The Patowmack Canal

[Great Falls Park]

The shallow ditch behind this sign marks the bed of the Great Falls portion of the Patowmack Canal. A system of by-passes to provide riverboats easy passage around waterfalls in the Potomac River; it was promoted by George ...

The Patowmack Canal

1785–1828

This canal, skirting the 76-foot drop of the Great Falls of the Potomac, was the most demanding and complex of the five canals built by the Patowmack Company.

The company was founded by George Washington on May 17, 1785 to ...