Did you know the Four Rivers Heritage Area is just one of the 13 heritage areas in Maryland? Our heritage areas are locally-designated and State-certified regions where public and private partners make commitments to preserving historical, cultural, and natural resources for sustainable economic development through heritage tourism.
Learn more about how heritage areas drive economic support to our state, then virtually visit the other 12 heritage areas by clicking on the heritage area name to access their website, YouTube or Facebook site.
Anacostia Trails Heritage Area/Maryland Milestones
Maryland Milestones highlights the first and unique moments which have occurred (or are occurring) in the Anacostia Trails Heritage Area. This program brings information about these “milestones” to the public and makes connections between the history, culture, and nature of the region.
Passages of the Western Potomac Heritage Area
The Passages of the Western Potomac Heritage Area (formerly known as the Canal Place Heritage Area), brings C&O Canal history to life for visitors and residents alike. Today, Cumberland’s transportation heritage is alive at Canal Place. Visitors can ride a train, hike or bike the towpath or the Great Allegheny Passage, tour a full scale canal boat replica, learn about canal history at the C&O Canal National Historical Park’s Cumberland Visitor Center.
Baltimore National Heritage Area
Baltimore’s concentration of historic, cultural, and natural resources makes the city a truly unique place. The city has been witness to events that have dramatically altered the course of the nation’s history. Over the centuries it has also been witness to more subtle changes in the way Americans work, play, and live.
Heart of Chesapeake Country Heritage Area
The themes that define the Heart of Chesapeake Country Heritage Area are: Agricultural Life; Arts, Artists & Entertainment; Chesapeake Landscapes and Outdoor Adventures; Dorchester Families and Traditions; Dorchester History, Architecture & Artifacts; The Environment; Harriet Tubman and the Eastern Shore African-American History; Maritime Villages, Trades, and Life; and Native American Heritage.
Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area
The Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area is an area rich in history, covering portions of Carroll, Frederick and Washington Counties. With one foot in the north, and one foot in the south, the story of the Civil War, its causes, battles, heroes and villains … its very meaning can be told nowhere better than in this part of Maryland.
Heritage Montgomery
With a history stretching back beyond colonial times, Montgomery County has a long heritage evidenced by rich cultural and historical resources. Four themes define the unique and distinctive features of Montgomery County’s heritage area are: Rivers, Roads, & Rails; Crossroads & Cultures; The Agricultural Reserve; and Heritage Gems.
Lower Eastern Shore Heritage Area
Lower Eastern Shore Heritage Area is committed to promoting, preserving, & protecting the cultural heritage, historical and natural assets of Somerset, Wicomico and Worcester counties. The Lower Eastern Shore Heritage Area works to blend economic development with the conservation of the area’s natural, cultural and historic resources.
Lower Susquehanna Heritage Greenway
The Lower Susquehanna Heritage Greenway stimulates local economic activity by developing a linkage between our natural, historic and cultural resources. This linkage is a series of land and water recreational trails that weave our past into our future while promoting an understanding and appreciation for the character of this region.
Mountain Maryland Gateway to the West
Mountain Maryland Gateway to the West Heritage Area boasts of its outstanding natural resources as well its cultural uniqueness, and transportation history. As the gateway to the opening and development of America’s western frontier in the late 18th and 19th centuries, Garrett County includes Braddock’s Road and the Historic National Road.
Patapsco Heritage Greenway
The Patapsco Heritage Greenway’s mission is to preserve, protect, interpret and restore the environment, history and culture of the Patapsco River Valley between Daniels and Elkridge, Maryland. Natural processes, natural beauty, and history combine to create a unique opportunity for neighboring residents and visitors from across the state and beyond.
Southern Maryland Heritage Area
Southern Maryland boasts a thousand miles of shoreline with fossil-laden cliffs, quiet tidal inlets and sandy beaches. The result of this unique geography is a maritime heritage of skipjacks, steamboats and lighthouses, a network of scenic byways joining resort towns and picturesque fishing communities and an abundance of state and national parks offering a diverse variety of water-based recreational activities.
Stories of the Chesapeake Heritage Area
Caroline, Kent, Queen Anne’s, and Talbot Counties are a significant part of the nation’s last great Colonial landscape. This is a landscape that reflects centuries of a thriving regional economy fueled by the riches of land and water, accessible by boat nearly everywhere and with level lands readily traversed and easily plowed.
And, you are invited to join Stories of the Chesapeake Heritage Area for a free Zoom workshop, Beyond the Ramp: Making Your Heritage Site Accessible on April 10 at 11:00 am. See you there!