To be Welcome without Reservation: Seeing a Future for Archaeology at Mount Clare

ABSTRACT The Mount Clare Museum House in Baltimore, Maryland has potential to offer a new approach to community service in Baltimore inspired by archaeological findings, but one that is different from a traditional historic house model. Facing challenges surrounding relevance and institutional survival, the site as a museum sits at a crossroads. The site managers of Mount Clare, a former plantation, historically erased and muted Black histories. However, those histories now drive the rejuvenation and reinvention of the museum. The move of the archaeological collections to the city’s control opens possibilities for more connected archaeological and community service program with the people who live around and use Carroll Park.