Patowmack Canal

Potomac Canal Historic District
LocationFairfax County, Virginia, U.S.
Nearest cityGreat Falls, Virginia, U.S.
Area25 acres (10 ha)[1]
Built1786 (1786)
ArchitectMultiple
NRHP reference No.79003038
VLR No.029-0211
Significant dates
Added to NRHPOctober 18, 1979[3]
Designated NHLDDecember 17, 1982[4]
Designated VLRSeptember 19, 1978[2]

The Patowmack Canal, sometimes called the Potomac Canal, is a series of five inoperative canals located in Maryland and Virginia, United States, that was designed to bypass rapids in the Potomac River upstream of the present Washington, D.C., area. The most well known of them is the Great Falls skirting canal, whose remains are managed by the National Park Service since it is within Great Falls Park, an integral part of the George Washington Memorial Parkway.[5]

The first section of the canal opened in 1795, and the canal ended operations in 1828.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference nrhpinv2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
  3. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  4. ^ "Potomac (Potowmack)(Patowmack) Canal Historic District". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved April 24, 2008.
  5. ^ "Great Falls Timeline". National Park Service. Retrieved March 7, 2020.