Denton ArtsWay

In 2005, spearheaded by the Denton Development Corporation (DDC), the Town of Denton received designation as an Arts & Entertainment (A&E) District. An A&E District is a well-recognized, labeled, mixed-use are of a city in which a high concentration of arts and cultural facilitates serve as the anchor attraction. The State of Maryland was the first state in the country to sponsor Arts and Entertainment Districts as a way to stimulate the economy and improve quality of life. Fourth Street (between Gay and Market Streets), located within Denton’s Arts & Entertainment, Central Business and Historic Districts, will become the ArtsWay at Denton, a center of cultural activity for the Town’s entire A&E district. The redevelopment of the Fourth Street block of the A&E District has evolved into a collaborative effort between the DDC, the Town, the Caroline County Council of Arts, the Downtown Denton Main Street Program, as well as other community members. Primarily through grant funds, structures have been purchased within the Denton Artsway and rehabilitation phase is well underway.

Regional Fiber Arts Center

This project will adapt the recently renovated Hardee House at 7 N.Fourth Street to house a regional quilt and textile center that includes quilt-related exhibit, retail, studio, and instruction space. Located within Denton’s designated Historic, Main Street, and Arts & Entertainment districts, the center will be a destination for the area’s many quilting groups, visitors, and residents to view historic quilts and recent works by local quilters.
Phase one of this project will involve the set-up of exhibit, retail, studio, and classroom space within the Hardee House, and the development of a branding and marketing strategy to effectively communicate the role of this center as a unique place to visit, shop, learn, and find inspiration.

The Caroline County Council of Arts (CCCA) has undertaken the Hardee House project to accomplish the following goals:

Create a unique arts & entertainment related destination
Preserve and celebrate a historic structure
Preserve and celebrate a historic rural art form and tradition
Support and provide technical assistance to local artists and artisans
Adapt and redevelop a blighted and vacant property
Expand the Market Street retail district
Increase street-level activity within the Artsway
Advance the CCCA mission to enhance the cultural, educational, and economic growth through community arts development.

We are currently looking for interested community members to get involved!

Contact Marina Dowdall at ccartscouncil@verizon.net or 410-479-1009 to find out more.
Check out our special Fiber Arts Center facebook page for the latest project info.

Denton Pathways

A $50,000 grant has been secured from the Community Legacy program bythe DDC toimplement planned pedestrian pathways within the Artsway at Denton area. Components of the project include lighting, signage, pathways, access to artisan buildings, public art, and public outdoor venue space. The pathways will provide inviting pedestrian walkways throughout the Artsway, fostering connectivity between several targeted structures representing Denton’s oldest and most significant examples of Federal and Victorian styles of architecture.