Preservation and Partners: A History of Piscataway Park Janet A. McDonnell, PhD December 2020 Resource Stewardship and Science, National Capital Area, National Park Service and Organization of American Historians EXECUTIVE SUMMARY During the early republic period of American history, President George Washington was the most renowned resident of the Potomac River valley. His sprawling Mount Vernon estate sat on a hill directly across the Potomac River from the 17th century Marshall Hall estate in Maryland. There is ample evidence that Washington and his guests enjoyed and very much appreciated the stunning view. Many years later preserving this view would become the major impetus for establishing what we know today as Piscataway Park (PISC), a few miles south of Washington, DC. These lands along the Maryland shore of Potomac River were actively cultivated during George Washington’s time, and the existing park setting, which includes agricultural lands and open spaces interspersed with forests and wetlands, closely approximates that historic scene. The National Park Service’s (NPS) primary goal and responsibility in managing the park has been, and continues to be, preserving this historic scene of open fields and wooded areas and ensuring that it does not authorize any landscape alterations except those that would restore previously undisturbed sites, reduce visual intrusions, or maintain open fields. The NPS continues to take into account the slope and orientation of the terrain and the tree cover when considering the location of any new facilities. Piscataway Park and its associated lands are for the most part held under scenic easements and constitute a National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) historic district made up of nearly 5,000 acres of meadow, woodland, and wetland, along six miles of the Potomac River shoreline from the head of Piscataway Creek to the historic Marshall Hall in Maryland’s Prince George’s and Charles counties. The northern border of the historic district crosses Piscataway Creek, a tidal tributary that enters the Potomac River at Fort Washington, and includes the Fort Washington Marina as well as adjacent lands to the northeast of the marina. A community of private property owners living in what is called the Moyaone Reserve occupy a good portion of the park. The origins of that community date back to the 1920s when Alice and Henry Ferguson and a small group of Washington, DC, residents were attracted to the Potomac shoreline in Maryland’s Accokeek area. These local residents mobilized after World War II to preserve the rustic environment that they had come to appreciate and helped launch the movement leading to the creation of Piscataway [Cover Image: A wetland view of Piscataway Park, NPS] 2 Park. In the 1950s these Moyaone Reserve residents established the current Moyaone Association and joined forces with the newly formed Alice Ferguson Foundation and the Accokeek Foundation, along with the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association (MVLA) to preserve the natural environment they valued and to preserve the viewshed from Mount Vernon. Over time, the NPS became more deeply involved working with these various organizations and with Congress to achieve their shared goals of creating a national park. Preservation of the historic view has depended to a great extent on effective cooperation and communication between the NPS and the park’s partners and stakeholders and continues to do so. Although President John F. Kennedy signed legislation formally authorizing the park in October 1961, the struggle to secure appropriations for the park, to acquire the additional lands within the Mount Vernon viewshed and to secure scenic easements from local property owners continued. The park was established through the conveyance of scenic easements by private landholders and the purchase of land in fee. These scenic easements were legally binding agreements between landowners and the easement holder (in this case the Department of the Interior) that restricted development and use of the land to achieve conservation goals. Meanwhile, during the early 1960s the Department of the Interior signed cooperative agreements with both the Accokeek Foundation and the Alice Ferguson Foundation defining their respective roles and responsibilities in the park and their relationship with the NPS. These critical agreements were updated over the years and continue to play a major role in the park’s management, development, and operations. By the late 1960s, the NPS had made significant progress in preserving the park’s cultural and natural resources. For example, one of the park’s most significant archeological resources, the Accokeek Creek Site, was added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1966 and is a National Historic Landmark. The 1970s and 1980s proved to be a period of expansion for Piscataway Park. On October 15, 1974, President Gerald Ford signed P.L. 93-444 adding 625 acres to the park, to include the Marshall Hall Amusement Park and adjacent Charles County lands, as well as the eight-acre Fort Washington Marina. The period was also a time for developing and refining additional measures to protect the park’s rich cultural resources. In 1979 the entire park was added to the NRHP, marking a key milestone in its history and reinforcing the importance of its preservation mission. 