Four Rivers, one of Maryland’s state heritage areas, is an established heritage tourism destination on the Chesapeake Bay’s western shore. With Annapolis, Maryland’s historic capital city, as its “crown jewel”, the Four Rivers Heritage Area stretches from Sandy Point State Park at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, through southern Anne Arundel County, to Rose Haven at the Calvert County line. Framed by the Chesapeake Bay on the east and by Route 2/Solomon's Island Road on the west, Four Rivers reflects Maryland’s rich historic, cultural, and natural legacy.

A 501 c 3 nonprofit organization, Four Rivers is also a partnership among the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority, Anne Arundel County, the City of Annapolis, the Town of Highland Beach, and heritage-related organizations and businesses. Our mission is to protect and strengthen the natural, historic, and cultural resources of the heritage area, to nurture their discovery through educational and recreational experiences for visitors and residents, and to promote the region’s rich legacy. As an economic development tool, Four Rivers develops and supports activities and projects that enhance heritage tourism, a growing segment of the lucrative tourism industry.

Executive Director Carol A. Benson, Ph. D.

Carol is a heritage professional whose past positions have included Classical art historian, museum curator, university lecturer, and non-profit administrator. She has a Ph. D. in Classical Greek Art History from Princeton University. As a Mellon Curatorial Fellow in Ancient Art at the Walters Art Museum, she planned the reconfiguration and reinstallation of the museum’s Ancient Art collection for renovated galleries. She left the curatorial field in 2000 to develop a heritage-area interpretation program for the Maryland Humanities Council and has worked with Maryland’s heritage areas ever since. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Annapolis and Anne Arundel County Conference and Visitors Bureau and is the current Chair of its Marketing Committee.

Heritage Programs Coordinator Aleithea A. Warmack, M.A.A.

Aleithea, a 2007 graduate of the University of Maryland’s Master of Applied Anthropology program, is Four Rivers’ Heritage Programs Coordinator. At the University of Maryland, she specialized in heritage studies and bioarchaeology of historic populations. Aleithea also works for the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. She enjoys helping to develop exciting heritage programs and reaching out to new audiences to promote the mission of Four Rivers Heritage Area. “I am thrilled to be part of a team working for the preservation and enjoyment of the region’s many heritage resources,” she states, “because these sites are so important to residents and visitors.”