WELCOME

 

ENGAGING STUDENTS AND TEACHERS IN HISTORICAL RESEARCH & SKILLS DEVELOPMENT

For more information visit National History Day®

2025 NHD Theme Handbook 

 

For more information visit National History Day

FEBRUARY 22, 2025

Event Details:

Carroll County History day consists of student exhibits and presentations of their research and projects based on the theme for that given year. Attendees have the opportunity to interact with the students to learn more about their topics. During the event the winners of each junior and senior project category will be announced and receive awards. Students will also have the opportunity to win local awards and cash prizes from our community partners if their project aligns and meets the requirements for the local award.

The event also includes a History Expo with presentations and exhibitors from Celebrating America partner organizations. Celebrating America is a local collaboration of historical societies and organizations within Carroll County. The organization's goal is to foster a greater sense and understanding of America's history and Carroll County's important role in that history in order to present accurate and complete historical information, to promote activities and encourage increased public participation in and celebration of holidays and other significant people or events, and to develop and implement strategies recognizing Carroll County as being at the "Center of History".

• Projects will be judged virtually by Teachers, Public Librarians, Carroll County Officials prior to or during the event.

• All participating students are encouraged to participate in displaying and sharing their research at the Carroll County History Day event.

• Top 2 winners in each category will be recognized and the winners of the local awards (see below) at the Carroll County History Day event.

• Top 2 winners in each category can enter their project in the State Competition to be held on May 3, 2025.

• Top 2 winners at the Maryland Competition entered in the National History Day Competition (Will be held in June of 2025).

CARROLL COUNTY HISTORY DAY LOCAL AWARDS 2025

1. Carroll County Commissioners  One $50.00 gift card given in each division

For entries, whose research and presentation celebrates the contributions of a local individual, group, or organization or encourages a greater understanding of American history and historically significant people, events, and places, particularly those within Carroll County and/or the State of Maryland.

2. Carroll County Farm Museum  One $50.00 gift card given in each division

Recognizes a high school project and a middle school project which highlights the historic importance of agriculture in Carroll County and the state of Maryland and/or the history of Carroll County in the 18th through 20th centuries including operation of the Almshouse and the subsequent formation of the Carroll County Farm Museum as well as other historically significant topics.

3. Carroll County Public Library  One $50.00 gift card given in each division with a history related book

Recognizes a high school and middle school project which demonstrate a strong understanding of how their entry directly relates to our modern world and illustrates a clear connection to the trends that are shaping our future. Ideally the selected project also makes connections to local history (Carroll County, Maryland, and/or regional).

4. Historical Society of Carroll County  One $50 cash award and one HSCC Annual Membership awarded for each division

Recognizes a middle school and high school student for exemplary historical research. The winning student’s annotated bibliography will include both primary and secondary sources that represent a broad spectrum of resources and perspectives. It may also include the use of oral history interviews the student conducted or existing oral history interviews in the collections of libraries, archives, historical societies, and museums.

5. Historical Society of Mt. Airy  One $250.00 cash awarded in each division

Recognizes one high school and one middle school project which best demonstrates this year’s theme: “Rights and Responsibilities in History”. The project must focus on a specific area of Mt. Airy history which was impacted by exercising individual and/or group rights and/or responsibilities.

6. New Windsor Heritage Museum One $50.00 gift card/cash given in each division

Recognizes a high school and middle school projects whose primary research is centered on the history of New Windsor, MD.

7. Union Mills Homestead  One $100.00 cash awarded in each division

Recognizes a high school and middle school project that focuses on the challenges or benefits of establishing and operating a business or businesses in Carroll County. This award honors the entrepreneurial spirit of the Shriver brothers, Andrew and David, who established a saw and grist mill along Big Pipe Creek in Union Mills, MD. Over time, the business evolved to include a tannery, cooper’s shop, blacksmith’s shop, general store, and a wheelwright.

