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Washington, D.C.'s

Vanishing Springs and Waterways

By Garnett P. Williams

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY CIRCULAR 752

7977
United States Department of the Interior

CECIL D. ANDRUS, Secretary

Geological Survey

V. E. McKelvey, Director

Free on application to Branch of Distribution, U.S. Geological Survey, 7200 Soufh Eads Sfreef, Arlington, VA 22202
CONTENTS

Page

Abstract ........................................................................... 1

Introduction ....................................................................... 1

Springs ............................................................................ 2

Streams ........................................................................... 6

Canals ............................................................................. 11

Anacostia River .................................................................... 13

Potomac River ..................................................................... 15

Conclusions ........................................................................ 17

References cited .................................................................... 18

ILLUSTRATIONS

FIGURE 1. Map of stream network and river shorelines of the central Washington, D.C., 

area in the late 1700's, compared to 1974 river boundaries. Selected reference 

streets and the 19th century canals are also shown ........................ 7

2. Washington City canal and U.S. Capitol about 1858. ........................ 13

3. Looking west along the mall, view of Agriculture Department Qeft), 

Washington Monument (only partly completed), and Potomac shoreline, 

1866. ................................................................. 17

TABLE

Page

TABLE 1. Springs of old Washington, D.C. .......................................... 2

ENGLISH-METRIC EQUIVALENTS

English unit Metric equivalent

gallon = 3.785 liters

foot = 0.3048 meter

yard = .9144 meter

mile = 1.609 kilometers

acre = 4047 square meters

in
WASHINGTON, D.C.'S VANISHING SPRINGS AND

WATERWAYS

ByGarnettP.Williams

ABSTRACT

This paper traces the disappearance or reduction of the 

many prominent springs and waterways that existed in 

Washington, D.C., 200 years ago. The best known springs were 

the Smith Springs (now tinder the McMillan Reservoir), the 

Franklin Park Springs (13th and I Streets, NW.), Gibson's 

Spring (15th and E Streets, NE.), Caffrey's Spring (Ninth and 

F Streets, NW.) and the City Spring (C Street between Four 

and One-Half and Sixth Streets, NW.). Tiber Creek, flowing 

south to the Capitol and thence westward along Constitution 

Avenue, joined the Potomac River at 17th Street and Constitution Avenue. In the early 1800's, the Constitution Avenue 

reach was made into a canal which was used by scows and 

steamboats up to about 1850. The canal was changed into a 

covered sewer in the 1870's, and the only remaining visible 

surface remnant is the lock-keeper's little stone house at 17th 

and Constitution Avenue, NW.

Because of sedimentation problems and reclamation projects, Rock Creek, the Potomac River, and the Anacostia River 

are considerably narrower and shallower today than they were 

in colonial times. For example, the mouth of Rock Creek at one 

time was a wide, busy ship harbor, which Georgetown used for 

an extensive foreign trade, and the Potomac River shore 

originally extended to 17th and Constitution Avenue, NW.

INTRODUCTION

Imagine what today's District of Columbia territory looked like several hundred years ago. 

Forests and thickets covered about half of the 

area. Indian tribes found plentiful supplies of clear 

water. Several swampy zones were prominent, 

such as along what is now Pennsylvania Avenue 

between the White House and Capitol, and around 

what is now the Ellipse just south of the White 

House. The springs, together with some shallow 

dug wells, were the chief sources of drinking water 

for the district's settlers until 1859. As the city 

became established and underwent years of 

growth and development, most of these springs

disappeared. So did most of the city's famous 

creeks, such as Tiber Creek, St. James Creek, 

Reedy Branch, and Slash Run, many of which 

played key roles in supporting early Washington's 

important slaughterhouses and grist mills. Even 

the larger waterways, such as Rock Creek, the 

Potomac, and the Anacostia, in many places are 

much shallower and narrower than when the settlers arrived. In those days such rivers were essential navigational arteries, but that function has 

diminished over the years. Now they are important chiefly in regard to parks and recreation.

Looking at the mass of concrete, asphalt, and 

buildings that covers much of today's thriving and 

bustling city, it is hard to imagine where most of 

the once-prominent springs and creeks were located. Similarly, almost all remnants of the 

famous Washington City Canal have now disappeared. The Canal once traversed the city from 

Georgetown, passed close to the White House and 

Capitol, and emptied into the Anacostia near the 

Navy Yard. Also, many residents of the city would 

be surprised to know that until about 90 years ago, 

the Potomac's shore came up to 17th Street and 

Constitution Avenue, NW.

This paper traces these and other changes that 

have occurred with the waters of the Washington, 

B.C., area during several hundred years of urbanization. Unavoidably, emphasis is given to 

those regions for which more information is 

available.

In collecting material, I have received, and 

gratefully acknowledge, the generous assistance 

of Perry G. Fisher of the Columbia Historical 

Society and Roy L. Orndorff, retired Director of 

Sanitary Engineering, Washington, D.C. Mr.
Orndorff and Frederick Gutheim also reviewed 

the original manuscript and provided helpful suggestions.

SPRINGS

The sparkling springs were the best source of 

drinking water in Washington's earliest days. 

After about 1800, for the convenience of having 

water closer to home and readily available in congested areas, pumps gradually became more and 

more popular, drawing water from wells. It was illegal to clean fish, water horses, or wash clothes' at 

any public springs, pumps, wells, or hydrants. The 

springs and wells furnished most of the city's 

drinking and fire-fighting water until 1859, by 

which time the demand was greater than the supply and river water was introduced. Even after 

this date the people were reluctant to discontinue 

using the spring water for drinking purposes. 

However, by the early 1880's, most residents no 

longer used spring water. Soon after the beginning 

of the 20th century, the city water system completely replaced the old springs in the District, 

with the possible exception of a few that were privately owned. Nearly all of the District's 62 

operating public shallow wells were ordered closed 

in 1907, being polluted or of questionable quality.

Of the many springs that formerly were so 

popular in the area, probably the best known were 

the Smith or Congressional Springs, the Franklin 

Park Springs, Gibson's Spring, Caffrey's Spring, 

and the City Spring. Table 1 lists some of the 

springs of early Washington.

The Smith (Congressional or Effingham) 

Springs were on the farm of J. A. Smith, near the 

middle of what is now the McMillan Reservoir, immediately southwest of the grounds of the U.S. 

Soldier's Home. These three springs produced 7, 

4V2, and 3 gallons per minute, respectively 

(Duhamel, 1926, p. 209), and were probably the 

most copious and important of the area's springs. 

