H i s t o r i c
London Town & Gardens 2017 Annual Report
Thank You from the Executive Director 2017 was another memorable year at Historic London Town & Gardens, and 2018 looks like it’s following in that path – all because of you! Last year, over 22,000 people (and at least 195 dogs) were educated and entertained through our school and group tours, public programs, weddings & rentals, and general visitation. Maryland Day weekend saw record attendance with over 600 people onsite on Saturday, March 25th alone! You also reached new records for the Summer Concert Series and Illuminated London Town. While most came from Anne Arundel County, we welcomed people from across Maryland and beyond.
FISCAL YEAR CHANGE
Rod Cofield, Executive Director
During 2017, we switched our fiscal year from July 1st to start on January 1st. This change better aligns with our typical cash flow. Note that the financials shared in this annual report reflect general operating funds raised and spent during the calendar year 2017, which overlapped with half of fiscal year 2017 (January 1 to June 30, 2017) and the second six months of 2017 (July 1 to December 31, 2017). As such, the numbers are slightly different from our approved budget and annual audit.
WILLIAM BROWN HOUSE PRESERVATION
Highlights of 2017 include raising $250,000 from Anne Arundel County and the State of Maryland to begin important preservation work this summer on the William Brown House (c.1760), a National Historic Landmark and the heart of London Town’s historic area. Since then, both have also pledged an additional $275,000 combined towards the second phase of work, set to begin in 2019. Speaking of the William Brown House, you recently raised more than $18,000 towards reconstructing the building’s lost bar! You have been amazingly generous, and we are grateful. Look for more information about the Build the Bar campaign in the fall magazine and updates on a forthcoming blog about the preservation work. Stay tuned!
GARDEN PAVILION & NATURE PROGRAMMING
We also received $50,000 from the Davidsonville Ruritans to install a new open air garden pavilion, which will open soon. This pavilion will be used in many ways, including as part of our new nature programming efforts. Speaking of which, you’ve helped raise $5,200 towards our nature programming efforts, which will introduce environmental literacy to younger students in our gardens. Thanks to the Four Rivers Heritage Area, Lothian Ruritans, and all of you who have given funds to this new educational experience!
COMMUNITY OF SUPPORT
We couldn’t have achieved all of this without you and our family of supporters. Cumulatively, giving equaled $170,746 including memberships, donations (restricted and unrestricted), fundraisers, grants and corporate giving. This does not include the Brown House work, as that will be paid out in 2018. Thanks to you, 2017 was our best year ever for memberships, individual giving, and corporate support. I welcome you to visit London Town often this year and beyond. Enjoy our great programming and discover more deeply the site’s unique history and beautiful gardens.
Thank you for a great year,
Find a cont full list a ribut ing m cknowled www o g .hist oricl re than $ ing all do ondo 500 nors in ntow a n.org 2017 at nd memb /ann ers ualre port
Rod Cofield, Executive Director rodcofield@historiclondontown.org
Media Coverage – Londaon Town was featured in AAA World Magazine (Mid-Atlantic, Sept-Oct 17) and hosted filming last year for Travel Channel’s Booze Traveler
4880+ – Volunteers contributed over 4880 hours
230 – The capped number of attendees who partied
with our public programs, as docents, in the gardens, with administrative tasks, and for special events. Their efforts are valued at more than $130,735. Source: Independent Sector. Maryland’s value of volunteer time at $26.79 an hour
like a privateer at London Town’s annual benefit, raising over $38,000. The event sold out for the first time! This year’s Privateer Party will be Friday, November 2nd.
551 – The number of people who took advantage of free admission through our Library Pass and Blue Star Military programs. 257 active military members and their families who visited London Town for free between Memorial Day and Labor Day (underwritten by the WaWa Foundation), while 294 people checked out a four person pass from any of Anne Arundel County’s public libraries.
Your Story: History’s Mysteries Explored In the early 1990s, Marcie Taylor-Thoma (shown right) taught her 8th grade history students about the mystery of the lost colony at Roanoke. She figured they’d be fascinated, but their response surprised her. They didn’t believe her. Surely, they argued, that she was holding back the big reveal of what had happened to the colonists who had disappeared. No matter what she said, they just wouldn’t believe there were such unresolved mysteries in history! Marcie then knew she had to introduce her students to history in a new way. A method that wasn’t simply rattling off dates in a book, but actually showed them the clues in historical documents and artifacts. She wanted them to discover that history is still being discovered all the time. Then, she saw an article about London Town in the Capital-Gazette. Here was a “lost town” in their own backyard! She became involved with early archaeological efforts at the site under Dr. Al Luckenbach. Marcie and her students formed an archaeology club and visited regularly. They researched the lives of people who lived and worked in the colonial port town of London. They explored the artifacts unearthed. The students learned not just how to research and critically examine history, but that they could be part of the process of uncovering history themselves. Even after Marcie was promoted to the social studies department of the Maryland State Department of Education, she continued to stay in touch with London Town and her former students. Today, several of those students are now history teachers themselves. Marcie, meanwhile, served on the board at London Town, nearly twenty years after she began volunteering here. After spending her career instilling the next generation’s passion for history, Marcie has made a commitment to ensuring London Town continues to inspire students of all ages through the future. After a recent health scare, Marcie made sure to include London Town in her will. She wants to ensure that London Town will always be a place of discovery for students of all ages. Designating London Town in your will, trust, retirement account, or life insurance policy is easy to do and includes tax benefits! For more information and sample language, visit www.historiclondontown.org/estateplanning or contact Lauren Silberman, deputy director, at lauren@historiclondontown.org or 410-222-1919 x205.
