Fort Smallwood Park

Fort Smallwood Park
Battery Hartshorne, Fort Smallwood Park, December 2009
Location	Anne Arundel County, Maryland, U.S.
Nearest city	Pasadena, Maryland
Coordinates	39°9′51.75″N 76°28′36.72″W / 39.1643750°N 76.4768667°W / 39.1643750; -76.4768667Coordinates: 39°9′51.75″N 76°28′36.72″W / 39.1643750°N 76.4768667°W / 39.1643750; -76.4768667
Established	1928
Governing body	Anne Arundel County, Maryland

Fort Smallwood Park is a county park in northeastern Anne Arundel County near Riviera Beach and Pasadena, Maryland. It is located on the outer Patapsco River as it meets the Chesapeake Bay. and on April 1, 2006 became a regional park in the Anne Arundel County Park System, after being transferred from the Department of Recreation and Parks of Baltimore City after extensive decades-long negotiations. On September 19, 2009 County Executive John R. Leopold officially dedicated the 380-foot (120 m) fishing pier at Fort Smallwood Park "Bill Burton Fishing Pier", named for the long-time famous Baltimore Sun outdoorsman/reporter and columnist. The previous pier was destroyed in 2003 by Hurricane Isabel. It provides a view of the Sparrows Point plant of Mittal Steel Company (formerly owned by Bethlehem Steel Corporation), one of the largest steel manufacturing complexes in the world .^[1] Fort Smallwood Road (Maryland Route 173) leads from Patapsco Avenue and Pennington Avenue in Brooklyn-Curtis Bay in southern Baltimore City across Curtis Creek, past the U.S. Coast Guard Yard through the Arundel Cove-Hawkins Point area to Riviera Beach and Pasadena coastal communities across Stony Creek to the old Fort and Park.

History

From 1896 to 1928, it was an Endicott Period Coastal Fort built during the Spanish–American War era along with other outer harbor defenses at Fort Howard on North Point in southeastern Baltimore County and Fort Armistead at Hawkins Point on the Baltimore City-Anne Arundel County Line of 1919 and was named for Revolutionary War Maj. Gen. William Smallwood, (1732–1792), commander of the "Maryland Line" regiment in the Continental Army who later became fourth governor of Maryland (1785–1788). From 1928 to 2006, it was a city park of the City of Baltimore and was extremely popular week-end picnicking, swimming and fishing site for city and county citizens in the 1930s to the 80s, until later eclipsed by other Chesapeake Bay resorts and eventually Ocean City and the Delaware beaches after the construction of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in 1952. Besides Robert E. Lee Memorial Park surrounding Lake Roland, a former Baltimore City Public Works Department watershed system parcel since 1860, located just across the northern city limits in Baltimore County, Fort Smallwood was the only city park located outside the 1919 city limits.^[2]

It is the location of Battery Hartshorne, named on November 18, 1902 in honor of Captain Benjamin M. Hartshorne, Jr., 7th U. S. Infantry, who was killed January 2, 1902, in action with insurgents near Lanang, Samar, Philippine Islands during the Philippine–American War. Two 6-inch disappearing carriage guns were mounted here from 1900 to 1927.^[3]

Recreation

Picnic areas
Walking trails
Horseshoe pits, volleyball courts and other family recreation facilities
Historic gun battery and old barracks (Battery Hartshorne)
Chesapeake Bay beaches
Historic picnic pavilion
Playground
Bill Burton Fishing Pier
Boat ramps
swimming

Gallery

Cedar Pavilion, Ft. Smallwood Park, December 2009

References

External links

Protected areas of Maryland

Federal

National battlefields	Antietam Monocacy

National historical parks	Chesapeake and Ohio Canal

National historic sites	Clara Barton Hampton Thomas Stone

National monuments	Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad

National seashores	Assateague Island

National Park Service parks	Catoctin Mountain Park Fort Foote Park Fort Washington Park Glen Echo Park Greenbelt Park Harmony Hall Oxon Cove Park and Oxon Hill Farm Piscataway Park

National wildlife refuges	Blackwater Eastern Neck Martin Patuxent Research Refuge Susquehanna River

National historic and scenic trails	Appalachian Trail Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail

Other protected areas	Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve

State

State parks	Assateague Big Run Bill Burton Fishing Pier State Park Calvert Cliffs Casselman River Bridge Chapel Point Cunningham Falls Dans Mountain Deep Creek Lake Elk Neck Fort Frederick Fort Tonoloway Gambrill Gathland Greenbrier Greenwell Gunpowder Falls Hart-Miller Island Herrington Manor Janes Island Jonas Green Martinak Matapeake New Germany North Point Palmer Patapsco Valley Patuxent River Pocomoke River Point Lookout Purse Rocks Rocky Gap Rosaryville Sandy Point Seneca Creek Smallwood South Mountain St. Clement's Island St. Mary's River Susquehanna Swallow Falls Tuckahoe Washington Monument Wye Oak

State forests	Cedarville Chesapeake Doncaster Elk Neck Garrett Green Ridge Pocomoke Potomac-Garrett Savage River Seth Stoney Wicomico

Wildlife management areas	Avondale Belle Grove Billmeyer Bowen Cedar Island Cedar Point Cheltenham Chicamuxen Dan's Mountain Deal Island Diersson E.A. Vaughn Earlville Ellis Bay Fairmount Fishing Bay Frederick City Watershed Grove Farm Gwynnbrook Heater's Island Hugg-Thomas Idylwild Indian Springs Islands of the Potomac Isle of Wight Johnson Le Compte Linkwood McKee-Beshers Maryland Marine Properties Millington Mt. Nebo Myrtle Grove Nanticoke River Old Bohemia Pocomoke River Prather’s Neck Pocomoke Sound Sideling Hill Sinepuxent Bay South Marsh Strider Taylors Island Warrior Mountain Wellington

Natural environment areas	Belt Woods Dundee Governor Parris N. Glendening Mattawoman Morgan Run Severn Run Soldiers Delight Zekiah Swamp

County and
municipal

Parks and sanctuaries	Acorn Park Centennial Park Clifton Park Constitution Park Fort Smallwood Park Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary Lake Elkhorn Lakelands Park Oregon Ridge Park Patterson Park Lake Roland Park Wheaton Regional Park Troy Park

Non-
governmental

Parks and sanctuaries	Battle Creek Cypress Swamp Sanctuary Conservation and Environmental Research Areas of UMBC Merkle Wildlife Sanctuary Sherwood Gardens Somers Cove Marina Sugarloaf Mountain Western Maryland Rail Trail Youghiogheny Scenic & Wild River

Nature centers	List of nature centers in Maryland

Maryland Department of Natural Resources (web): Maryland Forest Service and Maryland Park Service (web)

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