Cross Canal (Historical Marker)

Here follows the inscription written on this roadside historical marker:

Historic Site
Cross Canal

This area, called "Cross Canal," was a neighborhood of black residents who settled across from the canal shortly after the Civil War. The canal, located just north of this marker, extended from the Potomac River to Washington Street, thence north to Rosslyn.

A rural neighborhood, Cross Canal was "all country roads with nothing but trees and dirt roads." Families lived in small frame houses with gardens and raised farm animals in their back yards. Many residents worked at nearby industrial plants.

Erected by The City of Alexandria and The Society for the Preservation of Black Heritage.