Financial information is for the calendar year 2017. Financial statements for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2017 have been audited. Not included are restricted funds including donations and grants for specific projects. Full financials available upon request.
Your Story: A Garden to Remember Not long after Susanne and Gordon Smith (shown right) married in 1982, Susanne’s mother Lillian S. Hall (shown below) insisted that her new son-in-law must visit one of her favorite places – the gardens at London Town. She often brought people to see the gardens as they evolved and couldn’t wait to share this hidden gem with her newest family member. And visiting in early spring was ideal to catch the blooms beginning to burst forth with color. Gordon, however, wasn’t quite so excited. While he and Susanne had both grown up in the area, they were carving out a new life together in New York City. But Lillian persevered, and her efforts won Gordon over. London Town left a strong impression. So much so, that when the couple moved back to the area in the early 1990s, they returned to this enchanting place where horticulture combined with colonial history. Both have deep genealogical roots in Maryland, dating back centuries. Gordon had ancestors on The Ark and The Dove, the ships that brought the first English colonists here in 1634. While Susanne’s ancestors didn’t arrive until the late 1600s, they did sponsor the voyage that brought Gordon’s family! When then Anne Arundel County Executive Janet Owens asked Gordon to join the board at London Town, he was no longer reluctant to be part of this beautiful place. He readily agreed. After serving two terms as a board member, he became board president and helped usher in an era of growth and development at London Town, leading to the opening of the visitor center. After his term ended, Susanne took up the task and served on the board. She advocated strongly for the gardens and was co-chairman through four Maryland House and Garden Pilgrimages, which raised funds for the site and its horticultural treasures. After Lillian passed away in 2003, Susanne and Gordon made a significant contribution to the gardens and had a bed of the ornamental gardens named in her mother’s memory. A beautiful, rustic gazebo was created for the gardens by artist Pierre Moitrier. The gazebo added a focal point to the gardens and gave a sheltered resting place for visitors. Indeed, Lillian had always wanted a gazebo in her own home garden, but it was a dream never realized. In her memory, cedars from her old homestead were used in the creation of the beautiful gazebo. Today, the Lillian S. Hall Memorial Garden continues to blossom year after year, filled with bulbs, magnolias, hydrangea, and many other bright highlights. It’s also a pollinator garden, providing food and shelter to butterflies and bees. The Smiths continue to support the garden at London Town, enabling all to continue discovering the same beautiful place that Lillian had shared all those years ago. Visit the Lillian S. Hall Memorial Garden in the ornamental gardens. Would you like to sponsor a garden bed or make a gift to the gardens? Visit www.historiclondontown.org/donate or contact Lauren Silberman, deputy director, at lauren@historiclondontown.org or 410-222-1919 x205.
Your Story: Revolutionary Volunteers If you’ve ever come out to one of London Town’s living history weekends, you’ve probably encountered volunteers from Ship’s Company, one of the many costumed re-enacting groups that London Town partners with to bring the site’s history alive. Whether you’ve sung along with them in the tavern room of the William Brown House, learned how to make rope with them in the ropewalk, or watched them take to the South River with one of their boats, Ship’s Company interprets many aspects of maritime life both at London Town and across the area. This year, London Town presented the Above and Beyond Volunteer Award to Myron Peterson (shown above), a longtime volunteer with London Town and Ship’s Company. While he’s been coming to London Town to interpret for over fifteen years, Myron’s been involved with Ship’s Company since only a few years after the group was originally founded in 1982. Ship’s Company was originally created to interpret specifically around the USS Constellation in Baltimore. However, when the ship went into dry-dock in the mid-1980s, they began expanding their focus. Today, they interpret American maritime life between 1775 and 1865. This includes both sailors (navy and civilian) and marines. They also have a group of chanteymen who have sung across the eastern seaboard. Around 40 people volunteer with the Ship’s Company. The group became involved with London Town back when Greg Stiverson was executive director in the early 2000s. For a long time, they’ve been heavily involved with the popular Revolutionary London Town weekend in early July. You may have seen their volunteers firing the cannon or sharing news of the Declaration of Independence. They’ve also been involved with Shore Party, as shown in the photo below of their boat on the South River. Learn more about Ship’s Company at www.shipscompany.org. If you’re interested in becoming a volunteer for London Town, visit www.historiclondontown.org/volunteer or contact Rachel Rabinowitz, Visitor Services Coordinator, at 410-2221919 x200 or londontown@historiclondontown.org. Volunteers are always needed for helping not only in the historic area but also the gardens as well.
Annual report photos courtesy of Bob Peterson, Eric Stocklin, Marcie Taylor-Thoma, Susanne & Gordon Smith, and London Town staff.
5,275 – How many school tour visitors discovered colonial history in their own backyard. While half of the students were 4th and 5th graders from Anne Arundel County, London Town educated students from across Maryland. Coming soon: Nature programming in the gardens for younger students!