Tide Lock of the Alexandria Canal (Historical Marker)

Here follows the inscription written on this trailside historical marker:

Tide Lock of the Alexandria Canal
This tide lock of the Alexandria Canal was one of four lock that together lowered boats about 38 feet to the Potomac River and raised them for their return trip. The remains of the other locks are now buried under modern construction.

This seven-mile canal was in operation from 1843 to 1886 between Alexandria and Georgetown in the District of Columbia. The canal ran on level ground from Alexandria to Rosslyn, where it crossed the Potomac River to Georgetown by means of an aqueduct. Here the canal connected with the Chesapeake and Ohio (C & O) Canal. Coal from western Maryland became the most important commodity to be shipped via the canals to the wharves in Alexandria. Hence, the Alexandria Canal played a short but vital role in Alexandria's commercial history.