Catoctin Mountain Park
Traveling through the mountains of Maryland, I made my way into Catoctin Mountain Park. At first, it feels like a quiet forest, winding trails through dense trees. But this landscape, like many others, carries a history that is not immediately visible.
By the early 1900s, much of this land had been logged and overused. The forest that stands here today is a result of deliberate restoration. During the Great Depression, the federal government began reclaiming this land through the work of the Civilian Conservation Corps. They replanted trees, built roads and cabins, and reshaped the area into what would become a place of conservation and recreation.
In 1936, the park was formally established under the care of the National Park Service.
Tucked within the forest is Camp David. Originally built in the 1930s, it was later designated as the presidential getaway. Hidden within the same woods that visitors walk through, it has served as a place for rest, reflection, and at times, decisions of national and international importance. Driving through the park, there is no sign of where Camp David is located. It remains hidden within the forest.
The history of Catoctin is held in the land itself, in what was lost and what was rebuilt. This is a park shaped over time, by use, by recovery and by the decision to preserve it.
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