Our Mission

South Mountain Heritage Society (SMHS) is dedicated to preserving and interpreting the history of Burkittsville, Maryland. We strive to attain this mission through the preservation of the historic Resurrection Reformed Church which houses our museum where hundreds of visitors annually encounter the history of our community in fixed and temporary exhibitions. SMHS is also actively dedicated to fostering the living community around us through the shared use of our space for public and private events.

SMHS is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that depends entirely on volunteers and contributions from our patrons and the community. The society is administered through an Executive Council of members elected to serve in the positions of President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Historian/Curator. Additional members-at-large serve as appointees to the Executive Committee. 

Our current Executive Committee includes Jody Brumage (President, Historian and Curator), Catherine Cox (Vice President), Robert Young (Treasurer), Alexander Byrd (Secretary), and Members-at-Large Bill Susa, Mary Garwood, Maurine Young, Jean Galey, Paul Koch, Erika Burgoyne-Hongell, Shelby Beaver, and Beth Zang.

Our History

The first comprehensive action to preserve the history of Burkittsville began in 1975 when the Burkittsville District Heritage Society was organized. The society was formed around the creation of a historic district encompassing the entire town which was listed to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. The society made its home in the Resurrection Reformed Church, which closed its doors in 1979 and offered the building to the town. The Burkittsville District Heritage Society became defunct in the mid-1980s.

By the early-1990s, the deteriorating conditions of the Resurrection Reformed Church building inspired a new generation of Burkittsville residents to reform a heritage society to save the historic structure from collapse. South Mountain Heritage Society was founded on November 8, 1993. Throughout the next seven years, the society conducted fundraising and secured grants to begin restoring the church. Work began in earnest with the restoration of the bell tower in 1999 and continued throughout the next three years. With the major restoration work completed around 2002, the society turned its focus towards maintaining the church and establishing the heritage society as a cultural institution through the collecting of records, photographs, and artifacts of the town's history, designing exhibits where visitors can engage with and learn from these collections, and conducting program which promotes the heritage and culture of Burkittsville.