From about 1832, the waters were piped for a distance of about 2lk miles down North Capitol 

Street to the Capitol, Treasury, and Post Office 

buildings. Additional routes supplied as many as 

12 fire plugs along Pennsylvania Avenue and 

other fire hydrants as far as 14th Street, W. At the 

Capitol, the waters were contained in two reservoirs one just west of the building (capacity 

78,827 gallons; this reservoir is now buried under 

the steps of the Capitol), and another, with a 

capacity of 111,241 gallons, just to the east (Clark, 

1923, p. 202). (The eastern reservoir was covered 

over in the late 1850's and is now under a parking 

lot.) The Smith springs were in use from 1832 to 

1905 (U.S. Army, 1949, p. 1) and are still marked 

by a circular brick structure in the McMillan 

Reservoir.

The City Spring, also known as the Ridge 

Spring, was located on the north side of C Street 

between Four and One-Half and Sixth Streets, 

NW. This was also one of the largest springs in the 

city and was used from about 1802 to at least 

1900. It is the first recorded piped supply in 

Washington, D. C. (1808). In the early 1800's the 

City Spring furnished water to the Center House

TABLE 1. Springs of old Washington, D.C.

Spring and location Reference Remarks

1. Smith (Congressional or Effingham), 

McMillan Reservoir area

2. City (Ridge), north side of C St. 

between 4Vz and 6th Sts., N.W.

3. Caffrey's (Hotel, Burnes', St. Patrick's, 

Federal), northwest corner of 9th 

and F Sts., N.W.

4. City Hall, near northwest corner of 5th 

and D Sts., N.W.

5. Franklin Square, between 13th and 

14th and I and K Sts., N.W.

6. 13th and K Sts., N.W., and vicinity ....

7. Gibson (Cool, Young's, Stoddert's, 

Federal), 15th and E Sts., N.E.

Duhamel, 1926; Clark, 1923; U.S. See text.

Army, 1949 

Brown, 1930; Johnston, 1962; See text.

Washington Evening Star, 1888. 

Sessford, 1908; Johnston, 1962; Busey, See text.

1898.

Sessford, 1908; Roy Orndorff, oral See text.

commun., 1974; National

Republican, 1884. 

Washington Evening Star, 1888,1906, See text.

1912; Sessford, 1908; Somervell,

1930. 

National Republican, 1884; Elliott, See text.

1837 

Johnston, 1962 ..................... See text.
TABLE!. Springs of old Washington, D.C. Continued

Spring and location Reference Remarks

8. Capitol Hill, foot of Capitol Hill near 

Pennsylvania Ave., northwest of 

Capitol.

9. Spring Garden, south side of canal just Hines, 1866 .................

west of 6th St., West.

10. Carroll, intersection of New Jersey and National Republican, 1884 .... 

Virginia Aves., SE.

11. Pennsylvania Ave. and 2d St., SE...... Washington Evening Star, 1888

12. Intersection of North Carolina Ave., D. Do. 

and 3d Sts., SE.

13. Gales (Eckington), just northeast of in- Do. 

tersection of 1st St. East and Boundary St. (Florida Ave.)

14. Reedbirds Hill, North Capitol and M 

Sts.

15. Dunlop, just east of present U.S. Duhamel, 1926 

Soldier's Home

Duhamel, 1926 ..................... Site marked today by brick grotto.

See text.

Actually a group of several springs.

Several springs, giving rise to a 

little stream which eventually 

flowed into St. James Creek.

16. Along or hear right bank of Anacostia Busey, 1898 ..................

River, between about C St. North and 

C St. South

17. Post Office, northwest corner of 7th National Republican, 1884 .... 

and E Sts., NW

18. Leech, on New York Ave. between 5th Washington Evening Star, 1888 

and 6th Sts., NW

19. Blue House, on 10th St. between K St. Do. 

and Massachusetts Ave., N.W.

20. Willow (Willow Tree), just north of L Do . 

St. between 4th and 5th Sts., NW.

21. Just southeast of intersection of 10th Washington Evening Star, 1888, 1906. 

and M Sts., NW

22. On Massachusetts Ave. between 15th Proctor, 1949; Padover, 1946 ........

and 16th Sts., NW

23. South side of Rhode Island Ave., just Proctor, 1949. 

east of Connecticut Ave., NW.

24. Brown's, just north of Boundary St. Do.............................

(Florida Ave.), between 14th and 

15th Sts., NW.

25. On 18th St. near Boundary St., NW .. Washington Evening Star, 1888 ......

26. On 13th St. near Boundary St., NW .. Roy Orndorff, written commun., 1974

27. Moore's, vicinity of llth and Boundary Washington Evening Star, 1888 

Sts., NW.

See text.

Water rights sold by Elizabeth 

Dunlop to U.S. Government for 

$500, probably about 1835.

Many small springs.

Water piped down 7th St. at least to

Pennsylvania Ave. 

So-named because Dr. Devaughn, a

noted cupper and leecher, kept

leeches there.

Gave rise to a prominent stream 

that flowed through the city and 

into Tiber Creek.

Drained into Slash Run. In 1807 

Nicholas King reported to 

Thomas Jefferson the elevation 

and distance of this spring relative to the White House, probably 

in contemplation of using it as a 

source of water for that building.

Produced a sizable stream which 

led to Slash Run.

Near Brown's Spring.

On Sept. 21, 1872, $50 was 

authorized from city funds to 

enlarge the spring to 4 feet in 

diameter, to cement the wall, and 

to install an iron pump.

The origin of one of the branches of 

Tiber Creek.
TABLE 1. Springs of old Washington, D.C. Continued

Spring and location Reference Remarks

28. llth St. between Florida Ave. and 

Euclid St., NW

29. Head of Reedy Branch, about 13th and 

Harvard Sts., NW

30. James White, near northwest corner of 

Georgia Ave. (16th St.) and Ingraham St.

31.

32.

33.

34.

35.

Octagon House, northeast corner of 

18th St. and New York Ave., NW.

Easby's Point, D and 26th Sts., NW. 

(just east of today's Kennedy Center)

On Virginia Ave., between 26th and 

27th Sts., NW

East bank of Rock Creek near K St ..

P and 22d Sts., NW., near or on the 

eastern bank of Rock Creek

Duhamel, 1926

Do.

Busey, 1898; Hines, 1866; Duhamel,

1926; Evans, 1935. 

Duhamel, 1926. .

National Republican, 1884.

Proctor, 1946.......................

On the grounds of Cardozo High 

School (formerly Central High 

School) and the former Garfield 

Hospital.

