Union Mills Homestead Opposes MPRP
The Union Mills Homestead Foundation opposes the proposed high voltage electrical transmission line project known as the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project (MPRP). The Homestead Foundation’s Board of Governors voted to oppose MPRP at a September 10, 2024 board meeting.
The non-profit Homestead Foundation operates the Union Mills Homestead and Grist Mill, a historic site north of Westminster, in Carroll County. The proposed high voltage power lines through Carroll County would adversely impact key historic resources surrounding the site. One proposed route for MPRP cuts through the Union Mills Homestead Historic District, a 279-acre national historic district that surrounds the property where the historic site is located.
The Union Mills Homestead and Grist Mill, a farmstead operated by Maryland’s Shriver family for six generations, is now a historic landmark and museum. The museum is dedicated to preserving and sharing authentic stories of determination and innovation of the Shriver family at Union Mills. The historic site is a testament to the entrepreneurial spirit of American families and features a working grist mill, original family furnishings, and a rich history spanning multiple centuries. The authenticity of Union Mills is threatened by MPRP.
The MPRP project also threatens family farms in the area, some operated by the same family for over 225 years, as well as natural resources in the Big Pipe Creek watershed and critical preserved farmland in the region.
According to the Homestead Foundation’s Executive Director, Kyle P. Dalton, “Union Mills and the surrounding area host a wealth of historical resources that are threatened by the MPRP project. Construction could irreparably damage yet undiscovered archaeological resources and the proposed power lines, when completed, would permanently mar the authentic landscape surrounding our site. As an organization whose mission is explicitly dedicated to preserving and sharing authentic stories of our past, it is our It is our responsibility to oppose this project.”
In opposing MPRP, the Union Mills Homestead joins other historic groups including the Carroll County Historic Preservation Commission and Preservation Maryland, the state’s largest and oldest historic preservation organization.
Preservation Maryland provides detailed information about MPRP’s impact in Carroll County and adjacent communities on their website: https://preservationmaryland.org/preservation-maryland-opposes-route-of-maryland-piedmont-reliability-project-through-historic-resources-conserved-lands/
We encourage our stakeholders to contact local officials and to email comments to the Public Service Commission to be part of the public record: [email protected].