Rock Creek Park: Fort DeRussy Improvements – Washington DC

State:
WASHINGTON-DC

Site Type:
Parks and Recreation, Archaeology and History, Historical Restoration

New Deal Agencies:
Works Progress Administration (WPA), Conservation and Public Lands, Work Relief Programs, National Park Service (NPS)

Completed:
1936

Quality of Information:
Minimal

Site Survival:
Extant

Description

The Works Progess Administration (WPA) did landscape cleanup around Fort DeRussy in Rock Creek Park.  Crews removed underbrush, poisonous plants, and dead trees from the old earthworks, which were then (and are now) heavily forested.

Fort DeRussy is a Civil War-era fortification constructed in 1861 on a hilltop on the west side of Rock Creek, as part of the defenses of Washington. It is a trapezoidal earthwork with a perimeter of 190 yards and places for 13 guns. It is maintained today by the National Park Service. 

Source notes

District of Columbia Works Progress Administration, “Improving Parks of Capital,” Work: A Journal of Progress, Vol. 1, No. 1, Sept. 1936, p. 10

https://www.nps.gov/places/fort-derussy.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_DeRussy_(Washington,_D.C.)

Site originally submitted by Brent McKee - wpatoday.org on June 5, 2015.
Additional contributions by Richard A Walker.

Location Info


Fort DeRussy
Washington, DC 20012

Coordinates: 38.9637, -77.0506

Contribute to this Site

We welcome contributions of additional information on any New Deal site.

Submit More Information or Photographs for this New Deal Site

Join the Conversation

Please note:

  • We are not involved in the management of New Deal sites and have no information about visits, hours or rentals.
  • This page shows all the information we have for this site; if you have new information or photos to share, click the button above.

Your email address will not be published, shared, or sold.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Contribute to this Site

We welcome contributions of additional information on any New Deal project site.

Submit More Information or Photographs for this New Deal Site

Join the Conversation

Please note:

  • We are not involved in the management of New Deal sites and have no information about visits, hours or rentals.
  • This page shows all the information we have for this site; if you have new information or photos to share, click the button above.

Your email address will not be published, shared, or sold.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.