Overground Railroad: The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America with Candacy Taylor

On this week’s PreserveCast, join us as we talk with Daniela Holt Voith, a founding principal of Voith & Mactavish Architects. Daniela will take us through her history as an architect, how she was introduced to preservation, and one of her latest projects in the Town of Oxford, Md., where she and her team had to walk the line between modern sustainable practices and preservation.

On today's PreserveCast we're sitting down with Angela Crenshaw, Director of the Maryland Park Service. We'll hear about Angela's background, the State Park system, famous Marylanders, and the important work she's doing leading the department that safeguards Maryland's cultural and natural resources. 

Join us this week as we talk with Winslow Hastie, President & CEO of the Historic Charleston Foundation (HCF). On this week’s episode, we chat with Winslow about the 77-year old organization - it’s past and future - and the Nathaniel Russell House, a 19th century historic house museum in Charleston, South Carolina, owned and operated by the Historic Charleston Foundation. In December 2023, HCF announced they would be divesting the house and a month later, after public outcry, that decision was reversed. Sit in on our conversation with Winslow as we discuss what this story says about the current and future state of preservation.

On this week’s PreserveCast, join us as we talk with Andrew Rowand, a shoemaker who focuses on recreating shoes from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. Andrew will take us through his process for making the shoes, where his inspiration comes from, and what started his decade-long journey. 

On this week’s PreserveCast, join us as we talk with Jennifer Dewees, President at Maryland Center for Construction Education and Innovation, Inc. (MCCEI). Jennifer will discuss apprenticeships and how important they are to the construction industry, and the workforce as a whole. Jennifer is a co-founder and Construction Lead at the Maryland Apprenticeship Center where they are championing apprenticeships as essential pathways across all industries.    

On this week’s PreserveCast, join us as we talk with Annie Polland, President of the Tenement Museum, about their new exhibit A Union of Hope. Annie will take us through how they discovered the story of Joseph and Rachel Moore, Black New Yorkers who lived in the tenement in the 1860s – 1870s, and how they recreated their apartment in the Tenement Museum while navigating historic preservation and interpretation.  

Today we're joined by two of Preservation Maryland's own (the organization that powers PreserveCast!), Christiana Limniatis and Maggie Pelta-Pauls, to discuss the process of researching a historic property - why people conduct the research, the hidden histories that can be uncovered, and how researching a historic property has real-world impact today.  Check out Christiana and Maggie's work here: https://www.preservationmaryland.org/researching-the-history-of-the-berlin-house/ and Preservation Maryland’s Property Research Guide here: https://www.preservationmaryland.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/PresMD-Property-Research-Guide.pdf

On this week's episode we're talking with Natalie Henshaw, Director of The Campaign for Historic Trades. You may recognize Natalie's name (and voice!) as she hosts PreserveCast's Trades Takeover episodes, some of our most downloaded conversations here on PreserveCast.  Listen in to learn about the value of historic trades, apprenticeship programs, the impact they're having, and how you can get involved to make sure trades training happens in your community.  *March 3-9th is also Women in Construction Week - a perfect time for the head of a national historic trades program to share her knowledge about the industry and discuss equitable opportunities in the trades. 

Join us as we talk with Daniel Gagnon about his book A Salem Witch: The Trial, Execution, and Exoneration of Rebecca Nurse. Dan will take us on a deep dive into the world of the Salem Witch Trials and how one story stuck out and just had to be told. We cover everything from the accusations to the legacy, and how witchcraft themed tourism impacts modern storytelling.  Dan is the author of A Salem Witch: The Trial, Execution, and Exoneration of Rebecca Nurse. He is a high school history teacher on the North Shore of Massachusetts, serves on the board of directors of the Rebecca Nurse Homestead Museum, and serves as Chairman of the Town of Danvers’ Salem Village Historic District Commission. He has shared his research through many in-person and online programs, including C-SPAN’s television program American History TV, and has served as a subject-matter expert for local media. Learn more: https://danielgagnonhistory.com/

As we continue to recognize Black History Month, honoring the triumphs and struggles of African Americans throughout U.S. history, we're revisiting a conversation with Candacy Taylor, an award-winning author, photographer and cultural documentarian working on a multidisciplinary project based on the Green Book. In Overground Railroad: The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America, Taylor has masterfully pulled together this story of resilience and segregation in a way that elevates and memorializes this history – a history still rooted in countless towns and cities across America.