Lansdowne in Loudoun County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
Elizabeth Mills Riverfront Park
Photographed by Craig Swain, October 30, 2010
1. Elizabeth Mills Riverfront Park Marker
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
this page online
The 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: Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Industry & Commerce • Settlements & Settlers • Waterways & 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. It 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.
Photographed by Craig Swain, October 30, 2010
2. Elizabeth Mills Riverfront Park Marker
Regionally, this marker is in the Washington Metropolitan Area and in Northern Virginia. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, and in the Mid-Atlantic. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
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: Lockhouse 25 and Edwards Ferry (approx. 1.1 miles away in Maryland); Belmont (approx. 1.1 miles away); a different marker also named Edwards 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. 2½ miles away).
Another marker is no longer nearby. An Ideal Crossing
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.
More about this marker. Part of the inscription in this entry is from photo #2.
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 31,316 times since then and 119 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.
