Fort Washington, Maryland
Fort Washington, Maryland
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2284128

Fort Washington, Maryland

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2284128

Fort Washington, Maryland

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Fort Washington, Maryland

Fort Washington is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. It borders the Potomac River, situated 20 miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.[dubiousdiscuss] As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 24,261. The Fort Washington community is located west of Maryland Route 210, with some additional area to the east of the highway.

The community is named for Fort Washington. The first Fort Washington was completed in 1809, and it was the only defensive fort protecting Washington, D.C. until the American Civil War. It consisted of a small earthwork near the shore of the Potomac River. The failure of that fort to stop a British fleet from invading the national capital during the War of 1812 led to the construction of the current, larger, stone fortification. In 1844, a cannon exploded on the USS Princeton as it was passing Fort Washington. During World War II, the US Army's Adjutant General's School was located at the fort, and had billeting for 362 officers and 2,526 enlisted persons.

The site is now part of a park with views of the Potomac River and hiking paths.

During the War of 1812 Fort Washington, built to protect the capital from enemy advances on the Potomac River, was captured by the British under the command of Admiral Gordon, three days after the burning of the capital.

Upon the outbreak of the American Civil War, fearing for the safety of Washington in case of attack, Secretary of the Navy Isaac Toucey ordered a detachment of US Marines to garrison the fort.

In May 1865 Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles ordered the Potomac Flotilla reduced to half strength due to cessation of hostilities. This included the removal of the Marines from Fort Washington.

Near the fort are many riverfront homes, two marinas, two community pools, and National Golf Club. The area was rural until about 1960, when suburban growth began.[citation needed] Until the founding of the Oxon Hill post office about 1960, the Fort Washington area generally used the mailing address Washington, D.C., except for the few years that Friendly had a post office. In 1980, the postal service split the Fort Washington area from Oxon Hill, defining it as a separate town name. At that time, to make mail sorting easier, they drew the boundary between the two communities to conform to already existing zip code boundaries. The end result sometimes confuses people, since the northern end of the Fort Washington postal area (near the Beltway) identifies more with the communities of Oxon Hill or Temple Hills / Camp Springs but still uses a Fort Washington mailing address.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 16.57 square miles (42.9 km2), of which 13.79 square miles (35.7 km2) is land and 2.78 square miles (7.2 km2), or 16.8%, is water.

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