination for heritage tourism on the Eastern Shore.

Members of the Committee who authorized the plan are: Lou Armstrong, Kara Snyder Dunham, Gus Gartner, Royden Powell, Laura Sanford, and Greg Torchio. Town advisors are Steve Walls, Michael Whitehill, Carolyn Brinkley, and Carol D’Agostino.

Members of the Heritage Strategies, LLC, consulting team that wrote the final plan under the committee’s direction include planner Elizabeth Watson of Chestertown and the team leader, and landscape architect Krista Schneider and architect Peter Benton, both based in Pennsylvania; Mary Margaret Revell Goodwin, Centreville’s town historian; and Scott Scarfone of Oasis Design Group of Baltimore.

A link to an interactive map showing the many historic sites along the proposed heritage trail can be located at the town’s website, www.townofcentreville.org.

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CENTREVILLE HERITAGE DEVELOPMENT PLAN – APPENDIX A

APRIL 2014

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CENTREVILLE HERITAGE DEVELOPMENT PLAN – APPENDIX C

HERITAGE SITES (RECORD OF STARTUP) – APRIL 2014

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CENTREVILLE HERITAGE DEVELOPMENT PLAN – APPENDIX A

APRIL 2014

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CENTREVILLE HERITAGE DEVELOPMENT PLAN – APPENDIX C

HERITAGE SITES (RECORD OF STARTUP) – APRIL 2014

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CENTREVILLE HERITAGE DEVELOPMENT PLAN – APPENDIX A

APRIL 2014

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CENTREVILLE HERITAGE DEVELOPMENT PLAN – APPENDIX D

APRIL 2014

AAAAPPPPPPPPEEEENNNNDDDDIIIIXXXX DDDD:::: CCCCEEEENNNNTTTTRRRREEEEVVVVIIIILLLLLLLLEEEE WWWWHHHHAAAARRRRFFFF CCCCOOOONNNNCCCCEEEEPPPPTTTT DDDDEEEEVVVVEEEELLLLOOOOPPPPMMMMEEEENNNNTTTT Following are final concept plans developed for the Centreville Wharf properties on either side of Watson Road, followed by illustrations of prototypical elements for consideration in later design, all sized to fit standard report pages of 8.5”x11”. The accompanying disk with this

report reproduces all concept plans at 8.5”x11” for ease of printing the entire Appendix in report form, plus all concept plans in their full 11x17 size, which may be viewed onscreen or printed from disk to full size.

Following is a summary of Steering Committee guidance based on this design exercise; for the full text, see pages 11-13 of the plan.

Major elements include:

• Concert pavilion – open air, to function both for concerts and special events (including

weddings). An open lawn would function as an amphitheater or seating lawn.

• Picnic shelters/pavilions

• Play area

• Entry plaza/vendor pavilion/restroom building

• Permeable parking areas for approximately 38 vehicles with direct access off Watson

Road, using the existing curb cut. Due to parking shortfall the Steering Committee determined that the Weaver parcel (across the road) would also best be used for potentially 45 vehicles, but not vehicles towing trailers owing to the grade and configuration of Watson Road.

• Amenities on the Weaver parcel could include a small picnic pavilion and a boardwalk

across the existing marsh.

The committee further recommends that the Town:

• Formally designate the parcels included in this concept design as a park.

• Formally set forth guidance that the ultimate result of development of the Centreville

Wharf as a park will be to improve the site’s water quality impacts on the Corsica River.

• Define a phased development program and consider how the park will be maintained

and operated. A specially formed committee (or subcommittee of the Park Advisory Board) could lead consideration of how to develop the park.

• When undertaking the next refinement of the design and program, consider the

potential opportunities if the existing boardwalk and its associated elements were to be reconfigured, to further enhance the view and park setting.

• Consider the impacts of plantings in the existing 25’ water-quality mitigation zone on

visual and physical access to the water, so that once mature (and successfully replanted), the native trees and shrubs in that area will enhance the view and park setting to the greatest degree feasible.

• Undertake additional concept planning that incorporates the entirety of Front Street.

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CENTREVILLE HERITAGE DEVELOPMENT PLAN – APPENDIX A

APRIL 2014

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CENTREVILLE HERITAGE DEVELOPMENT PLAN – APPENDIX D

WHARF CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT – APRIL 2014

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CENTREVILLE HERITAGE DEVELOPMENT PLAN – APPENDIX A

APRIL 2014

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CENTREVILLE HERITAGE DEVELOPMENT PLAN – APPENDIX D

WHARF CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT – APRIL 2014

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CENTREVILLE HERITAGE DEVELOPMENT PLAN – APPENDIX A

APRIL 2014

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CENTREVILLE HERITAGE DEVELOPMENT PLAN – APPENDIX D

WHARF CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT – APRIL 2014

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CENTREVILLE HERITAGE DEVELOPMENT PLAN – APPENDIX A

APRIL 2014

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CENTREVILLE HERITAGE DEVELOPMENT PLAN – APPENDIX D

WHARF CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT – APRIL 2014

53 (This page intentionally blank.) 54 AAAAPPPPPPPPEEEENNNNDDDDIIIIXXXX EEEE:::: CCCCEEEENNNNTTTTRRRREEEEVVVVIIIILLLLLLLLEEEE RRRRAAAAIIIILLLLYYYYAAAARRRRDDDD CCCCOOOONNNNCCCCEEEEPPPPTTTT DDDDEEEEVVVVEEEELLLLOOOOPPPPMMMMEEEENNNNTTTT Following are concept plans developed for the Centreville Railyard, plus illustrations of typical site elements (the last page). Two preliminary concept plans and then a third were developed;

the final concept plan is presented first, on page 50.

