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Lansdowne in Loudoun County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
 

Elizabeth Mills Riverfront Park

 
 
Elizabeth Mills Riverfront Park Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Craig Swain, October 30, 2010
1. Elizabeth Mills Riverfront Park Marker
Inscription.
This riverfront park will transport you back in time. It will enable you to look beyond the modern developments that dominate the landscape here today. It will take you back centuries, when American Indians lived here, harvesting the bounty of the river and fertile floodplain. It will lead you to Goose Creek where the ruins of Elizabeth Mills rest. Mill owner Samuel Clapham built the mill in 1807 and named it after his daughter. Along the way you'll discover an 1850s canal that connected with the C&O Canal. History awaits you, nature invites you.

Experience Your Park
This riverfront park is part of a linear park system in Loudoun County linked by the Potomac Heritage Trail. Follow the signs that lead through the golf course to the Trail and river's edge. Elizabeth Mills is a 125-acre park along the Potomac River and Goose Creek. Kephart Bridge Landing canoe launch (off Riverpointe Drive) offers river access via the creek.

Hike west along the river and south along Goose Creek to Kephart Bridge Landing. There you'll find the Elizabeth Mills ruins, where the historic Carolina Road bridge the creek, and evidence of the Goose Creek Canal. Along the way you'll discover a double canal lock, built of Seneca sandstone in the 1840s and 50s and used only once. The round-trip hike takes about 2 hours at an easy pace.

The
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effort to make Goose Creek and Little River navigable by locks and dams may now be admitted to have been a failure…

H.E. Powell, president Goose Creek and Little River Navigation Company, 1857

 
Erected 2010.
 
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & CommerceNative AmericansSettlements & SettlersWaterways & Vessels. In addition, it is included in the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Canal series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1807.
 
Location. 39° 5.238′ N, 77° 28.463′ W. Marker is in Lansdowne, Virginia, in Loudoun County. Marker is on Heron Way near Squirrel Ridge, on the right when traveling east. Located at the parking area for the Elizabeth Mills Riverfront Park access trail. Closed from dusk to dawn. No parking is allowed after hours. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 44105 Heron Way, Leesburg VA 20176, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Potomac Connections (here, next to this marker); Edwards Ferry (approx. 1.1 miles away in Maryland); At the Junction of War and Peace: (approx. 1.1 miles away in Maryland); Belmont (approx. 1.1 miles away); a different marker also
Elizabeth Mills Riverfront Park Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Craig Swain, October 30, 2010
2. Elizabeth Mills Riverfront Park Marker
named Edward’s Ferry (approx. 1.2 miles away in Maryland); a different marker also named Edwards Ferry (approx. 1.3 miles away); Belmont Chapel (approx. 1.4 miles away); Belmont Ridge (approx. 2˝ miles away).
 
More about this marker. Part of the inscription in this entry is from photo #2.
 
Potomac River near Edwards Ferry image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Craig Swain, October 30, 2010
3. Potomac River near Edwards Ferry
Looking across the Potomac River from the trail. The boat ramp on the far side of the river is at the Edwards Ferry site on the Maryland shore.
Remains of the Double Lock image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Craig Swain, October 30, 2010
4. Remains of the Double Lock
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on December 5, 2022. It was originally submitted on February 12, 2011. This page has been viewed 29,777 times since then and 277 times this year. Last updated on June 28, 2020, by Carl Gordon Moore Jr. of North East, Maryland. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on February 12, 2011, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.

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Mar. 19, 2024