8. Westminster Historic District Commission  $250 cash award for the Jr and Senior first and second place competitors (can not exceed $1000)

Recognizes a high school and middle school projects whose primary research is centered in the National Register District of Westminster, MD. Of highest consideration would be projects that focus on historic architecture, historic streetscapes, residences and commercial businesses and local preservation projects. Of keen interest would be those projects that tackle the difficulties of preserving a historic district or buildings in a vibrant and growing city

9. Carroll County Recreation and Parks One $50.00 gift card given in each division

Recognizes one high school and one middle school project, using this year’s theme, that focuses on the historical significance of park development, conservation, or pursuit of leisure activities. The project must demonstrate how history has impacted our current appreciation for local or national services within Recreation & Parks.

         10.  Former Students and Friends of Robert Moton High School Award:

 

        11.  Taneytown Heritage & Museum Association Award: Two $50.00 gift cards in each division.

The award recognizes one junior and one senior division project that focuses on Taneytown's local history or the local history of Carroll County. 

12. Carroll County History Day George Thomas “Tom”  Legore Award presented by the Pipe Creek Civil War Round Table – One $100 cash award given in each division. 

Recognizes one middle school and one high school project which best exemplifies high quality scholarship and a deep understanding of the history of the American Civil War with emphasis on the impact of the war on the state of Maryland and on Carroll County in particular. This award honors a former member of the Pipe Creek Civil War Round Table, George Thomas Legore, and his great contributions to preserving Civil War history in Carroll County. Legore, who was a Civil War historian and reenactor, was a driving force in the creation of the annual Corbit’s Charge commemoration.

13. Carroll County Genealogical Society – one $50.00 gift card given in each division

Recognizes a high school project and a middle school project which focuses on a Carroll County family or individual family member that was historically significant in promoting or preserving “Rights and Responsibilities in History”

 

 

 

 

 

For more information visit National History Day click here

Students choose a historical topic related to the annual theme, and then conduct primary and secondary research. You will look through libraries, archives and museums, conduct oral history interviews, and visit historic sites. After you have analyzed and interpreted your sources, and have drawn a conclusion about the significance of your topic, you will then be able to present your work in one of five ways: paper, exhibit, performance, documentary, or a web site.

To begin, view the resources on the 2025 Theme page to choose a topic that is related to the theme. Follow the National History Day® How to create an NHD project guide. It is beneficial to also select an adult mentor in your school (i.e. teacher, media specialist) to help support you while completing the project.

For more information visit National History Day click here

Thank you to our Celebrating America partners for helping to compile a list of local history topics for our students to explore.

 

Explore the topic of Rights and Responsibilities in History on the local level by examining how an idea, event, or action that directly, or sometimes indirectly, causes change from the suggested topics below (additional topics will be added as our community partners share them).

Potential Topics at the Historical Society of Carroll County

 

Potential Topics at the Union Mills Homestead

1. Voting and Voting Rights in Carroll County

2. Historic Preservation at the Union Mills Homestead

3. Road to Freedom for Carroll County's enslaved population

4. Food Production and the World Wars at the Union Mills

Potential Topics at the Historical Society of Mount Airy

1. History and Evolution of the Mount Airy Town Charter

2. History and Impact of Volunteerism in Mount Airy (Service clubs, Volunteer Fire Department, etc.)

3. History of School Integration in Mount Airy

4. History of the Civil War in Mount Airy

5. History and Preservation of Historic Landmarks (Flat Iron Building, Train Station, etc.)

Potential Topics at McDaniel College Archives

 

Potential History Day Topics for New Windsor Heritage

 

Potential History Day Topics for Carroll County Farm Museum

1. Care for the poor and the needy. This is from a quote at the conception of the Alms House.  To care for the most vulnerable in the society is a huge responsibility of the society in general.  The young, the poor, the infirmed , the aged , those mentally unable to care for themselves and those who have lost their way. These people are our future, our past and our fellow humans and it is the responsibility of those who are able, to care for the less fortunate. That care might be monetarily, with donations of food or clothing or with the creation of a physical facility to care for their health and wellbeing.
2. Educating the next generation.  Children who arrived at the Alms House were often apprenticed to a trade . The expectation was they would learn to read and write and learn a useful skill so they could financially care for themselves in the future. The skills for girls were to learn house wifery  and the boys were apprenticed to a number of trades, most often here in Carroll County as a farmer but also carpentry, and  blacksmithing .