For reasons explained thoroughly in text beginning on page 17 of the Centerville Heritage Development Plan, none of these plans represents a full and final concept. The process of their development, however, did provide the basis for Steering Committee guidance on next steps, explained on pages 13-17 and summarized here:

• Maximize green space

• Retain the existing storm water management facility

• Retain railroad turntable site and other railyard features to the degree practicable in

support of heritage interpretation and for the purpose of maintaining the unique qualities of the site

• Maximize surface parking according to need, which requires further analysis

• Development should be considered only after the preceding four conditions are satisfied in

the public interest

• Understand market conditions

• Develop clearly understood process

• Criteria for successful process: transparent, competitive, design criteria

• Develop better understanding of remaining railyard historic resources and undertake

appropriate reviews by historic preservation authorities

• Reassure the public that public access and public benefit will be maximized and that any

development opportunities must benefit both public and private interests

• Work up complete understanding of options for celebrating the town’s railroading history

with secure funding and operational plans

• Give the property a distinctive name

• Demonstrate green, innovative “complete street” development

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CENTREVILLE HERITAGE DEVELOPMENT PLAN – APPENDIX E

RAILYARD CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT – APRIL 2014

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CENTREVILLE HERITAGE DEVELOPMENT PLAN – APPENDIX E

RAILYARD CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT – APRIL 2014

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CENTREVILLE HERITAGE DEVELOPMENT PLAN – APPENDIX F

“PHASE II” INTERPRETIVE SIGN INSTALLATION– APRIL 2014

AAAAPPPPPPPPEEEENNNNDDDDIIIIXXXX FFFF:::: CCCCEEEENNNNTTTTRRRREEEEVVVVIIIILLLLLLLLEEEE HHHHEEEERRRRIIIITTTTAAAAGGGGEEEE TTTTRRRRAAAAIIIILLLL,,,, ““““PPPPHHHHAAAASSSSEEEE IIIIIIII”””” IIIINNNNSSSSTTTTAAAALLLLLLLLAAAATTTTIIIIOOOONNNN One two-sided vertical orientation sign and eight one-sided horizontal interpretive signs were installed in Centreville during the winter and early spring of 2014 to conclude this project, as

described in the plan. Four of the interpretive signs addressed Centreville’s railroading heritage, and four addressed the Town’s maritime heritage. Following early guidance provided by the Steering Committee, local historian Mary Margaret Revell Goodwin, a member of the planning team led by Heritage Strategies, LLC, executed the overall plan, providing more than a thousand hours of primary research, writing, and design. As noted in the plan, Centreville (and

Queen Anne’s County) lacks modern secondary sources, so organizing such interpretive signs presented a special challenge, one that will continue as future phases of the Centreville Heritage Trail are pursued. Royden Powell, III, a member of the Steering Committee and the Queen Anne’s Railroad Society, assisted in reviews of signs interpreting the railroad heritage. Elizabeth Watson of Heritage Strategies and Jennifer Ruffner of the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority

assisted in editing. Signs By Tomorrow of Pasadena, MD provided design services and fabricated the frames and signs. A local construction crew headed by Mary Margaret Revell Goodwin undertook the installation.

“Historic Centreville Points of Interest” orientation sign, shown in relation to Centreville’s premier attraction, the Queen Anne’s County Courthouse. (Photo by Elizabeth Watson, Heritage Strategies.) 61 Orientation sign, “points of interest” and map sides. (Photos by Mary Margaret Revell Goodwin) 62

CENTREVILLE HERITAGE DEVELOPMENT PLAN – APPENDIX F

“PHASE II” INTERPRETIVE SIGN INSTALLATION– APRIL 2014

Wharf Area Interpretive Sign #1 – tales of life by the Wharf and the bridge. (Photos by Mary Margaret Revell Goodwin) 63 Wharf Area Interpretive Sign #2 – re Captain Ozmon –the building in the background was his store. (Photos by Mary Margaret Revell Goodwin) 64

CENTREVILLE HERITAGE DEVELOPMENT PLAN – APPENDIX F

“PHASE II” INTERPRETIVE SIGN INSTALLATION– APRIL 2014

Wharf Area Interpretive Sign #3 – re Captain Clash, one of the two enterprising sea captains established at the Wharf. (Photos by Mary Margaret Revell Goodwin) 65 Wharf Area Interpretive Sign #4 – re the route along Chesterfield Avenue to the center of town.

(Photo #1 by Mary Margaret Revell Goodwin, photo #2 by Elizabeth Watson, Heritage Strategies) 66

CENTREVILLE HERITAGE DEVELOPMENT PLAN – APPENDIX F

“PHASE II” INTERPRETIVE SIGN INSTALLATION– APRIL 2014

Railroad Interpretive Sign #1 – situated at the south end of the Railyard near the site of the old dairy, explained in this sign. (Photo #1 by Mary Margaret Revell Goodwin, photo #2 by Elizabeth Watson, Heritage Strategies) 67 Railroad Interpretive Sign #2 – explaining the Queen Anne’s Railroad, which terminated near the location of this sign in Millstream Park. (Photos by Mary Margaret Revell Goodwin)

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CENTREVILLE HERITAGE DEVELOPMENT PLAN – APPENDIX F

“PHASE II” INTERPRETIVE SIGN INSTALLATION– APRIL 2014

Railroad Interpretive Signs #3 and #4 – situated at the north end of the Railyard. (Photo #1 by Mary Margaret Revell Goodwin, photos #2 and #3 by Elizabeth Watson, Heritage Strategies) 69

TOWN OF CENTREVILLE

101 Lawyers Row Centreville, MD 21617 (410) 758-4741 www.townofcentreville.org 70