Then and Now: Fort Totten

Then (left): Fort Totten during the Civil War. Construction of Fort Totten began in August 1861 and was finished by 1863. It occupied a high point in advance of the Soldiers’ Home, President’s Lincoln summer residence. Photo from the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

Now (right): Completely overgrown and obscure. With the exception of a boulder containing a marker in the middle of the park, the only way to identify this site it to take inference from the name of Fort Totten Road (which its on), or to look at a map. Signage at the entrance to the park only indicates that it is maintained by the same division that manages Rock Creek Park (part of the National Park Service).