Proctor (Evening Star, Dec. 9,1945, 

p. C-6) states that this spring, 

referred to by L'Enfant, existed 

up to about 1925.

See text.

Clark, 1923; National Republican, 

1884.

36. Quarry Road, just east of Rock Creek Proctor, 1942a 

and opposite the zoo.

37. Pierce Mill, in the present Tilden St. a The Evening Star, Feb. 20, 1916 ..... 

few hundred feet west of Rock Creek.

38. Corner of Wisconsin Ave. and Q Sts., Taggart, 1908 

NW., in Georgetown.

This spring reportedly provided 

Georgetown residents with their 

best drinking water after the construction of the K Street Bridge in 

1792. The water was sold around 

Georgetown for 2 cents a bucket.

City Water Dept. records, July 24, 

1873, say that "Alex R. Shepherd 

desires that this fine spring of 

water be cleaned out * * * so as to 

make it of use to man and beast 

* * * " Reportedly a favorite spot 

for courting couples. At least during mid-1880's supplied the 

Metropolitan car stables in 

Georgetown by a pipe which went 

under the P Street Bridge.

The only supply of drinking water 

for the neighborhood's early residents in the late 1880's.

The spring for the Pierce homestead. The springhouse still exists.

Waters eroded a ravine southward 

to the Potomac.

at the corner of Ninth and D Streets, NW. (Brown, 

1930, p. 321), and to residences in the 600 block of 

Pennsylvania Avenue, NW. (Johnston, 1962, p. 

105). In the late 1800's it supplied the National 

Hotel and other buildings, as well as hydrants in 

the neighborhood (Washington Evening Star, 

1888). An article published July 1,1900, in an unidentified newspaper (apparently either the Star 

or National Republican) stated that this spring 

"still supplied hydrants in the neighborhood."

Caffrey's Spring (also known as Hotel, Burnes', 

St. Patrick's, and Federal Spring), on the northwest corner of Ninth and F Streets, NW., provided

more than 2 barrels per minute (Sessford, 1908, p. 

276). Various pipelines and outlets were added as 

the city developed. The Corporation Act of July 26, 

1815, appropriated $50 for increasing the steps, 

making a paved footway and placing a railing 

around the spring. This water source was used until about 1870, at which time it was largely abandoned when the Board of Public Works reduced F 

Street to a lower grade (Busey, 1898, p. 159).

A spring just 50 feet west of City Hall, near the 

northeast corner of Fifth and D Streets, NW., was 

another important source of water for early 

Washington. From this "large reservoir of the
finest spring water * * * a line of more than 2,500 

ft. of iron pipes was laid * * *" (Sessford, 1908, p. 

292). Incidentally, wooden pipes (bored logs) were 

also used extensively when Washingtonians first 

began piping water, and as late as 1948 the city 

engineers were still finding remnants of such 

lines, often in surprisingly good condition (Roy 

Orndorff, oral commun., 1974). The City HaU 

Spring supplied pumps on Second Street as far as 

the Lafayette House, and another line of pipe went 

west down Louisiana Avenue (now Indiana 

Avenue) to Seventh Street (National Republican, 

1884).

Franklin Park or Square, between 13th and 

14th and I and K Streets, NW., originally was low 

and marshy ground, and "there were a number of 

springs upon it, the water being of most excellent 

quality" (Washington Evening Star, 1888). The 

Federal Government bought this square in 

1829-32 and immediately piped the waters to the 

White House and the State, War, Navy, and Treasury Departments (Sessford, 1908, p. 300, 304; 

Somervell, 1930, p. 612; Washington Evening Star, 

1906). The springs, of course, had been in use for 

many years prior to 1832, and as early as 1819 the 

Government had taken steps to purchase them. 

For 75 years, beginning in 1832, these famous 

springs served Government and other nearby 

buildings. In the 1880's the flow decreased somewhat, possibly due to the digging and construction 

of the foundation pits for some of the tall hotels to 

the west and northwest of the square (Washington Evening Star, 1912). The waters eventually 

became contaminated and were condemned 

much to the displeasure of many local residents by the B.C. health officer in 1906 as 

deleterious to public health.

At least one spring and possibly as many as 

three was located just east of Franklin Square, 

in the vicinity of K Street from 12th to 13th 

Streets, NW. Henry Larman of the City Water 

Department (National Republican, 1884) states 

that a spring "rises just outside the (Franklin) 

square, under the sidewalk on 13th Street * * * ." 

Water from this spring was piped east as far as 

Ninth and I Streets, NW. (four blocks) and south 

as far as 14th Street and Ohio Avenue or C Street, 

NW. In the 1880's it supplied hydrants on 12th 

and 13th Streets. An article in the Evening Star of 

February 20,1906, spoke of a spring near the residence of Gen. John Davidson, whose house was on 

the square between 12th and 13th and K and L

Streets, NW. Finally, Elliott (1837, p. 112) in his 

description of Washington mentioned that "a new 

spring has been opened on K and 12th Streets, W. 

* * * affording upwards of 60 gallons of water per 

minute * * * ." (The latter rate of production may 

be somewhat exaggerated, otherwise such a 

spring could have been the most famous of all 

Washington's springs.) I have not been able to 

determine whether the above references all pertain to the same spring or to different springs.

The Gibson Spring, in the eastern part of the 

city at about 15th and E Streets, NE., was one of 

the best known of early Washington's springs. 

Johnston (1962, p. 106) says it was also called Cool 

Spring, Young's Spring, Stoddert's Spring, and 

that "later it became known as Federal Spring, a 

duplication of name with Caffrey's Spring * * * . 

An ice plant was built at this site * * * ." The 

spring water was used for cooling at the ice plant 

until about 1958-59.

The Act of August 10, 1850, appropriated $250 

to take such means as may be necessary to 

preserve the springs on the south side of the canal 

immediately west of Sixth Street, West, and, if 

practicable, to turn the water from all of them into 

one reservoir. These springs probably were on the 

piece of ground which Hines (1866, p. 84) 

describes as "Spring Garden," located on the east 

side of Seventh Street, between B Street, South, 

and Maryland Avenue, SW.

"On that part of Reedbirds Hill between the Red 

Chalk Hill Road and Tiber Creek * * * , on the 

southeasterly slope of the hill toward the creek, 

was a spring of clear and cool water that often 

quenched the thirst of blackberry hunters and 

others * * * ." Reedbirds Hill was at about North 

Capitol Street (formerly Red Chalk Hill Road) and 

M Street, and the above quote is taken from an 

old, undated and unidentified newspaper article 

that discussed Tiber Creek and adjacent areas. 

