Improving Environmental Conditions for Shady Side Rural Heritage Society's Historical Collections

FAIN: PG-50333-08

Shady Side Rural Heritage Society (Shady Side, MD 20764-9713)
Janet Harris Surrett (Project Director: May 2007 to January 2008)
Vicki Petersen (Project Director: January 2008 to November 2009)

Analysis of environmental monitoring data and development of a plan to improve environmental conditions in the historic Captain Salem Avery House, where collections and exhibitions explore the history of a Chesapeake Bay community in the 19th and 20th centuries.

The Shady Side Rural Heritage Society will collaborate with a collections conservator and HVAC specialist to analyze more than two years of temperature/relative humidity data from areas where collections are stored or exhibited, assess operations of the Museum's HVAC system and develop a plan for improving environmental conditions, a critical priority in the Society's CAP Survey and Long-Range Conservation Plan. The project will address the needs of the Society's entire collection, composed of more than 1650 artifacts, 2500 documents and photographs, and 200 video and audio-oral histories. The Society collects objects and archival materials reflective of the history and traditions of Shady Side as well as objects used to interpret its National Register of Historic Places site -- the Captain Salem Avery House -- illuminating its evolution from waterman's home to fishing club. The story of the historic site and the community mirror the transformation of the Chesapeake Bay region from commerce to recreation.