CHESTERTOWN — Washington College has secured a significant boost for its innovation plant project in the form of a $1.846 million grant from the Philip E. & Carole R. Ratcliffe Foundation.
The funds will be used to revitalize a portion of the former Dixon Valve property in the 800-block of High Street, “creating a collaborative space for students, entrepreneurs, and community members to engage, work together, innovate and grow as makers and entrepreneurs,” according to a news release.
The long-awaited project aims to expand the capabilities and reach of the college’s current maker and entrepreneurship initiatives.
The project aligns with the Ratcliffe Foundation’s mission of expanding economic opportunity and job creation in local communities.
In a written statement Aug. 21 announcing the grant, college President Mike Sosulski said, “We are thrilled to receive this substantial grant from the Ratcliffe Foundation. Their impressive support will enable us to transform a portion of what was a historic but long unused property into a vibrant hub of innovation and creativity for Kent County and the Eastern Shore. Continuing to invest in and expand the opportunities available for our community and our students remains a priority for Washington College.”
According to the news release, the innovation plant will offer a variety of resources, including a mobile innovation lab, community engagement opportunities and paid internships for students.
The Ratcliffe grant will fund the first phase of building renovations, continued gathering of community input, the mobile lab, and an investment in creating high school and college curriculums that help students make full use of the new resources.
The mobile lab will serve as a free tool-lending library and classroom, providing basic carpentry, construction and yard working tools to community, campus and nonprofit participants to be used for home improvement, neighborhood beautification and small business projects.
The plant will provide hands-on experience and support for aspiring entrepreneurs and innovators throughout the Upper Eastern Shore region.
The Curriculum Innovation Fellowship Program will provide for teaching stipends and educational supplies to go toward teachers at Washington College, Chesapeake College and local schools including Kent County High School, as well as mentorship organizations.
“Expanding the capabilities and resources available to educators in the region aligns with Washington’s continuing mission to inspire and enable emerging citizen leaders to discover lives of purpose and passion,” the news release states.
In 2019, KRM Development Corp., the real estate division of The Dixon Group, “gifted” the 11-acre property to the college as the company prepared to move to its new, purpose-built campus just north of Chestertown.
The site’s history and meaning are significant, especially for the nearby upper Calvert Street neighborhood, a historically Black community.
For generations, the buildings at 800 High St. provided jobs, first as a Vita Foods pickle processing facility and later as the Dixon Valve and Coupling Co. headquarters and manufacturing plant.
Washington College continues to conduct heritage, oral history and archival work — including capturing 360-degree photography, conducting 3D laser scanning and digitizing past photographs — to better tell the site’s history as well as preserve some artifacts for potential future installation.
Several recorded interviews and more than 300 photographs have been digitized so far.
Nearly 100 of those past images are currently housed and accessible to the public in the Chesapeake Heartland digital archive, which aims to preserve, digitize, interpret and make accessible materials related to African American history and culture in Kent County, Maryland and beyond.
The public is invited to peruse the Vita Foods collection at archive.chesapeakeheartland.org/Gallery/24.
Over the past year, the college has worked with the Chestertown and Kent County community to incorporate a diverse array of voices into the plans for the space including public meetings, community surveys and focus groups with more than 700 participants.
The news release states, “As the project moves forward, Washington College will continue to engage the community to gather input and ensure that the Innovation Plant meets stakeholder needs. The College is committed to creating a space that is inclusive, accessible, and inspiring for all.”
In December 2023, the Town of Chestertown issued a permit to knock down four buildings on the site. Demolition began in mid-May, and the site has been graded.
For the immediate future, in addition to the innovation plant project, the building that housed the former YMCA will remain and is under consideration as a student wellness center.
