From Fort to Community (Historical Marker)

Here follows the inscription written on this trailside historical marker:

From Fort to Community
Fort Ward Museum & Historic Site
— City of Alexandria, Virginia —

The layered historical landscape of Fort Ward Park is reflected here in the center of the Union fort. A post-Civil War structure once stood in this location that was part of the African American community called "The Fort." Although many former Fort residents lived in homes located throughout the present-day Park, others were situated on top of or within the remains of the historic fort. Cassius and Rachel McKnight purchased land here in 1890, and built their home within the preserved earthwork walls of Fort Ward, near one of the fort's bombproof shelters. They continued to live here until Cassius's death in 1924. A road leading to their property was located along the flat parade ground interior of the Civil War Fort.

Another Fort residents, James Jackson, purchased 11.25 acres on what is now much of the west side of Fort Ward Park, where his home and a community cemetery were located. His property occupied areas that today include part of the Civil War fort's restored Northwest bastion and glacis, the man-made earthen slope surrounding the fort, reflecting the layers of history at Fort Ward.

[Sidebar:]
Discovering Clues to the Past
In 2014, City of Alexandria archaeologists discovered the site of the Civil War fort's well, which was an essential source of water for the operation of an army fort, but excavations of the upper strata of the well's interior also revealed artifacts discarded by Fort community residents, evidence of daily life in later years at Fort Ward.

Erected by City of Alexandria, Virginia.