Open House to Preview Biscoe Gray Heritage Farm Plan


Public is Invited to Comment on Plan to Convert Site for Tourism and Education

PRINCE FREDERICK, Md. (July 14, 2010) – The public will have the opportunity to view and comment on a draft master plan for the Biscoe Gray Heritage Farm at an open house on Monday, July 26, at 6 p.m. in the hearing room at Courthouse Square, 205 Main Street, in Prince Frederick.

Plans and results of historical and archaeological research will be on display at the open house, and Calvert County staff members and citizen volunteers will be on hand to talk about the property and the kinds of activities that may take place there. Kathy Poole of POOLE DESIGNS, LLC, who developed the plans with the Ottery Group, will give a presentation on the project at 7 p.m. followed by a question-and-answer session. Light refreshments will be served.

The draft master plan covers the development of the Biscoe Gray property as a working heritage farm for tourism and education. The 196-acre farm is located off of Grays Road south of Prince Frederick and was acquired by Calvert County in 1996 with funds through Maryland’s Rural Legacy Program.

The goal of the project is to re-create a functioning small-scale family farm of the type common in the region circa 1950 that will provide opportunities for experiential learning, heritage tourism, heritage education and sustainable agriculture.

Named for the last private owner of the property, the Biscoe Gray farm was owned by an African American family with the surname of Rice in the 19th century. Four principal structures are on the property: A 1930s frame house, known as the George Rice House, with a chicken coop, meat house and cowshed; a 19th-century side-passage, two-story vernacular house; and two tobacco barns, one dating from the mid-20th century and the other constructed circa 1830. The 1930s house and the 1830s barn are listed on the Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties.

For more information on the open house event, contact Linda Lanzisera at 410-535-5327 or e-mail LanzisLG@co.cal.md.us.

Source: Calvert County Government

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