Masonry Magazine November 2005 Page. 28
RESTORATION
The FIGHT AGAINST TIME
Fort Washington has stood against attacks by iron-sided ships, canon blasts and rifle shots. In the end, it was not Fort Washington's rough military history that nearly did it in, but the ageless enemies of time and neglect.
First begun in 1809 to guard the fledgling Capital on the Potomac River, Fort Washington was destroyed by its own garrison five years later. Final completion came in 1824, followed by extensive remodeling two decades later. The masonry fort served as Washington, D.C.'s main defense until the Civil War, when it served as the outer defense and temporary home to numerous artillery units. By 1872, the post was abandoned. When the United States entered World War II, it was reinvented for officer training and then as a veterans' hospital. Finally, the U.S. Department of the Interior took it over in 1946.
By Hazel Bradford - Director of Communications, International Masonry Institute
26 Masonry
November 2005
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