Easton's 1927 Armory, Now Home to the Waterfowl Festival, Was Built for the National Guard

EASTON, MARYLAND — The brick fortress at South Harrison and South streets, diagonally across from Christ Episcopal Church, was built in 1927 as an armory for the Maryland National Guard. Today it is the home and headquarters of the Waterfowl Festival, which marks its 55th year Nov. 13–15.

The Easton Armory is one of the Maryland National Guard armories the state built in the early 20th century, according to a National Register nomination for a group of them prepared by the Maryland Historical Trust, which lists Easton's among the former armories already on the Register. The armories' fronts were detailed to recall medieval fortifications, with crenellated parapets, strip buttresses and towers flanking a central entrance, to express their defensive purpose. Easton's was one of the armories whose design was overseen by Robert Lawrence Harris, state architect under Gov. Albert C. Ritchie, state records say.

The trust's 1979 survey of the building opens by saying Sir Walter Scott would have approved of it. It describes a two-story main block laid in Flemish bond, a 12-bay gymnasium extending from the rear, and a large stone plaque depicting the seal of the State of Maryland set between the crenelles above the entrance.

The building served as an armory and as a social space for the Easton community until 1976, according to the Maryland Department of Planning. On Feb. 3 of that year, the Department of Natural Resources moved in the eastern regional headquarters of its Natural Resources Police, a region covering every Eastern Shore county from Cecil to Worcester, the survey says; DNR also held hunter safety courses there. Waterfowl Chesapeake acquired the building in 1997. It is known locally as the Waterfowl Building.

The armory is a contributing building in the Easton Historic District, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, and the trust's records list it under a preservation easement. In 2018 the state announced a $100,000 trust capital grant for its windows and framing at a ceremony held in the building.

The Register nomination also ties the armories to the Guard's wider record. The 29th Division of the Army National Guard, which includes the Maryland National Guard, took part in the invasion at Omaha Beach on D-Day and was awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation and the French Croix de Guerre with Palm at the close of World War II, the nomination says.

The festival says its restoration work is meant to keep the building's historic character while modernizing heating and cooling, updating restrooms and improving accessibility. During the festival the armory houses the Sporting and Heritage Pavilion, with photography, carving, fine collectibles, fine art galleries, antique and new firearms, and the Harry M. Walsh Waterfowling Exhibit. The festival office is at 40 S. Harrison St., 410-822-4567.