The City Water Department records have an 1875 

letter which mentions a spring in North Capitol 

Street near M Street probably the same spring.

Busey (1898, p. 159) states that "near Hamburg 

Wharf was a large spring, from which the residents in the city obtained water prior to 1800." 

(Hamburg Wharf stretched from about 19th to 

22nd Streets, NW., along B street or Constitution 

Avenue, this being the approximate shoreline of 

the Potomac in those days.) Busey probably got his 

information from Hines (1866, p. 10). This spring 

is probably the same one referred to by Duhamel
(1926, p. 219) as being at or near the Octagon 

House (northeast corner of 18th Street and New 

York Avenue, NW.) and as being one of only two 

springs in the area south of G Street and west of 

17th Street, NW., to the river. Probably it is also 

the spring that Evans (1935, p. 3) refers to as "located about half a mile from the old Glass House 

or Factory which was situated in Hamburg between 21st and 22nd Streets."

Although a few springs reportedly still flow in 

the vicinity of Rock Creek, nearly all of the District's original springs, including those in table 1, 

have disappeared. Some dried up, possibly because 

rain water began to be diverted into sewers instead of filtering into the ground. In a number of 

cases, spring waters were piped to sewers. Other 

springs have been filled in and paved over in the 

development of the city.

STREAMS

Many of the springs helped produce creeks of 

varying sizes. The channels of these creeks wound 

through the District's forests and swamps and 

eventually into Rock Creek, the Potomac River, or 

the Eastern Branch (Anacostia River). Away from 

the original downtown region, the early settlers 

built many slaughterhouses and grist mills along 

the streams. In the city's center and in built-up 

communities, the streams provided water for 

reservoirs used in case of fire. Over the years, 

however, man has filled in or converted to underground sewers nearly all of the area's original 

streams, thereby relegating them to extinction 

together with the springs.

The accompanying map (fig. 1) shows the downtown area's original streams and shorelines, to the 

extent that I have been able to locate them. The 

original boundaries and features of figure 1 are 

based on the maps of A. Boschke (1856-59), 

James Kearney and others (1838), A. C. Harmon 

(1931), James R. Dermott (1797), Joseph M. 

Toner (E. F. M. Faehtz and F. W. Pratt, 1874), 

Arthur B. Cutter (1952), Campbell Graham and S. 

T. Abert (1849), William T. Partridge (1895?), 

And. Ellicott (1792; upper Anacostia), the map accompanying the Commissioners Proceedings of 

1793, on several references cited in this paper 

(especially Hines, 1866; Proctor, various dates; 

Taggart, 1908), and on anonymous articles in the 

Evening Star. The canal routes are based on 

Boschke's 1856-59 map. Present-day features 

and shorelines were taken from the U.S. Geological Survey's l:24,000-scale topographic map 

"Washington, D.C., and Vicinity" (1965).

Probably the most famous of early 

Washington's streams was Tiber (or Goose) 

Creek. The Tiber, flowing right through the middle of Washington and into the Potomac, had quite 

a career from crystal-clear waters which 

afforded drink to the thirsty and shelter to the 

wildlife, to a role of service to man by providing a 

means of transporting materials and merchandise 

to the city's center, thence to a period of strain 

when it was forced to have its downtown section 

made into a canal and to accept the refuse of man, 

and finally to its present demise entombment 

as an underground sewer.

In its prime, the Tiber was a formidable stream 

that drained about half of the original District of 

Columbia area (fig. 1). The headwaters began as 

little rills about 3V2 miles north of the Capitol. 

Many such little branches originated along Rock 

Creek Church Road in the northern part of the 

present U.S. Soldiers Home; others began a bit 

southeastward from that area, for example, in the 

vicinity of Catholic University and at the approximate neighborhood of the present Rhode Island 

and Montana Avenues, NE. Flowing generally 

southward, the little rivulets gradually joined 

ranks and formed into larger branches. Four main 

branches were well developed as the flows reached 

Boundary Street (Florida Avenue). From west to 

east, these branches crossed Boundary Street at 

Eighth Street West (Reedy Branch), First Street 

West, Second Street East, and llth Street East, 

respectively. The two western branches came 

together on "O" Street between North Capitol 

Street and First Street West, forming a channel no 

more than about 10 feet wide. Several blocks 

farther near M Street, just west of First Street 

East the third branch added its waters to the 

stream. From this point on, the Tiber flowed 

southward between North Capitol Street and First 

Street, East, crossing back over North Capitol at E 

Street and then southwesterly, reaching B Street 

(Constitution Avenue) at Second Street, West. 

Meanwhile, the fourth main branch had combined 

with the stream on Massachusetts Avenue, just 

east of North Capitol Street, in the area now 

covered by Union Station. Just south of Constitution Avenue, within sight of the Capitol, Tiber 

Creek changed direction and began meandering 

westward to the Potomac. Its course thus went 

along what is now the Mall and Constitution
EXPLANATION 

 Late 1700 drainage

FIGURE 1. Stream network and river shorelines of the central Washington, D.C., area in the late 1700's, compared to 1974 

river boundaries. Selected reference streets and points and the 19th-century canals are also shown.

Avenue, and its northern shore at places reached 

as far north as C Street, North. Gradually widening along this route, the Tiber emptied into the 

Potomac at 17th Street, West (fig. 1), at which 

point the creek was about 700-800 feet wide 

(Bryan, 1904, p. 136).

Along the branch crossing Boundary Street at 

First Street, West, only a few hundred yards north 

of Boundary Street, George Beale and his brother 

made an artificial lake which they stocked with 

fish and used for boating. In the neighborhood of 

First and N Streets, probably on the third of the 

four branches, just before it joined the western

branch, was Pierce's or Notley Young's Mill, later 

known as Logan's Mill, which was operated until 

about the time of the Civil War. The adjoining 

pond, known as Logan's Pond, was a favorite 

swimming hole for boys. Other popular swimming 

holes, such as the "Blue Cork" and "Piggory," 

were found on the Tiber between H and F Streets. 

The one at the latter street was about 30 feet wide 

and quite deep in the middle certainly over the 

heads of many boys. Although the stream itself 

was not necessarily this large throughout that section of the city, it was undoubtedly of considerable 

size. Duhamel (1926, p. 213) says that "in 1856,
when the creek was on a rampage after a storm, 

Foy's Tavern on New Jersey Avenue beside the 

stream was washed away. This was probably 

about D street and opposite the Depot." Many old 

stories tell of horses, cows, and people drowning in 

the Tiber.

