Photo courtesy CBMM
Aided by state grant funding, CBMM plans to rehabilitate a historic structure on its campus that previously housed its Museum Store and rename it the Coulbourne & Jewett Education Center.
ST. MICHAELS, MD – The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum is pleased to announce plans to rehabilitate a historic structure on its campus and rename it the Coulbourne & Jewett Education Center with the support of a $242,000 grant from the state of Maryland through its African American Heritage Preservation Program (AAHPP).
In preserving and enhancing the simple Victorian residence that most recently served as its Museum Store, CBMM aims to share the history and celebrate the legacy of the Black-owned Coulbourne & Jewett Seafood Packing Company, which was once the largest employer in St. Michaels. In the early 20th century, entrepreneur William H.T. Coulbourne lived in the home on Navy Point, a short walk from the innovative firm he owned with business partner Frederick Jewett.
Awarded last month by the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture and the Maryland Historical Trust, the AAHP grant funding will go toward the exterior renovation of the building, which was constructed circa 1875 as the miller’s residence for an adjacent sawmill.
This phase of the project includes the repair or replacement of the building’s siding, single-pane windows, and roof, with the work expected to begin later this year. Later phases will focus on interior renovations to accommodate its repurposing as an education space.
“This is an exciting next step for our campus,” CBMM’s President & CEO Kristen L. Greenaway said. “We are thrilled to be able to further our mission through the implementation of this new education space while honoring and amplifying the very important historical story of Coulbourne & Jewett. We are grateful to Gov. Wes Moore and his administration for their support to help bring the project to life.”
The opportunity to reimagine and restore the historic structure came with the move of CBMM’s Museum Store across campus into the new Welcome Center, which opened during the fall of 2023.
CBMM completed initial retrofitting to allow its Education Team to begin utilizing the building last summer. In addition to increasing indoor space for summer campofferings, the new space has been utilized by the Rising Tide after-school program and other youth education initiatives, including field trips and homeschool programming.
The long-term vision is for the Coulbourne & Jewett Education Center to become a vibrant learning hub as CBMM’s primary space for public and student programming with the capacity to accommodate groups larger than a typical classroom.
With the help of grant funding, the next step is to renovate the exterior to maintain its historical integrity while making needed repairs to ensure long term sustainability. The building is among five original structures on campus that contribute to the character of the St. Michaels historic district.
Photo courtesy CBMM
With the Coulbourne & Jewett Education Center, the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum aims to share the history and celebrate the legacy of the Black-owned Coulbourne & Jewett Seafood Packing Company. In this historic photo, Elwood Jewett of Coulbourne & Jewett Seafood Packing Company is pictured with tins of picked crabmeat, circa 1953. Photo courtesy of Blanche Jewett. Collection of Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, 336.0008.
CBMM is committed to sharing the building’s history, celebrating the remarkable owners of the Coulbourne & Jewett Seafood Packing Company as well as the hundreds of workers who once labored on CBMM’s waterfront campus.
William Coulbourne and Frederick Jewett were among the earliest seafood packers in the region to specialize in crab meat, and they devised a crab meat grading system that is still used by the seafood industry today.
With its recent exhibitions and programming, CBMM has moved to present a more inclusive, human-focused perspective on Chesapeake history.
While the story of the Coulbourne & Jewett Seafood Packing Company is shared elsewhere on CBMM’s campus, its connection to this building’s history has been largely untold. That will change with the addition of outdoor interpretive signage detailing the story of these pioneering entrepreneurs and the laborers who made their living on Navy Point while highlighting historic connections between Black communities and the Bay.
“As we learned more about our former Museum Store, we realized the unique opportunity for us to share a vital piece of local history with our community,” CBMM’s Vice President of Education & Interpretation Jill Ferris said. “We want to honor the legacy of Coulbourne, Jewett, and the many Black packinghouse workers who made a living here with our care of this historic structure and the stories that it will now help us tell.”
The goal of Maryland’s African American Heritage Preservation Program is to identify and preserve buildings, communities and sites of historical and cultural importance to the African American experience in Maryland. In total, the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture and the Maryland Historical Trust awarded 31 AAHPP grants totaling $5,000,000 to benefit projects across the state for FY2025.
The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum is a non-profit educational organization that preserves and explores the history, environment, and culture of the entire Chesapeake Bay region, and makes this resource accessible to all.
Every aspect of fulfilling this mission is driven by CBMM’s values of relevance, authenticity, and stewardship, along with a commitment to providing engaging guest experiences and transformative educational programming, all while serving as a vital community partner. For more information, visit cbmm.org.
