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Rock Creek Park

Meridian Hill Park

Type: Place

Meridian Hill Park, a few blocks north of the White House, features unique statues, concrete aggregate architecture, and the largest cascading fountains in North America.

The Accokeek Creek site was excavated in the 1930’s by Alice and Henry Ferguson who purchased land for their home in present-day Piscataway Park in the 1920’s. After excavating tens of thousands of artifacts, the Ferguson’s came to believe that they had rediscovered the site of “Moyaone,” the principal town of the Piscataway chiefdom visited by Captain John Smith in 1608.

Washington Aqueduct

Type: Place

The construction and successful operation of the Washington Aqueduct epitomizes the Army Corps of Engineers entry into the field of public works and reflects the military influence on civil life in antebellum America. The Washington Aqueduct, constructed over 150 years ago, still supplies the nation's capital with public water today.

The White House and President's Park

1979 March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights

Type: Place

Participants in the first National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights marched across E Street in front of the South Lawn of the White House on October 14, 1979. The 1979 march is seen as the birth of a national movement for LGB rights that helped small, local organizations unite, know that they were not alone, and bring their issues to a national stage showcasing their collective power.

Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts

Reintroducing the Threatened American Chestnut to Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts

Type: Article

Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts has acquired ten 100% American chestnut trees to assist in its restoration efforts after nearly going extinct in the 1940s.

Boston African American National Historic Site

Fannie Barrier Williams

Type: Person

As a member of the National League of Colored Women, Illinois Woman’s Alliance, Women’s Christian Temperance Union, and other women-led organizations, Fannie Barrier Williams laid the groundwork for women’s civic participation in the late 1800s. She used her talents of speaking and writing to pursue activism for the Black women’s rights movement of her time.

Montgomery County (Dayton), Ohio

Type: Place

In 1940 the federal government allocated funds for the improvement of Wright Field and to create the United States Army Air Corps. Wright Field participated in diverse military operations during World War II. Montgomery County residents joined in scrap drives, grew victory gardens, lived with rationing and blackout regulations, and served in civil defense programs. Today the community is home to a number of institutions that commemorate the home front.

Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Heritage in the National Capital Region

Type: Article

The greater Washington, DC area is a key place for queer history and culture. Learn about the people, events, and places that make up the area's rich LGBTQ heritage.

National Mall and Memorial Parks

Dupont Circle

Type: Place

Located at the intersection of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire Avenues in Northwest Washington, DC, Dupont Circle has served as the anchor of a neighborhood of diplomats, government officials, war commemorations, and the LGB community for over 200 years.

St. Elizabeths Hospital

Type: Place

St. Elizabeths Hospital, formerly known as the Government Hospital for the Insane, was the first federally-funded mental hospital in the country. In 1852, Congress established the Government Hospital for the Insane on 350-acres overlooking the Anacostia River in Southeast Washington. It would become an international model for psychiatric hospital design and a prominent center for mental health research during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Congressional Cemetery

Type: Place

The Congressional Cemetery stands out for its beauty and its famous interments. There are perhaps more early historical figures buried within this unique "American Westminster Abbey" than in any other cemetery in the country. Within the gates of Congressional Cemetery, notable burials serve as touchstones sending visitors back into key episodes of America’s past by memorializing its actors.

Frances Perkins House

Type: Place

Frances Perkins was by far one of the most important women of her generation. In 1932, her long and distinguished career as a social worker and New York State Industrial Commissioner took an important turn for American women, and for the country as a whole, when she was appointed U.S. Secretary of Labor, the first woman ever to be included in a president's cabinet.

The Racial Integrity Act, 1924: An Attack on Indigenous Identity

Type: Article

The Racial Integrity Act of 1924 banned interracial marriage in Virginia. It also required Virginians to register their race as either "white" or "colored." One of the many consequences of this discriminatory policy was the erasure of the Indigenous identity from public records. To this day, Indigenous people in Virginia have difficulty tracing their lineage due to this century-old policy.

Black Fountaingrass

Type: Article

Black fountaingrass (Cenchrus purpurascens) is an invasive plant that is also a popular ornamental grass because of its red-to-purple-colored flowerhead. It can be found in plazas and housing complexes throughout the greater Washington, DC area and it spreads quickly. Learn how to identify it and how to help control its spread.

My Park Story: From Air Force Security Police Officer to Finding Home in the National Park Service

Type: Article

When one successful career ends... another one begins! Learn how Dena Lowe found her way to the National Park Service after serving as a US Air Force security police officer in the Cold War and a fire team leader in the Gulf War, all while being a single mother.

Monocacy National Battlefield

Worthington Farm (Clifton) Cultural Landscape

Type: Article

The Worthington Farm, also known as Clifton, is a component landscape of Monocacy National Battlefield. Located just west of the Thomas Farm and alongside the Monocacy River, the property's patchwork of fields and woodlands represents the agricultural landscape that was present here in 1800s. The Worthington House is the only building dating to the time of the Civil War Battle of Monocacy.

Subsistence Fishing on the Potomac and Anacostia

Type: Article

Subsistence fishing (where fishers keep what they catch) is an important use of parks in the greater Washington, DC area. Learn more about who these subsistence fishers are, what they're catching, and their motivations. Information presented comes from "Ethnographic Resource Study Subsistence Fishing on the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers" (2020).

Zachary T. Fletcher

Type: Person

As an early settler, Zachariah T. Fletcher was instrumental in the development of Nicodemus. He opened a general store, the town’s first business, in the fall of 1877 and opened Nicodemus’s first post office, operating as its first postmaster. Z. T. Fletcher and his family were heavily involved in several aspects of the community including education, businesses, and local politics.

Carolina or Black-Capped Chickadee? Sometimes It’s a Hard Call

Type: Article

Chickadees are some of the most common birds in the National Capital Region. Both Carolina chickadees and black-capped chickadees can be found in NCR parks. Learn more about these birds and how they're sometimes hard to tell apart.

Springing Up — Dryad’s Saddle

Type: Article

Dryad's saddle is a large and unique fungi species that can be found across the National Capital Region. Learn more about where they can be found and how to recognize them.

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