Today the Carroll County Farm Museum educates our visitors, of all ages,  about farming in the past, how it was done, why it was done, how is it different from today. We educate about the buildings used on a farm and the architecture of these buildings and why they are unique. We educate about the crops and livestock grown in the area and how important farming was in the past, present and the future.

3. Feeding the population.  Here at the Alms House the property was used to grow food for the residents and extra was sold to produce money for things the farm could not grow ( sugar, spices, coffee etc). Feeding the population is the most important thing a society can do. Without food there is no art, music, literature, education, exploration, or any other human activity. There is a bumper sticker that says “ There is no culture without agriculture”. Since farmers work “behind the scenes” we tend to forget about their important role in society.
4. Caring for the land.   A farmer and landowner hopes to leave the land in better condition then when they started.  Through careful crop production, educated soil management , rotation of different crops to the benefit of the earth and a respect for the land farmers can make great strides in improvement.  Best practices of the 19^th and early 20^th centuries are very different from best practices of farmers today. Farming will continue to evolve and change as information is gathered from organizations like the Cooperative Extension Service and our Land Grant Universities ( like the  University of Maryland).
5. Caring for Livestock.   Humans partners in harvesting the bounty of the earth are animals. Livestock such as cattle, sheep, goats, poultry and pigs can utilize crops that humans can not and can convert these crops into food and fiber. Horses, mules, donkeys and cattle can provide humans with energy to make tasks easier in the field and the home. Farming would be extremely difficult without our livestock partners. It is up to every farmer who owns livestock to make their lives as healthy and as useful as possible.

Potential History Day Topics for Westminster Historic District Commission  

1. Historic Districts are established by local communities and protected by the National Register at some level. What is significant about the Westminster Historic District and how has it changed over time? Are there municipal responsibilities to protecting the historic district and how does this impact the rights and responsibilities of citizens who purchase these buildings? If the zoning of the land still maintains allowance for modern architectural elements, what is the significance of the historical district? How do grants or tax credit programs contribute to all this?
2. Explore the historical importance of Corbit’s Charge, in Westminster, MD. What was significant about the time and place that this occurred? What was the cause and effect of the battle in Westminster and beyond? What changed over time? Was their impact and significance to this event? What where the rights and responsibilities of those involved?
3. The Rural Free Delivery first began in 1896 to deliver mail directly to farm families in Westminster. The first telephone office in Westminster was opened during the week of July 12, 1884. Find topics related to rights and responsibilities related to the creation of this technology or service.
4. Explore a Downtown building that has been renovated. What changes has the building seen over time? Has there been a significant impact in the neighborhood because of the rehabilitation? Expand on the rights and responsibilities of the citizens and government to upkeep the buildings from damage and blight. What should be happening in our neighborhoods to protect them from damage and blight?
5. What rights can Westminster’s citizens exercise to celebrate the upcoming Nation’s 250^th celebration in 2026? What are the responsibilities involved with this and who is responsible for what? (Government, non-profits, history groups, schools, students, teachers, volunteers). What events, activities, and materials should the community be supporting to honor this celebration and remember it for years to come?

 

For more information visit National History Day click here

For more information visit National History Day site 

2025 MARYLAND HISTORY DAY JUDGE TRAINING

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION OR QUESTIONS

"The more you know about the past, the better prepared you are for the future."

~ Theodore Roosevelt