Piscataway Park

Piscataway Park is a National Park Service-protected area located 20 miles (32 km) southwest of downtown Washington, D.C. in and around Accokeek, Maryland. It protects the National Colonial Farm, Marshall Hall, and the Accokeek Creek Site. The park is located across the Potomac River from George Washington's Mount Vernon estate.

Piscataway Park/National Colonial Farm Visitor Center

Piscataway Park
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)
View of the Potomac River at Piscataway Park
Map showing the location of Piscataway Park
Map showing the location of Piscataway Park
Map showing the location of Piscataway Park
Map showing the location of Piscataway Park
LocationPrince George's County, Maryland, USA
Nearest cityAccokeek, MD
Coordinates38°40′43″N 77°05′34″W
EstablishedOctober 4, 1961
Visitors176,174 (in 2005)
Governing bodyNational Park Service
WebsitePiscataway Park
Piscataway Park
Nearest cityAccokeek, Maryland
Area4,216.5 acres (1,706.4 ha)
NRHP reference No.66000144[1]
Added to NRHPOctober 15, 1966

Piscataway Park is named after Piscataway Creek, itself named for a Native American tribe. The park is home to bald eagles, beavers, osprey, and other wildlife[2] and encompasses areas of wetland, meadow and woodland. It is administered by the National Park Service and is managed by National Capital Parks-East.[3]

History

Henry and Alice Ferguson bought more than 100 acres (0.40 km2) of land in the area in 1928. It includes the area of Moyaone, a Native American Piscataway village last occupied in 1623. The Fergusons bought more property and encouraged friends to settle nearby, where they could protect the environment. After Alice's death in 1951, Ferguson created the Alice Ferguson Foundation, which administered the land. The foundation made arrangements to donate property to the National Park Service for parkland, a transaction completed in the 1960s.[4] This both protected the environment, as well as the historic viewshed as seen from the Mount Vernon mansion, keeping the parkland as it was in George Washington's day, and preventing modern development along the shore of the river.[5]

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. "Piscataway Park". Accokeek Foundation.
  3. "Piscataway Park". National Park Service. Retrieved June 2, 2011.
  4. Ann Cameron Siegal, "Quietly Tucked In Near the Potomac: Moyaone Residents Keep Close to Nature", The Washington Post, 23 Jul 2010
  5. Paul Goeldner (March 1979). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Piscataway Park" (PDF). Maryland Historical Trust. Retrieved January 1, 2016.

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