The Maryland Historical Trust is an agency of Maryland Department of Planning

Maryland Department of Planning

The Maryland Department of Planning is a cabinet level agency in the government of the State of Maryland. The department is part of the Executive branch of the government and answers to the Governor of Maryland....

 and serves as the Maryland State Historic Preservation Office. The agency serves to assist in research, conservation, and education,of Maryland's historical and cultural heritage.

History

The agency was originally created in May 1961 as a quasi-public corporation for the purpose "of accepting and maintaining gifts of property and for assisting and encouraging preservation activities throughout the state."

Following the passage of the National Historic Preservation Act which created the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 in 1966, then Governor Spiro Agnew

Spiro Agnew

Spiro Theodore Agnew was the 39th Vice President of the United States , serving under President Richard Nixon, and the 55th Governor of Maryland...

appointed the Trust’s Director as the State Liaison Officer in 1967 and thus the Trust became the state historic preservation office (SHPO).