Then and Now: Fort Totten

History

Then and Now: Fort Totten

by Kent Boese • April 24, 2009 4:01 pm

Click on an image to enlarge.

Then (left): Fort Totten during the Civil War. Construction of Fort Totten began in August 1861 and was finished by 1863. It occupied a high point in advance of the Soldiers' Home, President's Lincoln summer residence. Photo from the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

Now (right): Completely overgrown and obscure. With the exception of a boulder containing a marker in the middle of the park, the only way to identify this site it to take inference from the name of Fort Totten Road (which its on), or to look at a map. Signage at the entrance to the park only indicates that it is maintained by the same division that manages Rock Creek Park (part of the National Park Service).

7 comments

Tags: DC, Fort Totten, history, NPS

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Kent Boese posts items of historic interest primarily within the District. He's worked in libraries since 1994, both federal and law, and currently works on K Street. He lives in the Park View neighborhood, and is the force behind the blog Washington Kaleidoscope.

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The earthworks at the summit are extensive and vivid - they now provide an active BMX track. Views are now totally obscured even without foliage, except to the concrete plant.

by Ralph Bennett on Apr 25, 2009 1:18 pm • link • report

There's a ring of Civil War forts up there, many of which are still preserved (ie you can still see mounds from the walls). The NPS used to have a website with info on how to find each one, but it seems to have been taken down. It looks like there's still information on another page, though: http://www.nps.gov/cwdw/historyculture/historic-maps.htm

by nick on Apr 25, 2009 3:40 pm • link • report

My bad, here is a much more useful link. It has the locations (cross streets) of every fort, plus a link to an information page for each one:

http://www.nps.gov/cwdw/planyourvisit/locations.htm

by nick on Apr 25, 2009 3:58 pm • link • report

There were once plans to connect these forts ...

http://wwwtripwithinthebeltway.blogspot.com/2007/03/georgetowns-waterfront-freeway.html

http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/560/1265/1600/869548/Fort%20Drive%20All%20640.jpg

by Douglas Willinger on Apr 27, 2009 12:17 am • link • report

they are connected—you can walk from one to the next.

oh, wait, you mean with asphalt. sorry, nevermind...

by IMGoph on Apr 28, 2009 12:28 am • link • report

Fort Drive would have been a pretty interesting project had it been completed with all the parks and schools along its route, but by 2009 it would have been a miserable crowded thoroughfare that made most of the parks in its path unusable. The NPS plan to link them with bike and pedestrian trails is a much, much more modern idea, if it ever comes to fruition.

by цarьchitect on Apr 28, 2009 1:06 am • link • report

IMHO the southern portion would be somewhat redundent as we have 295; yet the northern portion would be highly useful for better connecting the wealthier, whiter upper northwest with the less white less wealthy northeast, but we all know that the great planners could not allow that!

by Douglas Willinger on Apr 28, 2009 2:02 am • link • report