Smallwood State Park in Maryland on Mattawoman Creek near Marbury combines public recreation with historic preservation. At its center is Smallwood's Retreat, the plantation home of Major General William Smallwood, a former Continental Army officer and governor of Maryland, giving the park a strong connection to the state's Revolutionary-era history. The nine hundred eighty-four-acre park includes a marina, boat ramps, picnic areas, campsites, cabins, trails, and a nature center. After the house declined into a standing ruin, local citizens organized the Smallwood Foundation, which acquired and restored it before transferring it to the state as the larger park was assembled and dedicated in 1958.