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Fort Marcy Park and Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Lockhouses 7&8

Fort Marcy Park and Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Lockhouses 7&8

MCLEAN, Va. and GLEN ECHO and BROOKMONT, Md. — Today's mild temperatures meant a visit outside to Fort Marcy Park and a return to the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Park. 

Fort Marcy was completed in 1961 as a Union fortification on the northern bank of the Potomac River, whose batteries helped protect Leesburg Pike and the Chain Bridge, important entries into Washington, DC from Virginia. Located along the George Washington Memorial Parkway, the remains of the earthen works fort provide hiking trails around the fort and Civil War-era cannons within the earthen walls and dry moat of the fort.

The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal along the Potomac River between Washington, DC and Cumberland, Maryland was in operation from 1831 until 1924 and was established as a National Park in 1971. The lockhouses were built by the C&O Canal Company along the canal in the 19th century to provide basic housing for lockkeepers and their families, who opened and closed locks for boats moving up and down the canal.

📷: Fort Marcy Park - absolonkent.net/photogallery/index.php?/category/467
📷: Chesapeake and Ohio Canal NP - absolonkent.net/photogallery/index.php?/category/7