Clara Barton Parkway, Maryland

If you show up for the tour you'll learn a little about Clara Barton, but the house is not much to look at. The furniture and everything from the period is gone. Hopefully they can get funding to make it look like it did when she lived there.

One of the saddest National Park units that I have been too. The house is in total disrepair from the exterior and there are structural concerns on the upper floors of the house. I really hope this historic house can get the some the love it deserves. It honors a woman (Clara Barton) who played a somewhat large role in the history of the USA. She is most well known for her efforts establishing the American Red Cross

Clara Barton National Historic Site is the first sight dedicated to a woman! A pioneer for the American Red Cross, Clara Barton was an amazing woman with a lot of tenacity. While this house is a bit run down and all personal belongings have been temporarily removed, I still think it should make your list of places to visit. The house alone has an amazing story, and the park rangers are a wealth of knowledge. Clara Barton contributed so much, and yet most people only know her for the American Red Cross. It is also worth noting that this historical sight is part of the Great American Outdoors Act! This historical sight has received funding for conservation. Hopefully, once this is complete, Ms. Bartons personal effects will be moved back into her home, and the 2nd and 3rd floors open to the public. I know I will be back to see this house in all its glory. Check the web for tour times! This site is free to visit.

We’ve lived in the DC area for decades and this was “an anchor” on our list of local places to visit. We finally stopped in today and it was fascinating. Ranger Kevin Patti is an expert on the home and Miss Barton. He gave a very interesting tour of this unique home and amazing woman. Tour times are limited (currently Fridays and Saturdays only) so a bit of planning is needed. It shares parking with Glen Echo Park, which is also fun to explore. Makes for a great weekend outing in the DC area!

Another home run by the National Park Service. This locale shares parking with Glen Echo - so there is a great deal. This is Barton’s house that she had built to her specifications - it’s built as a place that could respond to disaster relief. Way more closets than any human being would ever want or desire, natural light in a hall way with multiple apts in that hallway. Here you learn of a story of a beautiful heart who was thrust into the limelight because she was a doer, not just a talker. Her work with the Red Cross, something she brought here along with the Geneva Convention, the field hospitals, civil rights, and the missing soldiers bureau - these all happened because of her! And she did it all without ever having the fundamental right to vote!!! This place is operated with a skeleton crew, and it’s by guided tour only. Attaching a photo of your tour times - make sure to check the website before you come out, as they are doing major renovations right now.