Fort Ward

Once a Civil War fort, then a bastion for Black Alexandrians before they were pushed out by city officials, Fort Ward (4301 W Braddock Road) has been at the center of an ongoing mission to reexamine the fort’s past and build a better future for the site.

A new interagency report for FY 2022 highlights the progress made by the Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities (RPCA), Office of Historic Alexandria (OHA), Department of General Services (DGS) and Transportation and Environmental Services (TES).

The City of Alexandria is planning to host a public meeting next month to discuss plans to overhaul Fort Ward Park.

The site was a fort constructed during the Civil War as part of a ring of defenses protecting Washington D.C. The site currently has a museum and frequently hosts reenactments of daily life during the Civil War.

A celebration this weekend will look at how Christmas was commemorated during the Civil War at Fort Ward, a Civil War fort turned museum in Alexandria.

The family-friendly event is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 11, from noon to 4 p.m.

The Fort Ward Museum is planning to reopen next weekend with a live cannon fire demonstration to kick things off.

While many of Alexandria’s museums and historic have reopened over the last few months, Fort Ward remained closed for renovations to the museum.

Alexandria is looking for community feedback on the recognition and demarcation of Black cemetery areas and burial sites at Fort Ward Park.

The park at 4301 West Braddock Road, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982, became an African American community after the Civil War. For more than a decade, the city has worked on identifying graves that were part of “The Fort” neighborhood, and made ground-penetrating Radar Surveys in 2009.