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 improve the Potomac River for access and trade with the western frontier.
The agreement that was developed between Maryland and Virginia to share the river for their common purpose led to further meetings—Annapolis (1786) and Philadelphia (1787) and the to the drafting of the U.S. Constitution.
Donated by the Virginia Canals and Navigation Society and friends of George W. Higgs, Jr.
Marker can be reached from Old Dominion Drive east of Georgetown Pike (Virginia Route 193).
Courtesy hmdb.org