Two more important tributaries joined the Tiber 

in the downtown area. The first originated at the 

Willow Spring, at L Street between Fourth and 

Fifth Streets, NW. This Willow Spring branch 

flowed southward and picked up the waters from 

the Leech Spring in the northwest Corner of 

Judiciary Square (Fifth and G Streets, NW.). 

Emerging from Judiciary Square on Fourth Street 

between D and E Streets, the creek emptied into 

the Tiber a few yards south of First and C Streets, 

NW. Along the Willow Spring Branch were located 

slaughterhouses, the jail, the infirmary, and soap 

factories.

The second important downtown tributary 

begin in the vicinity of Franklin Square. The 

Franklin Square springs produced a creek which 

formed a small lake in the marshy area near 13th 

and I Streets, NW. From this lake a stream flowed 

southward to the corner of 13th and H Streets, 

furnishing Cover's Tanyard with water. From 

there, the stream swung to the southeast, and 

after reaching the corner of about 10th and G it 

again turned to the south, emptying into the Tiber 

at about 10th and B Streets. Several springs, 

especially Caffrey's Spring at Ninth and F Streets, 

contributed their waters along the route, and this 

Franklin Square Branch (known to many as 

Goose Creek, as was the Tiber itself for some time) 

was well known to be a sizeable stream. Hines 

(1866, p. 35) says that around 1800 the only place 

it could be forded with a cart was near the southwest corner of llth and H Streets, NW. At F 

Street, near Ninth Street, the ravine carrying the 

stream was some 14 feet deep (Bryan, 1916, p. 

304). (This was quite hazardous at night, with no 

street lights. On one occasion, Mr. Philip Fendall, 

a leading member of the bar, fell in and broke his 

leg in two places (Bryan, 1916, p. 304).) Archways 

spanned the stream at F Street, E Street, and 

Pennsylvania Avenue. Herring were caught as far 

up as E Street. Tides also exerted their effects on 

the stream, and Proctor (in The Star of July 9, 

1944, p. C-5) states that up to 1810, long boats, 

carrying 6 cords of wood each, were able to come 

up this stream northward as far as E Street. The 

Franklin Square branch was gradually filled in

during the mid-1800's, the section between E and 

F Streets being completed in 1858 (Bryan, 1916, p. 

304).

The Tiber's banks were originally covered with 

large trees and bushes. Fish shad, herring, eels, 

pike, catfish, perch, and many others were 

caught at least as far upstream as Pennsylvania 

Avenue and Second Street, NW., near the Capitol.

Bridges began to be built over the Tiber as early 

as 1795. Construction of wharves, culverts, and 

arches gradually increased in the decades of the 

1800's. Thus, the Tiber and its downtown tributaries began their transformation under the long, 

inexorbable process of urbanization. During 

1809-15, the Tiber was converted into a canal 

from its outlet at 17th and Constitution eastward 

to the Capitol. (Washington's canals are discussed 

below.) Goods and materials firewood, lumber, 

marble, limestone, sand, produce, and merchandise of all sorts were transported up the Tiber 

(and later up the canal) to the many wharves 

along B Street.

During the early- and mid-1800's, the trees and 

other vegetation bordering the Tiber were almost 

entirely cut down and removed. By 1870 the 

Tiber's valley in the D. C. territory north of the 

Capitol consisted of virtually bare hillsides with 

practically no trees left. The canal along B Street 

was even more unsightly. For years, it received 

much of the downtown area's sewage. 

Fishmongers and other proprietors in the old 

Centre Market (on Constitution Avenue between 

Seventh and Ninth Streets, NW.) threw the offal 

and refuse from their stands into the adjacent 

canal. Sediment, released to a considerable extent 

by the removal of vegetation upstream, had been 

accumulating in increasingly bothersome deposits 

since the settlers first arrived. By 1870 the Tiber 

was in very bad condition, both aesthetically and 

sanitarily.

The stage was set, therefore, for drastic action. 

The territorial form of government, with its Board 

of Public Works, in power from 1871-74, and the 

city commissioners who governed in the years immediately thereafter, instituted and achieved a 

massive city-wide improvement program. Old 

buildings were torn down, many streets were 

upgraded, and many miles of sewer line were laid 

to supplement the existing sewer lines. The canal 

was filled in (1871-80) and a covered sewer built 

in its place. The Tiber, as far north as Boundary 

Street (Florida Avenue), was almost wholly

8
transformed into an underground sewer. And in 

that form it remains to this day, hidden by streets, 

buildings, and parking lots, unknown to most 

citizens, its flow vastly diminished, but still alive 

nevertheless. Today's inquirer can find the Tiber, 

or evidences of it, in many places including the 

bricked tunnel going through the basement of the 

Acacia Mutual Life Insurance Company at New 

Jersey and Louisiana Avenues, NW., the wharves, 

pilings, and clam shells that are revealed 

whenever any excavations are made to construct 

buildings along Constitution Avenue, and the 

large tunnel passing under the Rayburn Building, 

carrying the Tiber's waters along their redirected 

route to the Anacostia River.

Draining the area south of the Capitol to the 

Anacostia was St. James (James) Creek. This 

stream began two blocks southwest of the Capitol, 

near Maryland Avenue and Third Street, SW. (not 

far, in fact, from the southern shore of Tiber 

Creek). It flowed southeastward for about half a 

mile to South Capitol and E Streets, turned south 

for a short distance and then southwestward, 

emptying into the Anacostia in a small bay between Greenleaf's Point and Buzzard Point. 

Several springs southeast of the Capitol including those at Second and Pennsylvania, SE., and 

the Carroll Springs gave rise to small branches 

which joined the creek at South Capitol and E 

Streets. James Creek was a respectable stream 

from this point downstreamward.

From about I Street southward, the creek 

flowed through marshy area. It was navigable for 

scows and small boats, and in the early days it was 

a favorite area for bird hunters.

The upstream reach of James Creek from its 

headwaters down to about South Capitol and G 

Streets, South, or about one-third of the creek's 

total length was permanently replaced by the 

Washington City Canal (discussed below), when 

the latter was built (1802-15).

The remaining downstream part of James 

Creek deteriorated during the following decades 

and by the mid-1860's was widely believed to be a 

malarial breeding ground. Plans were launched in 

1866 to convert the entire creek into a canal and 

to fill in and reclaim the adjacent marshy sections. 

The resulting James Creek Canal, which actually 

had been part of L'Enfant's original plan of the 

city, was completed in 1876.

