Point Lookout State Park, St. Mary's County, Md. (Southern Maryland)

The USO halls that sprouted up during WWII may have been made famous by Bob Hope's comedy tours, but some provided more than just entertainment for the military. Such was the case in Lexington Park, Md., where the Carver Heights United Service Organizations building was the cornerstone of the African American community.

Last month commissioners in St. Mary's County, which owns the long-neglected property, earmarked $150,000 to demolish the structure.

"It's in awful shape," Francis Jack Russell, county commissioner president. "It's been in disrepair for many years, and our task force recommended that it be torn down."

But two weeks ago, Russell and some other county officials met with Virginia Nolan, a local concerned about the building where she graduated high school, went to church, and attended school dances. Nolan told Russell the history behind the building, which was built for black residents of then-segregated Southern Maryland and served the community for years after the war.

"It's a very important aspect of African American culture in Southern Maryland, and I'm going to have a look at the building and see if we can make some pluses out of some minuses," Russell says.

Russell plans to talk to the Navy about some possibilities for the building, located just outside the Patuxent River Naval Air Station, and hasn't ruled out a memorial site if the building, which has a collapsed roof and a "no trespassing" sign, can't be saved.

But Nolan won't settle for a memorial. She believes the building is viable and could become an African American history museum.

"I've got my bookkeeper and my lawyer, and we'll do whatever it takes," says Nolan, who created the nonprofit Save the Village Inc. to help generate support.

Nolan has been trying to raise money since 2004, when state Sen. Roy Dyson (D-St Mary's) sponsored a bill that would give $250,000 towards a preservation effort if Nolan could match the grant. But the fundraising hasn't been easy, and Nolan isn't convinced the county has done everything it could have.

"They told me they would keep it up and mow the lawn, but they didn't," Nolan says. "Why don't they just give me the $150,000 they set aside to destroy it so I don't have to raise so much?"

Russell maintains that the county will hold off on the demolition as long as it can and that it will exercise every option to save the building.

Built in 1941, the Carver Heights USO became county offices after the war. It served as a preschool until the 1980s, when it was abandoned.

For more information, contact Virginia Nolan and Save the Village Inc. at (301) 862-1122.

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