Early History
Owned by the State of Maryland and managed by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources – Maryland Park Service (DNR), Fort Frederick is the centerpiece of Fort Frederick State Park. As an intact example of an 18th-century stone fortification directly connected to multiple events significant to America’s founding, Fort Frederick was designed a National Historic Landmarks (NHL) in 1973. The fort is a mid-18th century large stone quadrangle with bastions projecting from each corner. Its exterior lines run 355 ft. from bastion point to bastion point, with walls approx. 18 ft. high enclosing two acres of land.
While Fort Frederick itself never saw a battle of gunfire and cannon, this outpost on Maryland’s colonial frontier witnessed the social, economic, and political battles fought in the early years of the nascent nation. Constructed in 1756 for the French & Indian War, it was the only stone fort built by a British colony during that time. Although the fort was officially closed in 1759, it was re-activated over the decades for use in several conflicts, including Pontiac’s Rebellion, the American Revolution, and the Civil War. After the Revolution, the State of Maryland sold the fort and surrounding land at public auction, where it was purchased, farmed, and tended to by a family of free African Americans, whose patriarch, Nathan Williams, was a formerly enslaved person whose father had purchased his freedom.
African American History
Fort Frederick was farmed by various owners between 1790 and 1922. From 1857 to 1911, it was owned by a free African American family. The Nathan Williams family had been held as enslaved workers until Nathan’s father, Samuel, purchased the family’s freedom in 1826. By 1839 the family was living at Prather Neck near Fort Frederick. Nathan lived with his father until he was 28 to repay his debt to him. In 1847, Nathan purchased his wife, Ammy’s freedom. They would have eight children. In 1857, Williams bought Fort Frederick and 215 acres for $5,000. Williams was also involved in education as he was a trustee, and his wife deeded land for, the “Fort Frederick School for Coloreds.” The school went on to occupy several buildings inside the fort alongside other dwellings.1
Figure 2: Drawing of “Old Fort Frederick” from 1877 by D.H. Strother
The Williams family owned and operated the property as a farm and school until 1910, when it was sold to Homer J. Cavanaugh, who then sold the property back to the State of Maryland in 1922 for use as a recreation area.
Figure 3: Unknown date/photographer showing the wall’s deterioration prior to restoration efforts in the 1930s
Restoration Efforts
The State of Maryland took over restoration efforts in the 1930s from the Daughters of the American Revolution, who had been making preservation investments for the prior decade. During this time, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) conducted archaeological investigations and rebuilt the wall and the interior buildings’ stone foundations. In 1933, the CCC was hired to rebuild approximately 40% of the collapsed walls of the fort. During this time, they used a “very hard cementitious mortar.”2
Figure 4: CCC workers repointing and repairing the Fort Frederick walls
Between the 1930s and 1970s, several small repair projects were done using cement mortars. In 1976 the state of Maryland continued the fort’s restoration by rebuilding the two enlisted men’s barracks.
A second major restoration was performed in the 1980s, which included “pinning and grouting the walls, installing a rubber membrane cap on the top of the wall, and repointing, again using a cement mortar.”3 While carried out in good faith, this work had the opposite of the intended effect, as was the case for many historic sites that received restoration efforts in the years before preservation education was more prevalent. The treatment instead accelerated the deterioration, as revealed by testing in the early 2000s. The use of cement mortar unintentionally damaged the masonry and the walls are also experiencing additional structural complications, including bulging and cracking, partially caused by an earthquake that struck Maryland in 2011. All these issues have contributed to the increased destabilization of the walls and accelerated their decline. Small repairs conducted in 2019-2020 further revealed the gravity of the situation.
Figure 5: Example of current conditions along the walls where prior repairs are failing (Credit: Preservation Maryland)
Maryland Department of Natural Resources – Preservation Maryland Project Partnership
To preserve this exceptional resource, Preservation Maryland and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources have partnered together to see much-needed repairs brought to the fort walls. The project will result in a full condition assessment of the historic fort walls with prioritized treatment recommendations and a phased implementation plan that will then lead directly into the preservation and restoration of the fort’s walls and magnificent gate. The work will include engineering and conservation services with consultant experts who specialize in historic masonry structures; removal of improper cementitious infill material and failing masonry interventions; stabilization of the original stones; and repointing and backfilling with appropriate mortar.
This project is being supported in part by a Semiquincentennial grant from the Historic Preservation Fund administered by the National Park Service, Department of the Interior, as well as the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. It will not only preserve an important piece of local, state, and national history, it will also contribute to the safety, beauty, and longevity of this monumental structure for visitors for hopefully centuries more to come.