Wheaton Regional Park is a

public park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to re ...

and

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

-designated

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

, located in

Wheaton, Maryland Wheaton is a census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, situated north of Washington, D.C. and northwest of downtown Silver Spring. Wheaton takes its name from Frank Wheaton (1833–1903), a career officer in the Uni ...

. It is operated and managed by Montgomery County Parks (Montgomery Parks), a division of a bi-county agency,

Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) is a bi-county agency that administers parks and planning in Montgomery and Prince George's counties in Maryland. History The commission was formed in 1927 by the Maryland G ...

(M–NCPPC), which serves both Montgomery and Prince George's counties in the

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

suburbs of the state of Maryland. The park was established in 1960, incorporating several large parcels of land into one of the county's largest parks, at the size of .

Brookside Gardens

A public display botanical garden,

Brookside Gardens The Brookside Gardens are public gardens located within Wheaton Regional Park, at 1800 Glenallan Avenue, Silver Spring, Maryland. The gardens themselves are open daily without charge. However, certain annual events there are held that may charge a ...

, popular as a location for wedding couple photography, which utilizes an online reservation system for that purpose, is located on a portion of the park, having expanded over time from its initial footprint of in 1969. The gardens are known in the

Washington metropolitan area The Washington metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the National Capital Region, is the metropolitan area centered on Washington, D.C. The metropolitan area includes all of Washington, D.C. and parts of the states of Maryland, Virgin ...

for its seasonal ''Winter Garden of Lights'' show, garden railway exhibit, and ''Wings of Fancy'' live butterfly exhibit, along with its two perennial conservatories which house and cultivate tropical species.

Park facilities

The park is delineated into three named areas based upon the particular area's proximity to one of Wheaton Regional's three main entrances: the ''Shorefield Area'' for the Shorefield Road entrance, the ''Glenallan Area'' for the Glenallan Avenue entrance, and the ''Orebaugh Area'' for the Orebaugh Avenue entrance. Brookside Gardens is located in the Glenallan Area. Montgomery Parks provides various recreational facilities and activities at Wheaton Regional Park. These include: * F. Frank Rubini Athletic Complex (Orebaugh Area) * Wheaton Sports Pavilion (Orebaugh Area) * Brookside Nature Center (Glenallan Area) :: Naturalist-led educational offerings ::Local natural history exhibits * Pine Lake (Shorefield area) ::Fishing permitted * Wheaton Indoor Tennis Facility (Orebaugh Area) * Wheaton Ice Arena (Orebaugh Area) ::Ice skating and instruction ::Ice hockey * Wheaton Miniature Train (Shorefield area) ::Purchase of tickets required for train rides * Ovid Hazen Wells Carousel (Shorefield area) ::On loan to Wheaton Regional Park; its ultimate home is Ovid Hazen Wells Recreational Park ::Purchase of tickets necessary for

carousel A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (List of sovereign states, international), roundabout (British English), or hurdy-gurdy (an old term in Australian English, in South Australia, SA) is a type of amusement ...

rides * Wheaton Riding Stables (Glenallan Area) ::Escorted and guided trail rides ::Novice through advanced lessons in an indoor riding arena or outdoor facility ::Children's summer camps ::Boarding of horses * Wheaton Regional Park Picnic Areas (Shorefield area) ::Eight picnic shelters, reservation and permit required; each one accommodates up to 40 people. ::Grills, picnic tables, and other picnic related amenities available on a first-come, first-served basis * Wheaton Regional Park Trails (Shorefield area) * Adventure Playground (Shorefield area) * Montgomery Dog Park (Orebaugh Area)

Park history

Harper family homestead wheaton md 20200830 112402 1

The park includes the Harper Family Log House, as part of its Brookside Nature Center. This 1½

story Story or stories may refer to: Common uses * Story, a narrative (an account of imaginary or real people and events) ** Short story, a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting * Story (American English), or storey (British ...

log cabin A log cabin is a small log house, especially a less finished or less architecturally sophisticated structure. Log cabins have an ancient history in Europe, and in America are often associated with first generation home building by settlers. Eur ...

, historically known as the Richard Thomas Harper House, was built in the 1870s, in

Poolesville, Maryland Poolesville is a U.S. town in the western portion of Montgomery County, Maryland. The population was 5,742 at the 2020 United States Census. It is surrounded by (but is technically not part of) the Montgomery County Agricultural Reserve, and is ...

, located in western Montgomery County. In 1976, the

(M–NCPPC) dismantled the house and reassembled it in Wheaton Regional Park, to serve as an exemplar of a

pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a settler who migrates to previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land. In the United States pioneer commonly refers to an American pioneer, a person in American history who migrated west to join in settling and dev ...

cabin, for the

United States Bicentennial The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to historical events leading up to the creation of the United States of America as an independent republic. It was a central event ...

. Throughout the late 19th and first half of the 20th centuries, the log house was the home of an

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

landowning family. It consisted of one downstairs room and two upstairs rooms. It had a large stone fireplace with a brick stack. The parents in the family raised a total of 15 children in this three room house, although not all of the children lived there at the same time. The park is also the home to the Ovid Hazen Wells Carousel and a miniature train. The Herschell Spillman carousel, constructed in 1915, by the Herschell Spillman Company, in

North Tonawanda, New York North Tonawanda is a city in Niagara County, New York, United States. The population was 31,568 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is named after Tonawanda Creek, its south bo ...

, operated as the Smithsonian Carousel on the

National Mall The National Mall is a Landscape architecture, landscaped park near the Downtown, Washington, D.C., downtown area of Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. It contains and borders a number of museums of the Smithsonian Institut ...

from April 12, 1967, until 1981. The musical carousel has 33 jumping horses, three zebras, and two chariots. It was purchased by the M–NCPPC and is on loan to Wheaton Regional Park, with its future home designated to be the Ovid Hazen Wells Recreational Park, in

Clarksburg, Maryland Clarksburg is a census-designated place and an unincorporated area in northern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is located at the northern end of the Interstate 270 technology corridor, approximately four miles north of Germantown. ...

, which is located in northern Montgomery County. The Wheaton Miniature Train is a replica of 1863 C. P. Huntington engine and passenger cars; it takes passengers on a short tour of the park. The train and carousel operate weekends only in April and September and daily from May through August.

References

External links

*
Wheaton Regional Park (park code G12)
on Montgomery Parks's

geographic information system A geographic information system (GIS) is a type of database containing Geographic data and information, geographic data (that is, descriptions of phenomena for which location is relevant), combined with Geographic information system software, sof ...

(GIS) interactive ''Parks and Trails Atlas'' * *
Wheaton Regional Park
on

iNaturalist iNaturalist is a social network of naturalists, citizen scientists, and biologists built on the concept of mapping and sharing observations of biodiversity across the globe. iNaturalist may be accessed via its website or from its mobile applic ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wheaton Regional Park, Maryland Tourist attractions in Montgomery County, Maryland Wheaton, Maryland Parks in Montgomery County, Maryland Protected areas established in 1960 1960 establishments in Maryland