The history of the park can be seen in the buildings, fields, forests and streams in and around the park:

• bordered by the Potomac River
• settled in the early 18th century
• continuously farmed for more than 250 years by families, including Jones, Brewer, Chiswell, White, Matthews, Hilliard, and Hunter descendants, who still farm the land
• site of numerous engagements between the Union and Confederate troops during the Civil War

The variety of historic home and farmstead styles in the park and seen from the trails reflects the lifestyles of the farming families through times of prosperity and paucity. Historic sites such as the canal and quarry depict early industry that augmented the farmer’s income.

The properties are identified as:

• sites designated in the Montgomery County Master Plan For Historic Preservation (MP)
• listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NR)
• listed in the Locational Atlas & Index of Historic Sites in Montgomery County, Maryland (LA)
• Rustic Roads (RR) listed in the Rustic Roads Master Plan for Montgomery County
• ruins or other sites that have been identified as more than 50 years old, but are not listed (NL) or otherwise designated at this time