3 During the 1970s and 1980s, the NPS further refined its relationships with its various partners and stakeholders. It turned more attention to the management and development of the Accokeek Foundation’s National Colonial Farm along the Maryland shore of the Potomac at the end of Bryan Point Road in the park, conducting an environmental assessment and preparing a development concept plan. The NPS also took a major step in refining and clarifying its role in managing the park by adopting a General Management Plan (GMP) in 1983, and continued documenting the rich archeological resources in the park. The presence of the Piscataway Indians in the park and their involvement with the NPS and other park partners increased. In an unprecedented step Congress passed legislation in 1979 allowing Piscataway Chief Turkey Tayac to be buried inside the park on fee land (Federal Property). In recent decades the park continued to deal with a variety of threats to its natural and cultural resources and worked to improve the visitor experience. There was a growing environmental focus, shoreline restoration, boardwalk construction, facility improvements, and other measures to enhance the visitor experience. Piscataway Park is unique in a number of ways, adding to its value and significance. There is no direct precedent for what has been done at Piscataway Park. It remains the only national park unit that was created and exists for the scenic protection of a non-federal property, specifically Mount Vernon. In addition, while it does not represent the first use of scenic easements, it was one of the first national park units to use them so extensively. Indeed, the park has served as a model in this regard, and those scenic easements will continue to play a critical role in the park’s future. Inside the park, the NPS works to preserve what are recognized as some of the most significant archeological resources on the Eastern Seaboard. In addition, Piscataway Park has come to demonstrate a value well beyond its original mission of preserving the Mount Vernon and Fort Washington viewsheds. Its role in preserving important natural and cultural resources has grown and become increasingly important. This includes its role in preserving the park’s rich archeological resources and its preservation and interpretation of American Indian heritage. The park’s story also provides valuable insight into the challenges of maintaining effective partnerships and the importance of civic engagement. Piscataway Park’s history is complex, as are the relationships among the park’s various partners and stakeholders, particularly as these private organizations each have their own missions, goals, and priorities and have developed their own plans for the limited development of park resources. The partnerships and the scenic easements have presented 4 both opportunities and challenges. Yet for all the complexities and challenges, the value of Piscataway Park to those who live there and to those who visit continues to resonate. 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This history could not have been written without the ongoing support and cooperation of various National Park Service managers and staff, representatives of the various Piscataway Park’s partner organizations, and fellow historians. National Capital Regional Historian Dean Herrin and Aidan Smith of the Organization of American Historians shaped this project and provided oversight from its beginning. Kate Birmingham in National Capital Parks – East made available important office files and reports. Herrin and several members of the National Capital Parks – East staff spent considerable time reviewing drafts of this history and sharing their recommendations. Piscataway Park’s superintendent, Christine Smith, made herself available to provide guidance and share her perspective. Former National Capital Region archeologist Stephen Potter was also gracious with his time and expertise. I am particularly indebted to those individuals who were willing to take the time to be interviewed and share their unique and valuable perspectives. One of these interviewees, Holliday Wagner, shared not only her thoughts and recollections but also a collection of documents and personal papers that she had carefully collected and preserved for decades. A final thank you goes to NPS historian John Sprinkle, Jr., who graciously shared his own research on Piscataway Park and provided support throughout the project. 6 CONTENTS Executive Summary 2 Acknowledgements 6 Contents 7 List of Illustrations 9 Glossary 10 CHAPTER 1: Setting the Stage . 11 George Washington’s Mount Vernon View 11 Park Setting 12 Paleo-Indian Hunting and Gathering (10,500 B.C. – 8000 B.C.) 14 Archaic Period (ca. 8000 B.C. – 1300 B.C.) 15 Woodland Period (ca.1300 B.C.