Everyone knows something about the 1828 C&O Canal which runs along the Maryland side of the Potomac River. But do you know that George Washington created a company in 1785 to make the Potomac River navigable? The purpose of the company was not to build a canal but to "get the rocks out of the way" so that the ever-increasing farm products of the Potomac River valley and its tributaries would find their way to the port at Georgetown and out to the rest of the world. All of this took place over 200 years ago but there are still ruins we can examine and, in many cases, wonder at.