Piscataway Park facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Piscataway Park |
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IUCN Category V (Protected Landscape/Seascape)
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View of the Potomac River at Piscataway Park
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 Piscataway Park
Location in Maryland
Piscataway Park
Location in the United States
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| Location | Prince George's County, Maryland, USA |
| Nearest city | Accokeek, MD |
| Established | October 4, 1961 [1] |
| Visitors | 176,174 (in 2005) |
| Governing body | National Park Service |
| Website | Piscataway Park |
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Piscataway Park
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| Nearest city | Accokeek, Maryland |
| Area | 4,216.5 acres (1,706.4 ha) |
| NRHP reference No. | 66000144 |
| Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966 |
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 is named after Piscataway Creek, itself named for a Native American tribe. The park is home to bald eagles, beavers, osprey, and other wildlife and encompasses areas of wetland, meadow and woodland. It is administered by the National Park Service and is managed by National Capital Parks-East.
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. 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.