Predictably, with mud and sewage constantly 

entering the canal, and with foul odors developing

therefrom, the canal soon became impractical for 

shipping and unpleasant to be near. In addition, 

citizens fell into the unfenced waterway at an astounding rate, sometimes resulting in as many as 

one drowning per month. After many years of 

complaints and agitation, it was decided in 1916 to 

cover the canal. This work began immediately and 

was finally finished about 15 years later. So the 

eventual fate of James Creek has been conversion 

into a sewer and concealment under a city 

street aptly named Canal Street.

A main artery in the northwest section of the 

District was Slash Run. This important tributary 

of Rock Creek began as two little rivulets several 

blocks north of Boundary Street (Florida Avenue), 

between 16th and 17th Streets, NW. (fig. 1). The 

two channels united just above Boundary Street, 

and Slash Run (so named for the forests and bogs 

it drained) proceeded southward, crossing Boundary Street just easy of 18th Street, NW. On P 

Street between 17th and 18th Streets, NW., the 

stream was joined by Brown's Run, which flowed 

southwesterly from its origin at Brown's Spring, 

just north of Boundary Street near 15th Street. 

Slash Run then curved southeastward to touch the 

western edge of Scott Circle, before swinging 

south again to cross 17th Street at L Street, NW. 

From here, the stream headed westward between 

L and M Streets until it was within a few yards of 

22d Street, on L Street. At this point Slash Run 

turned north and slightly west, emptying into 

Rock Creek at 23d Street between N and O 

Streets, NW.

Much of the area drained by Slash Run was 

swampy, although the stream itself had a welldefined channel with a hard bottom. Many spots 

along its course were favorites for berry-picking 

and swimming. Bird hunting was also popular, for 

example, in flat-bottomed boats along L Street between 18th and 19th Streets, NW. Slaughterhouses were numerous along Slash Run's banks, 

especially before the Civil War, and some of these 

establishments were still in operation along the 

upper reaches at the beginning of the present century (Fisher, 1974, p. 4).

Following the usual pattern, the marshy areas 

and Slash Run itself were gradually polluted during the 1800's, and a very offensive odor became 

associated with the stream, no doubt due mainly 

to the contributions from the slaughterhouses. 

When the Board of Public Works came into power 

in 1871, Slash Run began to be converted into a
covered sewer. The swampy areas and the stream 

channel began to be filled in, in some places to a 

depth of 10 to 12 feet (LaForge, 1924, p. 33). Within a year or two, the "Slash Run Sewer," 10 feet 

wide, had been built for a distance of one-half mile 

upstream from the outlet at Rock Creek (Keim, 

1874, p. 34). Other increments were added during 

the following decades. In this manner Slash Run, a 

major stream of early Washington, gradually disappeared along with many of its contemporaries.

Rock Creek formed the border between the 

original District of Columbia and the Maryland 

town of Georgetown. The mouth of Rock Creek 

200 years ago formed a broad bay (fig. 1) about 

one-fourth mile wide at the outlet. This bay narrowed upstreamward, so that the channel in the 

vicinity of M Street probably was about the same 

width then as now. The land that has been filled in 

during the intervening years has been contributed 

in part by the creek and in part by man.

The Rock Creek bay was a key part of the thriving foreign shipping trade in early Georgetown. 

Wharves and docks lined the bay's shores. Along 

the eastern bank these wharves began about 200 

to 300 feet from the Potomac and extended up the 

creek to within 100 feet of K Street. The wharves 

were in constant use until about 1831. In early 

days, sailing vessels drawing as much as 20 feet of 

water frequented the Rock Creek harbor, and one 

visitor in 1788 noted a small brig from Amsterdam taking in tobacco from a warehouse on Rock 

Creek at a point just below P Street (Taggart, 

1908, p. 194).

Erosion of sediment in the upstream reaches, 

probably associated with the agricultural and constructional activities of the settlers, provided Rock 

Creek with extra tons of sand and silt to transport. 

This was mostly dumped in the harbor where the 

stream's mean velocity was suddenly lowered due 

to the considerable widening of the channel and to 

the impeding influence of the tide. In 1792 and in 

1816, legislation was passed to prevent the 

citizens from contributing to sediment deposition 

and its harmful effects on navigation.

A bridge Rock Creek's first was erected at 

M Street in 1788. A second was built at K Street in 

1792. As Rock Creek at that time was quite wide 

at K Street, it was first necessary to build a 1,300- 

foot causeway from the Georgetown side. Some 

land was reclaimed to the north and south of the 

causeway, thus decreasing the size of the harbor.

More area was reclaimed by 1830, by which time a 

quay across the mouth of the bay was finished, in 

connection with the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. 

With this development, Rock Creek's harbor, from 

the mouth to the K Street bridge, was reduced to 

8V4 acres (Abert and Kearney, 1834, p. 88), and 

the outlet to the Potomac was only about 200 feet 

wide. The construction of the canal did away with 

the east-bank wharves and radically altered the 

character of the neighborhood as far up as K 

Street (Proctor, 1946). Also, the reduced size of 

the harbor, combined with the increasingly vexing 

sediment problem, necessitated the periodic use of 

a dredging machine to remove the sand and gravel 

that was continuously arriving from upstream. 

This problem never was completely solved, and 

the silting up of Rock Creek and the Potomac played an important role in eventually strangling 

Georgetown's foreign trade. Additional reclaiming 

in the basin was done as time went by, so that today Rock Creek's once-bustling harbor has completely disappeared, and the outlet in the Potomac 

is virtually the same width as the creek for miles 

upstream.

In the early 1800's, vast amounts of herring and 

other fish were caught in Rock Creek. Grist 

mills especially wheat and rye were a very 

popular industry along the stream. Various other 

small factories were located on the banks, and 

parts of the Godey lime kilns, dating from the 

mid-1800's, still remain today near the 

Whitehurst Freeway.

A short distance upstream, in the reach from 

about L Street to P Street, large quantities of 

refuse were being dumped onto the Rock Creek 

valley sides in the late 1800's. These dumpings 

were virtually obliterating the attractive natural 

features of the stream. By 1900, the former broad 

places had been "narrowed to precipitous slopes of 

ashes and other rubbish, the unrestricted deposits 

of years" (Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway 

Commission, 1916, p. 17). During the first 2 

decades of the present century, very serious consideration was being given to either covering the 

creek entirely and conveying the waters in an underground tunnel, or removing most of the 

voluminous trash dumpings, widening the valley 

to a semblance of its original form, and creating a 

scenic open valley, including a parkway. The openvalley recommendation of the Rock Creek and 

Potomac Parkway Commission was accepted.

