PIKESVILLE, Md. — Folks in a Pikesville neighborhood see colonial history out their windows every day: a fort built in the late 1600s.
Fort Garrison, built around 1693, sits on a tranquil court surrounded by modern homes. Even though it's America 250 in 2026, the fort predates the United States. It's even older than George Washington.
Kirk Dreier, a park ranger, first saw the property in the mid-1980s and has worked to preserve and popularize its history.
"When I became involved in the fort," he recalled, "I had Eagle Scouts help me clean it out, and we've built beds and equipment and purchased, we had the help of the Rotary Club of Pikesville donated money so that I could, purchase supplies and materials, to make the fort come alive."
While it remains locked most of the time, Dreier hosts a "Fort Garrison Feast" on the Sunday before Thanksgiving in November, featuring a 16th-century dinner for people who sign up.
Drier is heedful to note the fort has lived many lives over the centuries: as frontier defense in the late 17th century, the French and Indian War in the mid-18th century, and as slave quarters in the late 18th century.
Baltimore County took ownership of the building in 1965, and renovations have ensured the building stays stable. Around the same time, homes went up around it.
The community, Drier says, finds the November feasts especially engaging.
"[The neighbors] were really excited about it. The neighbors directly across, their daughter used to come over here and when we would hold our event, the Sunday before Thanksgiving, she would sell lemonade to the to the community," Dreier said.
The preserved site is Maryland history - to be considered and respected, right in the community's backyard.
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