Grants Awarded to Repair 16 Historic County Properties

Sixteen historic properties in Prince George's County are slated for restoration with the recent approval of a half-million dollars in financing by the county's Historic Property Grant Program.

"These buildings are precious to our heritage," County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D) said last week in a news release announcing the grants. "And they include a tiny, African American schoolhouse forgotten for generations, three churches badly in need of window replacements, and a number of homes and barns that are important to their neighborhoods."

Among the larger restoration projects are the Black Swamp Schoolhouse in Brandywine, one of the first public schools for African Americans, which will get a $49,000 facelift; Oaklands, a Laurel home built in 1790 and saved from demolition by its new owner, slated for $50,000 in improvements; and the 97-year-old Fairmount Heights school building, which houses St. Mark African Orthodox Church and will receive $40,000 to restore windows.

The projects were chosen from among 37 applications reviewed by the Historic Grants Committee, chaired by Henry C. Turner Jr., who also serves on the Historic Preservation Commission. The projects got a green light from the Maryland-National Capital Parks and Planning Commission with the provision that the repairs are "historically accurate."

The Historic Property Grant Program was conceived of four years ago after County Council members Thomas E. Dernoga (D-Laurel) and Tony Knotts (D-Temple Hills) met with county residents. They decided a program was needed to help historic-property owners make repairs aimed at preserving the county's history. Knotts and Dernoga reached out to county government for financing and received staff support from the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission. They also turned to the Prince George's Historic Preservation Commission, chaired by David A. Turner, to create the program.

"We are well aware of the historical perspective and the importance of keeping future generations aware of the history of this county," Knotts said. "It leaves a legacy that goes beyond what happens during our term."

Other projects selected to receive grants are McEwan House and Hitching Post Hill, Hyattsville; Elwood J. Taylor House, Berwyn Heights; Taliaferro House, College Park; Cheverly United Methodist Church, Cheverly; Bostwick Stable, Bladensburg; the Isaac Brown and Sidney Pittman houses, Fairmont Heights; St. John's Broad Creek Episcopal Church, Fort Washington; Villa de Sales Stable, Aquasco; Chapel of the Incarnation, Brandywine; Kingston, Upper Marlboro; and St. Thomas Church, Croom.

Two projects designated as alternates are Woodville School, Aquasco; and Poplar Hill on His Lordship's Kindness, Clinton.

For information and photos of the projects, visit http://www.mncppc.org/county/hpc.htm.

Daughter of Slain Student Awarded $2.7 Million

The daughter of a man who was shot and killed by a Prince George's police officer after a 25-mile chase in 2000 was awarded $2.7 million to settle a civil lawsuit, a county spokesman said.

Nina Jones, the daughter of Prince Jones, 25, a Howard University student fatally shot by an undercover county police corporal, will receive the payment in installments, said John Erzen, a spokesman for County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D).

The shooting death of Jones sparked a Justice Department investigation into broader allegations of brutality and questionable shootings by the department. The probe led to numerous changes, including how the department uses police dogs. The payment to Nina Jones is the vast majority of the $2.9 million the county paid in judgments and out-of-court settlements in fiscal 2008 for lawsuits alleging misconduct by county police, according to an announcement Johnson made last week. Under previous administrations, county attorneys routinely insisted that settlements in police misconduct lawsuits be kept secret. But Johnson pledged five years ago that all such settlements would be made public.