Ruins of Marshall Hall

Marshall Hall is the only history-related attraction at Piscataway Park. When driving down Marshall Hall Road on the western side of the park, the road splits, with the main road heading down to the Marshall Hall Landing Boat Ramp. The mansion ruins are accessed by taking a right onto what amounts to a dirt side road that ends in a loop near the mansion.

Thomas Marshall ran a plantation on this land in the mid-1700s, and it remained in the Marshall family until 1867. The mansion, known as Marshall Hall, started as a small, brick house constructed in the 1730s and was enlarged to its present size around 1760. It and a small building nearby, thought to be the kitchen, are the only two buildings to survive from the Marshall era. The small building most likely dates to the 1760 expansion of the main house. It was later used as a doctor’s office when the property was turned into an amusement park in the late 1880s.

Kitchen house at Marshall Hall

Kitchen when it was part of the amusement park (photo by the NPS)

From the time the Marshalls sold the land in 1867 up until 1884, the estate remained privately owned. It was then sold to real estate investors who turned the plantation into a popular park for picnicking, cultural events, exclusive parties, and even jousting tournaments. In 1889 the land was bought by the Mount Vernon and Marshall Hall Steamboat Company, which had been running a scenic cruise between Washington, Alexandria, Mount Vernon, and Marshall Hall.

In the 1890s the Steamboat Company turned the grounds into an amusement park to boost ticket sales. Boats stopped at the park twice a day. Later, in 1954, the park was purchased by another excursion company, the Wilson Excursion Line, and most visitors to the park continued to come by boat. The amusement park would go on to operate all the way until 1980.

Ferry docks at the Marshall Hall amusement park (photo from the NPS)

In 1958, a snack bar, cocktail bar, and gambling hall for slot machines were opened in a building called Happyland. Charles County was the closest county to Washington, D. C., to allow legal slots. The park also included a swimming pool, skating rink, Ferris Wheel, carousel, roller coaster, and other rides and games typically found in county amusement parks. Some of these amusements had been around since the early 1900s.

Early amusement park ride at Marshall Hall (photo by the NPS)

Roller coaster at Marshall Hall (photo from the NPS)

Fun House at the Marshall Hall amusement park (photo from the NPS)

About the time that gambling came to Marshall Hall Amusement Park, citizens of the area organized by the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association became concerned that the rural view from Mount Vernon across the Potomac River would soon be completely developed. In 1955, Association member Frances Bolton purchased a farm on the Potomac across from Mount Vernon and then donated it to form the Accokeek Foundation. Members then started a campaign to purchase the adjacent land along a six-mile stretch of shoreline to keep the view from Mount Vernon just as it was when George Washington lived there. This led to the involvement of the National Park Service and the eventual creation of Piscataway Park in 1961 (it was not officially open to the public until 1968). However, at that time the Marshall Hall property was not part of the deal, and the amusement park continued to operate.

The Marshall Hall Development Company purchased the amusement park in 1966 and proceeded to tear down the historical buildings so it could build modern amusement rides and facilities. A large picnic pavilion was built at this time.

The park was sold once again in 1969 to Joseph Goldstein, who envisioned a park as big as the Disney parks. He started cutting down the trees that lined the shore, exposing the amusement rides to those looking across the Potomac from Mount Vernon. This prompted the U. S. government to authorize the National Park Service to purchase the land from Goldstein in 1974, though it gave him until 1980 to continue running the amusement park. Goldstein also owned the land on the other side of Piscataway Creek where the Fort Washington Marina is now located, and this too became part of Piscataway Park.

Once the park was closed, all amusements were torn down. Only the two original plantation-era buildings were left standing because they were actually part of George Washington’s view from Mount Vernon.

Marshall Hall was destroyed by a fire—deemed arson—on October 17, 1981, and has sat in ruin ever since. The building is fenced off and closed to the public. The kitchen building, while not fenced off, is also closed.

Photo from before Marshall Hall burned down (photo by the NPS)

Ruins of Marshall Hall

Also located on the property is the Marshall Family cemetery, which surprisingly survived the property’s nearly one hundred years of commercial use. To reach the cemetery, walk down the narrow dirt road that runs to the right and parallel to the mansion. You can see the cemetery fence from the mansion and may be tempted to walk through the grass to reach it, but the entire area is Tick City, so avoid as much tall grass as possible. Even from the road you must walk through some grass, so be sure to check yourself for the pests. The road to the cemetery continues and leads to a few other roads, but these go nowhere and are suitable only for 4-Wheel Drive vehicles.

Marshall Family cemetery

The cemetery contains the grave of original owner Thomas Marshall. Each generation of boys had a Thomas among them. so every grave seems to be for a Thomas Marshall. The founding Thomas is the one who died in 1759. At the time of my visit I didn’t know Thomas Marshall from Adam, so I did not get a photo of his grave, at least that I am aware of. Some of the older grave markers are no longer readable.

Grave of one of many Thomas Marshalls (five generations had a Thomas)

Grave of Eleanor Marshall, wife of Thomas Marshall IV

Grave marker that can no longer be read

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