Anne Arundel County is one step closer to transforming the historic Crownsville site into a hub for community and social services. County officials recently released a draft of the master plan for the Crownsville Hospital Memorial Park.
The drafted plan includes an overview of the historic and natural resources on site, details regarding infrastructure and future plans for “active recreation spaces.” The site will focus on mental and physical health and well-being, public accessibility, preservation of the site’s natural beauty and cultivation of learning opportunities.
“Thoughtfully designed with open spaces for quiet contemplation, gathering areas for community interaction and programming focused on wellness, the park invites everyone to reconnect with themselves, nature and each other,” reads the master plan.
For area families, the plan also proposes event lawns, nature-inspired playgrounds, athletic fields and community gardens.
Anne Arundel County acquired the nearly 500-acre property in 2022, and County Executive Steuart Pittman launched the CHMP project in an inauguration speech. The land holds a complex history, once ancestral Indigenous land, then home of the “Hospital for the Negro Insane of Maryland.”
The project aims to honor this history. The park’s most prominent feature will be its “Path of Reverence,” a pathway that will lead visitors to the oft-overlooked Crownsville Hospital Patient Cemetery where more than 1,700 patients are buried.
Officials involved hope that CHMP is transformed into a “beacon of healing, reflection and community well-being” while remembering the site’s painful past. The final plan is expected to be published in late 2024 or early 2025. Submit comments or suggestions for the project to [email protected].
