Supporting Community History & Heritage

 

            My ultimate takeaway from my experiences interning for Todd’s Inheritance Historic Site is twofold. Firstly, learning how to conduct research, cataloging artifacts, and handle delicate items with very little support, knowledge, resources, or guidance is a tremendous endeavor. While the team of volunteers at Todd’s provided as much support as possible to my work, most of the project was carried out with very little oversight. This kind of experiences forces a researcher to pick up skills ad hoc and improvise when necessary; having the responsibility of handling and identifying family heirlooms so they can more accurately be presented for the public’s enjoyment is a serious task that must be treated with a solemn respect. Secondly, I have come to truly understand and appreciate the struggle involved in community-supported museums, archives, and historic sites like Todd’s Inheritance. The stewards of sites like Todd’s do not have access to vocational training on archival administration and material handling from accredited universities, expensive climate controlled environments, extensive archival records detailing the history of the property, or large financial investments from state resources or intellectual organizations. However, they make do with what they have access to and they do a tremendous job of respecting the property and materials’ histories while also creating an extremely accessible and welcoming environment for the general public to visit and learn about their community history and cultural heritage. Small, volunteer-run sites are invaluable to the preservation of community history as they ultimately will always have the best interest in their preservation since they have virtually no ulterior motives. I look forward to continuing my work collecting, itemizing, cataloging the historic items housed at Todd’s as a volunteer and supporting this small slice of preserved history.

Todd’s Inheritance also provides demonstrations, re-enactments, and lectures that provide opportunities for community interaction with the history, as well as improvement of accessibility to the general public. This photo shows the volunteers presenting a demonstration on Defenders’ Day to commemorate the Battle of North Point and the siege of Baltimore in 1814.