10
Rock Creek was rescued from the fate that has 

claimed the other streams in the District, and the 

natural beauty of the creek was restored.

The policies of converting waterways to covered 

sewers, or of simply filling the channels completely, were practiced on all the other little 

streams in the southern part of the city and on 

most of those in the northern part. The only surviving reaches of original streams, in nearly all 

cases, are in those few areas that have been made 

into parks by legislation. Thus Piney Branch and 

Broad Branch, each of which began near what is 

now the District line, are today represented only 

by the lower mile or so of their originally much 

more extensive routes. Even these few vestiges remain only by virtue of being included in Rock 

Creek Park. Maddox Branch, emptying into the 

Potomac, is mostly preserved in Battery Kemble 

Park. Foundry Branch, though its territory is still 

largely in a semblance of its natural state in 

Glover Archibold Park, has pretty much dried up 

and is not even designated as an ephemeral 

stream on U. S. Geological Survey topographic 

maps. A glance at Boschke's 1856 59 map, compared with a modern map, shows that almost all of 

the many tributaries of Rock Creek, Piney 

Branch, Broad Branch, and other prominent 

early-day streams have been obliterated. This is 

also true of the northeast sector of the city, where 

none of the original streams have survived except 

for the lower mile or so of Hickey Run, near the 

National Arboretum.

CANALS

Any account of Washington's historical waterways certainly must include the old canals. Born 

in the minds of George Washington and Pierre 

L'Enfant, the canals were intended to be a major 

transportation artery in the scheme to build 

Washington, D.C., into an important port and 

trade center. Toward this end, the early efforts, 

spearheaded by George Washington, centered on 

establishing canal transportation from the head of 

ship navigation at Georgetown to as far into the 

interior of the continent as Cumberland, Md. 

Then, during the planning of the city of Washington, an important feature in L'Enfant's and 

Washington's thinking was a canal through the 

middle of Washington, linking the Potomac with 

the Anacostia Rivers. Although eventually completed in spite of periodic setbacks, the canals

were a failure due to the development of the 

railroad, silting of channels, shortage of funds, 

and other reasons.

During 1785-1850, the canal that eventually 

came to be known as the Chesapeake and Ohio (C 

& O) Canal was built. This traversed 184 miles 

from the west bank of Rock Creek through 

Georgetown and along the shore of the Potomac to 

Cumberland, Md. The section from the present 

District line down to Rock Creek was completed 

between 1828 and 1831.

From the time of its completion in 1850, the C & 

O Canal fought a losing battle against railroads, 

highways, eastern seaports, and floods. It finally 

ceased commercial operation in 1924 after 

another damaging flood. In 1938, the U.S. Department of the Interior purchased the waterway, 

restored much of the lower section, and has since 

maintained it as a recreational and scenic asset 

(U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, 1968, p. 52).

L'Enfant, with President Washington's backing, 

included in his original design of the capital a 

magnificent canal that would run right through 

the center of the city. From the Potomac (mouth of 

Tiber Creek) it would head east nearly to the 

Capitol and then proceed generally southeast, 

splitting into two branches south of the Capitol. 

One branch would empty into the Anacostia just 

west of the Navy Yard, and the other branch 

would trend to the southwest, incorporating 

James Creek, which entered the Anacostia in a 

small bay just east of the arsenal (Greenleaf s 

Point).

One of the main purposes of the canal was to 

provide a means of transporting goods to the 

center of the city, thus obviating the need to haul 

them from the river front. Also, L'Enfant expected 

the canal to be a beauty waterway which would 

contribute to the aesthetic value of the city.

Although started in the mid-1790's, the 

Washington City Canal was almost entirely constructed during 1802 15, especially over the last 5 

years of this period.

The route of the canal followed rather closely 

that of L'Enfant's plan, except that the James 

Creek branch of the original plan was not included. Beginning at 17th and Constitution, NW., 

the canal ran eastward along the edge of the 

mouth of Tiber Creek to 15th Street and Constitution Avenue and then continued eastward to a 

point between Seventh and Sixth Streets, West.

11
Along this stretch it followed the general route of 

the Tiber Creek for the most part, and where it did 

not, the creek channel was filled in, so that its 

waters were entirely routed through the canal. 

The channel along this important reach had a 

width of about 150 feet. The canal then turned 

southward for 775 feet to a point about on today's 

Washington Drive, on the Mall, and the width narrowed to 90 feet. Bending eastward again, the 

canal went a little more than two blocks to Third 

Street, West, directly in front of the Botanic Gardens and the Capitol (fig. 2); then south for a block 

to Maryland Avenue, the channel width being 70 

feet; southeastward from there for 2,365 feet to 

South Capitol and E Streets, South; south for two 

blocks to just above G Street; southeastward 

again, this time for 1,988 feet, to Second Street, 

East; south along the latter street to N Street, 

South (the width from Maryland Avenue having 

been 40 feet); and thence into a 100-foot-wide 

basin which emptied into the Anacostia at about 

"O" Street, South. The total distance covered was 

15,330 feet, or nearly 3 miles (Washington, B.C., 

1865, p. 5). Originally, the canal was about 4 feet 

deep.

The Washington City Canal period (1815-71) 

began with great promises, most of which were 

never completely fulfilled. On the positive side, the 

canal did provide a cheaper and more convenient 

avenue for transporting goods to the center of the 

city, from both the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers. 

For this purpose, wharves had been built along the 

canal, especially along the more important Constitution Avenue stretch. Among the earliest were 

those at 12th and 17th Streets, built about 1804 

(Gatchel, 1932, p. 153). Bridges were erected 

across the canal at various points, for example 

14th, 12th, Seventh Streets, and elsewhere. Only 

boats drawing 3 feet of water or less were admitted to the canal (Heine, 1959, p. 9). These carried 

such cargoes as firewood, lumber, stone, and 

market items into the center of the city. In the 

canal's early days, small steamboats from the 

Potomac traveled up the Constitution Avenue 

reach of the canal as far as the Centre Market, between Seventh and Ninth Streets, NW. (Brown, 

1930, p. 96). In 1825, a landing place or wharf exclusively for steamboats was built at 14th and 

Constitution (Bryan, 1916, p. 104) and soon entertained a lively business. The canal also served, at 

least at times, as a short cut for barges and scows 

to travel between the Potomac and Anacostia.

The Washington City Canal was used intermittently in these ways from 1816 to about 1850.

