{"nrhp_refnum":"82004538","name":"Fort Ward","other_names":["Fort Ward Park"],"category":"site","location":{"address":"4301 W. Braddock Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Alexandria (Independent City)","county":"Alexandria","state":"VA","lat":38.83084857600005,"lon":-77.10226093103823,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-08-26","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Historic - Non-Aboriginal","Military","Engineering"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Fort Ward is a 35-acre historic park and museum site at 4301 West Braddock Road in Alexandria, Virginia, centered on a Civil War earthen fort built by the Union Army Corps of Engineers between 1861 and 1865 as part of the Defenses of Washington.","why_significant":"The nomination presents Fort Ward as one of the strongest links in the chain of 68 forts and batteries protecting Washington, and the fifth largest, with an 818-yard perimeter and 36 gun emplacements. It guarded the western and northwestern approaches to Alexandria from the highest elevation of any fort in the Alexandria defenses. The City of Alexandria restored the Northwest Bastion during the Civil War Centennial and operates the site as a museum.","narrative":"Fort Ward is a 35-acre historic park in Alexandria, Virginia, built around a Civil War earthen fort. The Union Army Corps of Engineers constructed it as one of 68 forts and batteries in the Defenses of Washington, guarding routes into Alexandria from the west and northwest. Enlarged in 1864 to an 818-yard perimeter with 36 gun emplacements, it was the fifth largest fort in the system and could hold about 1,200 men. The army sold off its timber and fittings in late 1865, and the idea of a permanent defense system was dropped in 1866. During the Civil War Centennial, the city restored the Northwest Bastion using archaeological and historical research, cleared the site, and opened it in 1964. The park now includes reproduction military buildings, a museum with a research library, a reconstructed ceremonial entrance gate, and recreational areas outside the historic zone.","period_of_significance":"1861-1865","architect_builder":"Union Army Corps of Engineers","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Owned and operated by the City of Alexandria as a historic park and museum, open to the public since May 1964; the Northwest Bastion has been restored and the rest of the earthworks are largely preserved.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:57.119809-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/20/6794/41679420/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/82004538.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82004538/96b17d2efc-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82004538/96b17d2efc-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 2.5","author":"AjaxSmack at English Wikipedia","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fort_Ward_(Virginia).JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">AjaxSmack at English Wikipedia</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 2.5</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fort_Ward_(Virginia).JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41679420","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Ward_(Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5472243"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/alexandria/fort-ward-82004538/"}