Rent for $1: Maryland's curators are restoring Harford County historic homes to last a lifetime

Aug. 16—On the Susquehanna State Park property that is likely to fall under the care of Evelyn and Joe Cucchiara, there's a collapsed structure that once stored corn. A small stone building believed to have housed enslaved people in the 1800s is dark inside, with floorboards on the upper level that have buckled under a leaky roof.

Inside the late 18th-century James Stephenson House — the main building on the roughly 9-acre property in Harford County where the New Jersey couple intends to live — floral wallpaper from various decades is peeling off the walls and a bathroom sink counter is littered with dead bugs.

There's no running water or heat. But walking through the property in early July, the Cucchiaras showed no trepidation, only an eagerness to restore the historic home.

"We already see the end in our heads," Evelyn, 61, said. Her vision: a modern farmhouse, "but not all white," she explained.

In the spring, the Cucchiaras were selected to move forward with a process that, if all goes according to plan, will end with them becoming among the latest to participate in Maryland's Resident Curatorship Program. In exchange for restoring, maintaining and sharing historic homes with the public, "curators" are granted lifetime tenancy, but not ownership, of state-owned land.

The Department of Natural Resources began the program in 1982 and today it includes over 40 properties across the state, concentrated in Frederick, Cecil, Baltimore and Howard counties, according to Peter Morrill, who manages the program.

"Most of these properties are somewhat incidental acquisitions of this larger-scale push to preserve property" with features like waterways that the Department of Natural Resources wants to protect, Morrill said. "It's been a really effective tool in keeping around historic properties that otherwise had somewhat uncertain futures."

The Cucchiaras see it as an opportunity to settle down in Maryland permanently — complete with a project to keep them busy.

"We're just itching to get started," Evelyn said.

In January, the Cucchiaras submitted a 37-page proposal detailing plans to fix the floors, ceilings, walls, electrical and plumbing systems and more. Their goal: five years of rehabilitation and restoration, to the tune of $330,000 in labor, materials and subcontracting.

"We're excited about it, I wouldn't say daunted," Joe, 61, said.

Evelyn recalled reading about the curatorship concept in a magazine years ago, and said she filed away the story because it piqued her interest. Similar programs have been launched in states including Delaware, Virginia, Connecticut and Massachusetts, but the Cucchiaras wanted to move south rather than north and have friends in Maryland.

Joe, a general contractor for a property management company he started with a partner, has a background in restoration work. Evelyn runs her own playroom organizing business and is known as the "toy tamer," she said. Together, the pair have also flipped two properties in New Jersey.

"Compared to the houses that we've renovated ... this is nothing, this is fine," Evelyn said.

Maryland's Resident Curatorship Program attracts people young and old who want to take on restoration work themselves, jump at the opportunity to live in a park and geek out about old houses, Morrill said. Tenants pay $1 each year as rent, and aren't paying "standard property taxes in most cases," Morrill explained.

"The program is not for everybody," he said. "It takes a special person that's going to be interested in doing something for the public good."

He said that a draft agreement based on the Cucchiaras' proposal was being finalized in July before a Maryland Board of Public Works hearing could be scheduled. Ultimately, the approval process — which requires the governor's signature — can take six months to a year. It's not guaranteed that the Cucchiaras will become curators until every step has been completed, although Morrill said a reversal at their stage in the game hasn't happened during his time overseeing the program.

The Stephenson House, though undoubtedly in need of attention, is in good shape overall, Joe said, because the well-maintained roof has prevented serious water damage. He estimated it'll take a couple of months to get some of the most important tasks done, including setting up running water, testing the septic system and passing a lead paint inspection.

Eventually, he intends to turn two garages on the property into a workshop and a space to keep a motorcycle and tractor.

For the small building that is thought to have served as quarters for enslaved people, the state is seeking funding to create a trail leading to the property so that hikers can learn more about the site's significance.

"That kind of stuff needs to be preserved," Joe said. "You need to see how people treated each other, so it doesn't happen again."

Curators are tasked with engaging the public and the Cucchiaras have already begun posting about their venture on Instagram. They've also found fellow Maryland curators on the social media platform who are further along in their endeavor.

Over the summer, the Cucchiaras met with Kara and David Pleasants at the Havre de Grace farmers market where the younger couple has been selling produce and other homemade treats since 2018.

It was David's desire to try his hand at farming that got the couple interested in Maryland's Resident Curatorship Program, Kara said.

For seven years they've been curators of the Henry Stump House, a short drive from the Stephenson House on Craigs Corner Road, but they currently live in a different home in Darlington.

"We know we'll live there one day," Kara, 36, said of the Susquehanna State Park home dating back to the 1790s. But it's taken longer than anticipated.

When the Pleasants first moved to the property in 2016, the roof was in such bad disrepair that the home was unlivable and they originally stayed in a trailer.

Kara was also pregnant around that time with her second child, Lina, who was born 13 weeks premature and spent three months in the neonatal intensive care unit.

Now the couple have three children, ranging in age from 1 to 11 years old, who love spending time at the house, said Kara, who works as a teacher. As she and David renovate, they can make the already accessible home even easier to navigate for Lina, who has cerebral palsy.

"The only part of the house that won't be wheelchair accessible is this, upstairs," Kara said of the second floor.

So far, they've put around $200,000 into restoring the home, including repairing the slate roof, which David, 37, learned to do himself.

"All together, it'd be a year's worth of work, but spread out," he said, adding that 13,000 pounds of slate was delivered to the property for the project.

Because of the money and effort involved, Kara believes it's a misconception that it's "free" to live in the Resident Curatorship Program's historic homes.

"You have a very high financial obligation to restore the house," she said. "You have to be really passionate about the mission."

The unusual benefits make it worth it, Kara added.

"Who gets to live in a state park, surrounded by this beautiful nature in this very unique home?" she said.

The Pleasants have attended three curator gatherings, including one in Susquehanna State Park, but it will be their first time having curator neighbors so close by.

Kara's advice for the Cucchiaras is "to be flexible as they peel back the layers of their house," she said. "Be flexible and go with the flow."

Joe and Evelyn plan to initially live out of a trailer they bought on eBay in May, when and if they receive final approval to assume care of the Stephenson House. While that living situation would be temporary, their contribution to Maryland would be long-lasting.

"We can do something that's going to be there forever," Evelyn said.