February 2025 fundraiser: fund the floors!

This year for Black History Month, we honor the ancestors by looking to the future, and by asking you—family, friends, and neighbors—to support crucial repairs to the historic Sugarland church.

When workers replaced the rotting exterior siding of the church in 2023, we got a rare look at the floors and foundation from the outside. We knew the church had floor issues, but what we found was troubling. As you’ll see in the photos, some of the floor joists and foundation beams were crumbling right before our eyes—the result of 130 years of rain, termites, mice, and the hardships of time.

We need to pull up the floorboards inside the front entrance of the church. Depending on what we find underneath, we may need to replace the flooring in all or most of the church.

Generous donors have given us partial funding for this project. A grant from the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority through the Maryland Historic Trust has given us $14,000, with an additional $14,000 to come. We’ve also received a $5,000 Mellon grant through the kind assistance of Bowie State University.

But with estimates for floor replacement, structural repair, and related costs that could run as high as $80,000, maybe more, we need your help if we’re going to get this job done right, once and for all.

With your support, we can host bigger indoor events again—and keep this beautiful church standing for generations to come.

We’d be grateful for your tax-deductible donation. 
You can also mail a check to:
Sugarland Ethno-History Project
P.O. Box 388, Poolesville, Md., 20837.

 

Since the 2021 passing of our founder Gwen Hebron Reese, we’ve honored her memory by repairing and restoring the church she cherished. We’ve replaced the roof, fixed the steeple, restored the chimneys, added much-needed gutters, installed a ductless HVAC system, and replaced rotting exterior siding.

We know how many of you love the Sugarland church and the important history it represents. With your help, we can keep it standing as a special place for descendants and an educational resource for all.

 

Gifts to the Sugarland Ethno-History Project, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.