Historic Preservation Program

Student and faculty work as teams to integrate historic preservation related materials with academic and applied art disciplines in concert with effective communication principles, teambuilding skills, and the compliance of competency standards. Vital to our historic preservation program are the topics of conservation, sustainability, technique, and treatment of historic structures.

Historic Preservation Trades Program Courses include:

• Introduction to Historic Preservation

• Historic Documentation and Research

• History of Building Materials

• Shop Safety: Use of Power and Hand Tools

• Various elective courses including: Stained Glass Restoration, Carpentry and Millwork, Historic Metals, Historic Masonry, Plasterworks, Field Site Lab and more. View a complete list of Degree Requirements.
  
  

The Need for Historic Preservation

Historic Preservation is an ever growing industry. The field encompasses a broad range of activities related to preservation and conservation of the built environment by physical and intellectual methods; e.g. planning, administration, heritage tourism, education and the trades. A frequent concern voiced by preservation organizations and historic property owners is the difficulty of finding skilled and qualified trades people to maintain and repair their historic structures. Most often, it is the historic trade’s part of the field of Historic Preservation that is neglected. Harford Community College’s Building Preservation Program has helped Maryland address this need through its hands-on applied historic trades program, the only Associates degree program offered on the east coast with a curriculum focusing upon hands-on applications.

Past and Current projects include:

Hays-Heighe House building investigation, Hays-Heighe House Springhouse restoration, Maryland and Harford County Barn and Outbuilding Survey Project, Fort Delaware Shutter Project, Bel Manor Interior Plasterwork, Steppingstone Drystone wall and Timber Frame project, Jerusalem Mill Timber Frame project, and various building structure survey projects.

 

Career Paths in Historic Preservation and Restoration

Historic Preservation Program students move on to additional academic training, internships or apprenticeship opportunities directly into employment. Students sometimes elect to work for a variety of restoration trade companies, non-profit organizations or federal agencies.

 

Interested in Joining the Historic Preservation Trades Program at HCC?

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