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Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum |
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The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum is dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of American railroading through the history and legacy of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, the Western Maryland Railway, and the regional railroads of the mid-Atlantic. |
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Clara Barton National Historic Site |
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Clara Barton National Historic Site commemorates the life of Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross. The home served as the headquarters and warehouse for the organization. From this house, Miss Barton organized American Red Cross relief efforts for victims of natural disasters and war. |
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Fort Foote Park |
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Eight miles downriver from the capital, Fort Foote was considered "a powerful enclosed work" by its chief engineer, "and the most elaborate...of all the defenses of Washington." The long oval earthwork was constructed on Rozier's Bluff from 1863 to 1865 to strengthen the ring of fortifications that encircled Washington, D.C., during the Civil War. Fort Foote was designed to protect the river entrance to the ports of Alexandria, Georgetown, and Washington and replace the aging Fort Washington as the primary river defense. The fort was named for Rear Adm. Andrew H. Foote who died in 1863 from wounds he received in combat the previous year. Over the massive rammed-earth parapets, two 15-inch Rodman guns and four 200-pounder rifled Parrotts had muzzles trained down the Potomac River. With a deafening roar, the Rodman cannon could hurl 440-pound shells for three miles. Siege and field guns were stationed to fire on any party attacking from land. Companies of the 9th New York Heavy artillery worked to build and arm the fort. The last in the ring of forts and batteries to be abandoned when peacetime returned, Fort Foote continued in active status until 1878. It was briefly reactivated as a training site during World War I. Today the National Park Service has cleared paths around the ruins of what is considered the best preserved Civil War fort in the region. Remounted on carriages, two Rodman guns loom in shadows under the trees, the river still in their sights. |
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Historic Houses of Hopkins |
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Tour the Evergreen House and the Homewood House Museum featuring exhibits detailing life of early 19th century Baltimore. |
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Oxon Cove Park & Oxon Hill Farm |
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The primary feature of Oxon Cove Park is Oxon Hill Farm which operates as an actual working farm, representative of the early 20th century. You can see a farm house, barns, a stable, feed building, livestock buildings and a visitor activity barn. It exhibits basic farming principles and techniques as well as historical agricultural programs for urban people to develop an understanding of cropping and animal husbandry. From the 1890's until the 1950`s, Oxon Hill Farm was operated by patients from St. Elizabeth Hospital. It provided therapy as well as food for the patients at the institution. The land area varies from low flat river shoreline to high river terraces with intermediate rolling hills created by a reclaimed sanitary landfill which existed on the site until the mid-seventies. |
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Thomas Stone National Historic Site |
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The story of Thomas Stone is not just the story of man who signed the Declaration of Independence. It is about a peace loving man, who only after realizing he had no further options for peace, pledged his life, fortune, and sacred honor toward the vision of an independent America. It is about a devoted family man who took in six other family members upon the death of his father, and when his wife became gravely ill, put his national aspirations on hold to spend more time with her and their children. When you visit Thomas Stone National Historic Site, you are truly taking a step back in time. Whether it is the restored manor house, or the collection of 19th century outbuildings,or just the quiet and solitude, there is something for everyone here. Come spend some time here and learn of this hidden jewel in the national park system. Located in Charles County, Maryland, Thomas Stone NHS is 25 miles south of Washington D.C. |
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