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The old manor house at Marshall Hall was built prior to 1740 by Thomas Marshall, a distinguished citizen of Charles County. The property around the ramp later became the site of the Marshall Hall amusement park that, at one time, included slot machines. Later, as the area began to increasingly develop, property was acquired by the Federal Government in order to preserve a pristine view across from Mt. Vernon in Virginia. The land that was acquired for this purpose ran from Piscataway Creek to Marshall Hall and was afterwards known as Piscataway Park. In 1981, before Marshall Hall could be restored to it's original condition, a fire claimed the structure and destroyed a fine example of early American colonial architecture, and the oldest one of it's type in southern Maryland. Currently, Charles County government owns Marshall Hall and allows recreational access to the Potomac River.


Marshall Hall Amusement Park opened in 1885 and was a weekend destination for DC area residents for 93 years. The amusement park was located on the Maryland side of the Potomac, just south of the Prince George's - Charles County line. The park was purchased by Congress in 1976 to become an extension of Piscataway National Park. This was done to protect Mount Vernon's view across the Potomac from real estate development.

In 1958, a group of investors known as "Pot O' Gold, Inc." built a concession area that included: a snack bar, cocktail bar, and a building named "Happyland" containing 185 slot machines. At that time, Charles Co. was the only jurisdiction close to the District that allowed gambling. Many children's amusements existed: a swimming pool, ice-rink, roller coaster, ferris wheel, (c. 1905) carousel house with merry-go-round, shooting gallery, "frontier" railroad, and many other "kiddie" rides and arcades.

As new real estate development along the Potomac became visible from Mount Vernon, lobbying by private citizens and....(goes on to talk about the chain of events leading to the government buying the park because it was 'unsightly'...)