Annapolis, MD (February 26, 2026) – Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman today shared that the county is seeking participation in its Crownsville Hospital Historic Documentation and Storytelling Project.
“As stewards of Crownsville, we have a responsibility to share its history. The history of racism and pain, and the history of resilience and fortitude,” said County Executive Pittman. “This project will add to the work and research conducted by local historian Janice Hayes-Williams to shed light on the experiences of patients, employees, family, and community members whose lives were impacted by Crownsville Hospital.”
Key objectives of the project include:
- Collecting oral histories that document Crownsville Hospital’s historic role as a segregated mental health facility, while also highlighting the resilience, care, and dedication of the Black community in caring for its patients and restoring their humanity
- Creating a Digital Repository featuring letters, artwork, and archival materials retrieved from the now-defunct hospital
- Hosting a series of Oral History Workshops to train residents and students from local high schools and universities in best practices for collecting additional oral histories
Individuals with their own knowledge or history with Crownsville Hospital are encouraged to complete this survey or contact crownsvilleoralhistories@
Through the FY24 Congressionally Directed Spending process, this project was awarded a $500,000 grant through the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. Combined with a $125,000 county grant match and an additional $415,000 in county funding, this investment will support a multi-year effort to preserve and share the history of Crownsville Hospital and its community.
Dr. Le Datta Denise Grimes of the Office of Planning and Zoning serves as Program Manager for the Crownsville Hospital Historic Documentation and Storytelling Project. Dr. Grimes holds a PhD in History from the University of Kentucky and studies African American communities in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Prior to joining the county, Dr. Grimes served as an oral historian at Clemson University, where her work documented South Carolina’s Civil Rights history.
“As the county reimagines the dry bones that were once Crownsville Hospital and creates a new Memorial Park, this project puts flesh on those bones,” said Dr. Grimes. “It documents the history and the heartbeat of Crownsville Hospital — the people — and preserves their stories for centuries to come.”
Award-winning local and nationally recognized genealogist and historian Lyndra Marshall (née Pratt), videographer Anthony Smoot, and photographer Valentino Owens Sr. will conduct the oral histories for this project. Together, this team has produced various historical projects for more than twenty years, including work for the National Park Service, the Smithsonian Institute, the Galesville Community Center, the Wiley H. Bates Legacy Center, and the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture. They have previously worked with the county to produce the Civil Rights Oral History Project in partnership with the non-profit Lost Towns Project, Inc.
“Let’s tell our story, and don’t let anyone force us to be silent killers of our collective history,” Marshall said. “Research-Document-Interpret-
Background
Crownsville Hospital opened in 1911 as Maryland’s Hospital for the Negro Insane, with 12 patients who built the segregated asylum from the ground up. It desegregated in 1963 and closed in 2004 after nearly a century of overcrowding, violence, medical experimentation, and abuse. Amid this neglect, however, a groundswell of grassroots activism emerged. Black doctors, nurses, staff, and community members embraced patients, bathed them, clothed them, and, when possible, reunited them with their families.
In 2022, Anne Arundel County Government obtained Crownsville Hospital from the State of Maryland, and it is now known as Crownsville Hospital Memorial Park.
For more information on the Crownsville Hospital Memorial Park, visit https://www.aacounty.org/