The Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties (MIHP) is a repository of information on districts, sites,
buildings, structures, and objects of known or potential value to the prehistory and history of the State
of Maryland. The Inventory was created shortly after the Maryland Historical Trust was founded in 1961,
and now includes data on more than 13,000 archaeological sites and 43,000 historic and architectural resources. The
MIHP includes information about both standing structures and archaeological resources. Inventoried properties contribute information
to our understanding of Maryland’s architecture, engineering, archaeology, or culture.
Note: The MIHP is solely an instrument for research and documentation: Inclusion in the
Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties involves no regulatory restrictions or
controls. Maryland state law provides mechanisms – separate from the MIHP – giving both
the State and local jurisdictions the authority to regulate appropriately designated historic resources.
About the MIHP for Archaeology
The Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties contains the official site records for approximately 15,000 archaeological
resources throughout the state and in Maryland waters. Archaeological sites in the inventory include colonial plantations,
historic domestic sites, slave quarters, mills, shell middens, prehistoric villages and camps, shipwrecks, wharves, piers,
and even sunken aircraft. These records rely on information provided by professional archaeologists and interested members
of the public alike, and vary considerably in their level of documentation. While MIHP (Architecture) data is freely
available to the general public, MHT limits access to archaeological data due to the prevalence of unreported pot-hunting,
privy-digging, and looting of archaeological sites for monetary gain, as well as other practices which can lead to the
destruction of these non-renewable records of Maryland’s history. Legislative support for this position can be found
in both the Public Information Act (State Government Article §§10-611 through 10-630) and the Maryland Historical
Trust Act (particularly State Finance and Procurement Title 5A-323[c]).
About the MIHP for Architecture
The Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties for Architecture is built upon documentation gathered through on-site
description and analysis of architectural resources (i.e. buildings, structures, objects, and districts). Additionally,
documentation includes site-specific historic research and connection to broader historic contexts. Through the Maryland
Inventory, MHT’s goal is to obtain detailed, comprehensive documentation and research on all properties. To ensure
uniformity of information on properties surveyed in the state, MHT has developed a standard inventory form, the
Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties (MIHP) form for architecture.
The MHT
Library is the official repository of the Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties; all architectural resources in
the Maryland Inventory can also be accessed online via Medusa, our
cultural resource information system.
