Seneca Aqueduct Walk

The tour will include a discussion of Lift Lock #24 (Riley’s Lock) and lockhouse, as well as the large basin that once existed here with a large granary a small community. The Seneca Aqueduct’s unique relationship with the lock is explained as the group crosses the aqueduct to visit the Seneca Quarry area and ruins of the stone cutting mill. The group then walks 9/10ths of a mile down the canal to Lift Lock #23 (Violettes Lock) and Inlet/Guard Lock #2 as well as Dam #2. The importance of this area and its relationship to the 1875–1831 Potomac Company sluice on the Virginia side of the Potomac River is explained, as is the significance of the 22 miles of canal between this area both at the beginning of the canal’s use in 1831 and after the canal was purchased by the government in 1938.