Camp Wadsworth

Camp Wadsworth

1863

Camp Wadsworth was located on the property of Commander James W. Cooke that includes today’s Madison of McLean townhouse development, and the nearby property of Lewis Means, part of today’s McLean Central Park.

D. B. Nichols

Captain James W. Cooke

McLean, Virginia

Dranesville

During the first years of the Civil War, thousands of enslaved people escaped to the District of Columbia in search of freedom. They became known as contrabands. As contraband numbers grew, their overcrowded living spaces became unsanitary. In an attempt to resolve this problem, D. B. Nichols, the Superintendent of Freedman, determined to relocate many to abandoned secessionist properties outside of the city. Camp Wadsworth was two sections, established on what is now residential and commercial property in McLean. The first portion was established on the 60-acre farm of Captain James W. Cooke, who left the area to become an officer in the Confederate States Navy. His farm included what is now the Madison of McLean townhouse development. The second part was established not far from Cooke’s on the 134-acre deserted farm of Lewis Means. McLean Central Park was built on a piece of the former Mean’s property.