Fort Smallwood Park is a county park in northeastern

Anne Arundel County Anne Arundel County (; ), also notated as AA or A.A. County, is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 588,261, an increase of just under 10% since 2010. Its county seat is Annapolis, whi ...

near Riviera Beach and

Pasadena, Maryland Pasadena is a census-designated place (CDP) in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. The population was 24,287 at the 2010 census. The areas of Lake Shore, Riviera Beach and Pasadena are collectively referred to as Pasadena by residents ...

, United States. It is located on the outer

Patapsco River The Patapsco River mainstem is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 river in central Maryland that flows into the Chesapeake Bay. The river's tidal port ...

as it meets the

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the ...

. On April 1, 2006 it 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 fishing pier at Fort Smallwood Park " Bill Burton Fishing Pier", named for the long-time ''

Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries. Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...

'' outdoorsman/reporter and columnist. The previous pier was destroyed in 2003 by

Hurricane Isabel Hurricane Isabel was the strongest Atlantic hurricane since Mitch, and the deadliest, costliest, and most intense hurricane in the 2003 Atlantic hurricane season. Hurricane Isabel was also the strongest hurricane in the open waters of the Atlanti ...

. It provides a view of the

Sparrows Point Sparrow's Point is an unincorporated community in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States, adjacent to Dundalk. Named after Thomas Sparrow, landowner, it was the site of a very large industrial complex owned by Bethlehem Steel, known for steelm ...

plant of

Mittal Steel Company Mittal Steel Company N.V. was an Indian company and one of the world's largest steel producers by volume and turnover. After a merger in 2005, it is now part of ArcelorMittal. History Mittal Steel Company was formed as Ispat International in 19 ...

(formerly owned by

Bethlehem Steel Corporation The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. For most of the 20th century, it was one of the world's largest steel producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its succe ...

), one of the largest steel manufacturing complexes in the world. Fort Smallwood Road (

Maryland Route 173 Maryland Route 173 (MD 173) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known for most of its length as Fort Smallwood Road, the state highway runs from Fort Smallwood Park near Jacobsville north to MD 2 in the Brooklyn neighborhood of ...

) leads from Patapsco Avenue and Pennington Avenue in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

- Curtis Bay in southern Baltimore City across

Curtis Creek Curtis Creek is a tidal creek located in Baltimore City and Anne Arundel County, Maryland. It is a tributary of the cove Curtis Bay and is adjacent to the west of the South Baltimore community of Curtis Bay. The creek begins at the confluence ...

, past the U.S. Coast Guard Yard through the Arundel Cove- Hawkins Point area to Riviera Beach and

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. Its ...

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 , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

era along with other outer harbor defenses at Fort Howard on

North Point North Point is a mixed-use urban area in the Eastern District, Hong Kong, Eastern District of Hong Kong. Located in the northeastern part of Hong Kong Island, the area is named after a cape between Tin Hau, Hong Kong, Causeway Bay and Tsat Ts ...

in southeastern

Baltimore County Baltimore County ( , locally: or ) is the third-most populous county in the U.S. state of Maryland and is part of the Baltimore metropolitan area. Baltimore County (which partially surrounds, though does not include, the independent City of ...

and

Fort Armistead Fort Armistead was a United States Army coastal defense fort, active from 1901 to 1920, that defended Baltimore, Maryland.Berhow, p. 211 History Fort Armistead was built from 1897 to 1901 as part of the large-scale Endicott Program. Other for ...

at Hawkins Point on the Baltimore City-Anne Arundel County Line of 1919. It was named for Revolutionary War Maj. Gen.

William Smallwood William Smallwood (1732February 14, 1792) was an American planter, soldier and politician from Charles County, Maryland. He served in the American Revolutionary War, rising to the rank of major general. He was serving as the fourth Governor ...

(1732–1792), commander of the "Maryland Line" regiment in the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

who later became fourth governor of Maryland (1785–1788). From 1928 to 2006, it was a city park of the City of

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

and was an extremely popular weekend 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 The Chesapeake Bay Bridge (also known locally as the Bay Bridge) is a major twin bridges, dual-span bridge in the U.S. state of Maryland. Spanning the Chesapeake Bay, it connects the state's rural Eastern Shore of Maryland, Eastern Shore regio ...

in 1952. Besides

Robert E. Lee Memorial Park Lake Roland is a city/county park encompassing over 500 acres of woodland, wetlands, serpentine barrens, rare plants and rocky plateaus surrounding Lake Roland in Baltimore County, Maryland. The park is located near the intersection of Falls Ro ...

surrounding Lake Roland, a former Baltimore City Public Works Department watershed system parcel since 1860, located just across the northern city limits in

, Fort Smallwood was the only city park located outside the 1919 city limits. 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 on January 2, 1902, in action with insurgents near Lanang, Samar, Philippine Islands during the

Philippine–American War The Philippine–American War or Filipino–American War ( es, Guerra filipina-estadounidense, tl, Digmaang Pilipino–Amerikano), previously referred to as the Philippine Insurrection or the Tagalog Insurgency by the United States, was an arm ...

. Two six-inch disappearing carriage guns were mounted here from 1900 to 1927.Battery Hartshorne, wikimapia.com
/ref>

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

Image:Cedar Pavilion Ft Smallwood Pk Dec 09.JPG, Cedar Pavilion, Ft. Smallwood Park, December 2009

References

External links

Fort Smallwood Park website

Fort Smallwood - Fort Wiki
{{Authority control 1928 establishments in Maryland Parks in Anne Arundel County, Maryland

History

Recreation

Gallery

See also

References

External links