$316K In Grants Distributed To Catonsville Groups By Historical Society

CATONSVILLE, MD — The Catonsville Historical Society has awarded grants to three organizations totaling $316,750. The grants mark the largest distribution made by the historical society.

Grant recipients include the Catonsville Rails to Trails, The Catonsville Arts District/Baltimore County Arts Guild and CCBC. The grants were distributed as part of the organization's dissolution process. The Catonsville Historical Society closed December 2021 and the board will remain in place until the assets are distributed.

"Our board has been struggling with recruiting volunteers for quite some time and COVID has further complicated our volunteer pool and ability to fundraise," the board wrote in a letter sent to its members and shared with Patch in August 2021. "After much thought and careful deliberations, the board has determined that the best way to keep our mission and vision alive is to distribute the remaining assets and collections to a few local 501c nonprofit organizations. Once the distribution is complete, the board will dissolve our organization."

The founders of the 48-year-old historical society, the Townsend family, had bequeathed its home to the society as a museum to house Catonsville memorabilia. But after the house struggled through two floods, the society's board of directors decided to sell the house and use the proceeds to further its mission: "To foster community spirit through the preservation of historical artifacts and the illumination of the rich heritage of Catonsville, Maryland."