'Little Valley' Added to County Register of Historic Places

The votes are in and a home in the Cromwood-Coventry neighborhood could be the latest on a long list of historical sites in Baltimore County.

The building, barn, and surrounding property—known as Little Valley—was voted onto the preliminary landmarks list for the county at a recent meeting of the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

According to Teri Rising, a spokeswoman for the county Department of Planning Historic Preservation Services Division, members of the commission agreed unanimously that the property met the county standards for a historic designation at a meeting on Jan. 12.

"They determined it was eligible because of its assocation with the early settlement and development of Baltimore County," Rising said. "It's also cited as an example of 19th century stone vernacular architecture."

In order to make it onto the preliminary list of landmarks a property must meet at least one of the following criteria:

• Being associated with a personality, group, event, or series of events of historical importance.
• Being a distinctive example of a particular architectural style or period
• Being good example of the work or a noted architect or master builder.
• A work of notable artistic merit.
• Having yielded or being likely to yield information or materials important in
  prehistory or history.

Rising said that to add a property to the final landmarks list takes an act of legislation. From this point the property will be submitted to the office of County Executive Kevin Kamenetz before heading to the County Council for final approval.

Any property in Baltimore County can be nominated by any resident for designation as a historic site. Once designated, owners are eligible for tax credits but changes can't be made to the exterior of the property without the approval of the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

The historical property is located at the rear of a and, according to Jen Nugent in the county's Office of Planning, the historical designation should not have any impact on that development's future.

"It's my understanding that this development (Cromwell Ridge) does not have any impact on the historical significance of the property," Nugent said.