The Historic Takoma Mission
Historic Takoma, Inc. [HTI] is a membership-based, all-volunteer, 501(c)3 non-profit organization, founded to preserve the heritage of Takoma Park, MD and the Takoma Park neighborhood of DC through educational activities and the preservation of historic landmarks and artifacts, especially documentary archives.
The mission of HTI is to improve the quality of life in the Takoma community by
- educating the public about the value of historic preservation
- promoting public policies that foster preservation of historic resources
- preserving the architecture and physical environment of the Takoma community
- working with the greater community to revitalize business areas
- procuring and preserving artifacts, documents, and other archival materials relating to the history of the community
- establishing and maintaining historic structures and exhibits for the public
- holding meetings, sponsoring lectures and demonstrations, and supporting other events for the instruction and information of our membership, our community, and the general public
HTI was incorporated in Maryland in 1979. In the early 1980s it absorbed the archival collections and other assets of the Takoma Park Historical Society by mutual agreement. HTI was incorporated in the District of Columbia in 1999.
The organization is a certified charitable organization in the state of Maryland.
HTI is governed by a 9-member Board of Directors and conducts its activities through a committee structure. The organization has approximately 350 members.
HTI depends entirely on funding derived from membership dues, the proceeds of an annual house and garden tour, and donations and grants from public and private entities. Membership is open to the general public.
Our Fact Sheet provides more information on the history of Historic Takoma.
Historic Takoma Board of Directors
President: Diana Kohn
Vice President: Lorraine Pearsall
Treasurer: Marilyn Abbott
Secretary: Elizabeth Thornhill
Marika Partridge
Art McMurdie
Ron Watson
Nancy Abbott Young
Ashley Flory
Dick O'Connor
Susan Schreiber
Historian Emerita: Dorothy Barnes
In Appreciation of Ellen Marsh
It is with great sadness that we report Ellen Marsh passed away March 26. Ellen was 86 years old and lived here for close to 50 years. More than a long-time resident, she was the main spirit and impetus for creating Historic Takoma, as an organization that would watch over Takoma Park. And she organized the first annual House and Garden Tour to raise awareness of how special this place of Takoma Park is, a tradition that continues this year on Sunday May 6.
Ellen was one of our remarkable elders to whom we owe a great deal. Indeed, we would be very different today had she not been here. She moved in with a young family and hit the ground running, fighting the many enormous threats we experienced in our worst decades past. We would not have survived as we are today without her actions.
In 2014, both Ellen Marsh and Frances Phipps received the Montgomery County Award for Historic Preservation for Lifetime Achievement in Local Preservation. This was presented by Montgomery Preservation with Historic Takoma’s nomination. Together Ellen and Frances are the mothers of historic preservation in Takoma Park.