Heritage Conservation and Educational Enrichment

The Evergreen Heritage Center Foundation was founded to make a meaningful difference in our rural community, where 75% of children qualify for the USDA’s Free and Reduced Meal Program. By working closely with community members, the foundation is dedicated to preserving our history, conserving the environment, and providing empowering educational opportunities through an outdoor classroom setting.

Empowering Children Through Experiential Learning

Historical Significance

Situated on 130 acres of Federal Hill in Allegany County, the Evergreen Heritage Center (EHC) is a historic Maryland farm dating back to before the Revolutionary War. Recognized on the National Register for its architectural importance (including the recently restored 200-year-old Evergreen Barn) and its role in early Western MD settlement, the EHC Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity, was founded in 2008. Its mission is to utilize this historic property to provide hands-on enrichment programs in Western Maryland counties, where the average per capita income is less than 60% of the state average. The foundation and its partners have developed and participated in multiple award-winning programs that benefit the Western MD community.

Impactful Enrichment Programs

Serving over 10,000 individuals annually, these impactful learning by doing programs showcase best practices in sustainability related to agriculture, forestry, and the environment. These programs include:

  • STEM & Humanities Enrichment: STEM and Humanities Enrichment field trips, in-school, and after school programs provide the opportunity for pre-K-12 students to discover the wonders of science and humanities through hands- on learning in the outdoors. These award-winning programs, all aligned with the MD State Curriculum, impact over 3000 students annually, consistently increasing student STEM and humanities literacy by 25 to 50% (per pre/post-tests) and serving as a model throughout the State.
  • Elementary Edibles: Elementary Edibles is an impactful gardening program for 4000 pre-K through grade 5 students who learn about, taste, and plant their own vegetables, with 95% agreeing to taste their vegetables and 70% or more voting that they liked or loved them!
  • The Nature of Art: The Nature of Art provides activities for all ages using art workshops, summer camp, events, and grade level-wide in-school programs for 1800 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders that increase art literacy by 25-65%, as well as art appreciation per pre/post-tests and surveys.
  • Higher Education and Research: Higher Education and Research offers real-world experience for 100+ college students each year as they gain marketable job credentials through EHC science, art, and business projects.
  • Professional Development: Professional Development provides teacher training for both art and science instructors, showing how to integrate experiential outdoor activities into the curriculum to increase learning and retention.
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Our History

Recognitions and Significance

The Evergreen Heritage Center is recognized by the Maryland Historical Trust (1976) and listed on the National Register of Historic Places (2015). Its historical significance lies in its role in settling western Allegany County in the late 1700s, when it was part of Washington County and still marked as former Shawnee land. Flintstone was the main settlement, and Cumberland had fewer than 35 families.

Early Settlers

Edward Grimes, the first settler of Federal Hill/Evergreen (later the Evergreen Heritage Center), moved west from Frederick in 1783. Grimes, a Revolutionary War Lieutenant, built the original house and barn, becoming a prominent farmer and businessman. In 1794, as one of the county’s first commissioners, he was appointed to build what became Route 36 from Cumberland to Mount Savage. His son-in-law, Michael Oswalt, who migrated from Pennsylvania, was also an early commissioner and owned one of the area’s first sawmills. Oswalt inherited and briefly owned the property before selling it to William Ridgeley in 1819.

Ridgeley and the Winter Eras

William Ridgeley, whose family migrated from the Eastern Shore, built a second house on the property, overlooking Mount Savage. Ridgeley owned ten slaves during his tenure. Ridgeley, an early County Commissioner, significantly influenced the region by laying out Frostburg's first plan and fostering the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and Chesapeake and Ohio Canal partnership, enhancing transportation access. Not residing in the original Grimes house, Ridgeley sold part of Federal Hill to George Winter in 1822. Winter, who moved from Frederick, owned one of the area's first woolen mills and an inn on what became the National Road. He expanded the Grimes house into a large plantation manor. After Winter's death in 1826, his son George Winter Jr. continued to live there and served as a County Commissioner. Following the Civil War, the Winter family sold the land to the Trimble family in 1869.

The Trimble Era

The Trimble family, originating from the Shenandoah Valley, settled near Edward Grimes on Federal Hill in the late 1700s. By acquiring the Winter property, they created one of the area's largest farms, covering over 1100 acres, including the present Evergreen Heritage Center. The Trimbles remodeled the Winter house into a Victorian mansion, continued farming, and joined the booming coal industry.

Modern Development

In 2008, Evergreen's owners founded the Evergreen Heritage Center Foundation to share the property with Western Maryland. Visitors can tour the Evergreen Mansion, now a museum, and the Evergreen Barn, with its original stone foundation and plantation-era farming tools. The Evergreen Coal Trail offers a hike through historical sites, including abandoned coal mine openings, a blacksmith’s forge, a miners' mule stable, the water tower and shed, a manually excavated water well, and the remnants of a bull wheel used to lower coal cars down a slope.

A group of people standing around a forest.

Explore Our Programs Firsthand

We'd love to hear from you! Whether you're interested in our programs, want to schedule a visit, or simply have questions about our initiatives, please reach out to us. Our team at the Evergreen Heritage Center is here to help and is excited to connect with you.

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