With the C & O Canal being built from Rock 

Creek in Georgetown to the hinterland, and with 

the Washington City Canal extending from 17th 

and Constitution to the Anacostia, all that was 

needed was a segment between 17th and Constitution and the Rock Creek basin to form a complete 

canal route from the Navy Yard on the Anacostia 

to Cumberland, Md. This Washington extension of 

the C & O Canal was started sometime around 

1831 and was finished in 1833. It began in the 

mouth of Rock Creek near H Street, went 

southeastward for about 1 block to just east of 

27th Street at G Street, then south for three 

blocks to Easby's Point, thence southeast again to 

a point between 21st and 22d Streets on Constitution Avenue, and straight east from there to 17th 

Street. This entire route was within a few yards of, 

and parallel to, the shore of the Potomac. At 17th 

and Constitution, a lock was built to lower the 

boats into the Tiber Basin, and the stone house 

built in 1837 for the lock-keeper still stands today the only visible remnant of the extensive 

canal that once passed through Washington.

Alexandria, doing a substantial shipping business of its own, also wanted a connection with the 

C & O Canal. Accordingly, the Alexandria extension of the C & O Canal was built during 1833-43. 

This crossed the Potomac at Georgetown on a 

specially-constructed aqueduct bridge, came down 

the Virginia shore to the Alexandria city limits, 

and then turned east into the Potomac.

Only a year or two after its inauguration, the 

Washington City Canal was having problems with 

what proved to be its major enemy sediment. 

The movement of the tide influential 

throughout the canal's Constitution Avenue reach 

from the Potomac, and throughout its southern 

section from the Anacostia brought in and 

deposited significant amounts of sand and silt. 

The effective water depth was decreased, and 

navigation was seriously hindered. Often the river 

vessels could get no farther than the mouth of the 

Old Tiber at 17th Street, and from there the 

cargoes had to be scowed in to the wharves along 

the canal. During the following three decades, 

efforts (never wholly successful) were made to 

keep the canal dredged. Combined with many 

other factors, including chronic lack of maintenance funds, a lower-than-expected amount of 

business (especially after the arrival of the

12
FIGURE 2. Washington City Canal and U.S. Capitol about 1858. (Photograph from Library of Congress collection.)

railroad), and a continuous influx of sewage and 

garbage, the sediment problem made the canal 

virtually useless by the early 1850's. For the next 

15 years, in spite of a few feeble attempts to rescue 

it, the canal was allowed to stagnate into an unsightly, smelly, and dangerous open sewer. The 

Board of Public Works, starting in 1871, began 

filling in the canal from the Rock Creek Basin to 

the Anacostia. Except for about the last two 

blocks, between L and N Streets, South, the city 

commissioners who assumed city responsibilities 

from the Board virtually completed the project by 

1881 (Tindall, 1914, p. 240; Greene, 1882, p. 2). 

The Constitution Avenue section actually was 

partly made into a covered sewer by building a 

new wall parallel to one of the walls of the canal, 

arching over the intervening space to form the 

conduit, and filling in the unneeded channel space 

outside the sewer. Some of this old sewer is still in 

use, carrying storm water and air-conditioning 

cooling water from Federal buildings to the Tidal 

Basin.

Navigation on the Alexandria extension of the C 

& O Canal ended in 1886 with the condemnation 

of the Aqueduct Bridge. According to U.S. Coast

and Geodetic Survey maps, the Virginia part of 

this canal remained intact at least until 1902, but 

as of 1910 it was almost completely filled in.

As mentioned above, the lower part of James 

Creek was made into a canal in 1876. This came 

up to the Washington City Canal at South Capitol 

and G Streets but did not connect with it due to 

the presence of the Pennsylvania Railroad tracks. 

(The City Canal was being filled in during this 

period, anyway.) The James Creek Canal was 

filled in over a period of about 15 years, beginning 

about 1916. Its burial completed the disappearance of Washington's once-prominent canals.

ANACOSTIA RIVER

The eastern branch of the Potomac, or 

Anacostia River, was the area's most suitable 

shipping route in colonial days. The head of 

navigation was the port town of Bladensburg, Md., 

about l 1 /2 miles above the present District line. 

Chartered in 1742, Bladensburg reportedly was a 

busy port in tobacco shipping until about 1800 

(Gottschalk, 1945, p. 228). The fishing industry 

also was active as far up as Bladensburg, but by 

1816 it had dwindled in this town to just curing

13
and packing herring (Proctor, 1942b). During the 

19th and 20th centuries, sedimentation, associated with the increase of agriculture and of 

"development," has progressively choked the 

river. Both the width and depth of the channel 

have decreased considerably during this period. 

For example, a 1937 survey revealed that between 

1891 (or 1867, date is questionable) and 1937 the 

Anacostia's channel in the P/2 miles from Bladensburg to the District's northeast line filled, on 

the average, 3 feet and narrowed from an average 

width of 70 yards to an average of 25 yards 

(Williams, 1942, p. 20).

Equally serious sedimentation has occurred 

along the Anacostia within the District of Columbia. The boundaries originally proposed for the 

Federal City were modified slightly about 1791 for 

the specific purpose of including the lower part of 

the Anacostia, because of the latter's magnificent 

harbor potential. Tobias Lear in 1793 wrote that 

the Anacostia "has in all parts of it, as far as the 

city extends, from 20 to 35 feet of water" (Lear, 

1905, p. 124). These figures agree with the soundings shown on the Dermott map of 1797. 

Boschke's 1856 map, with soundings shown as far 

up as the llth Street bridge, shows these depths to 

have diminished by several feet. A U.S. Army 

Corps of Engineers' survey of 1891 found the 

channel to have a navigable depth of 18 feet as far 

up as the Navy Yard, 13 feet from there to the 

Pennsylvania railroad bridge, thence 6 to 10 feet 

to the Benning Road Bridge, and less than 6 feet 

(usually less than 3 feet) between there and 

Bladensburg (Hains, 1892, p. 1065). The river was 

building extensive flats, sand bars, and sandy islands with the sediment brought down and 

deposited by floods (Williams, 1942, p. 15; Hains, 

1892, p. 1065-1066; Duryee, 1953, p. 77). The consensus among those who study sedimentation 

problems is that most of this sediment was made 

available only when man cleared away the protective cover of vegetation in upstream areas, for 

agriculture, construction, and other purposes, 

without simultaneously taking measures to 

minimize soil erosion. In fairness, of course, the 

importance of taking such precautions was not 

widely understood at the time (nor is it fully appreciated today, for that matter). Compounding 

the river's silting problem was the fact that by 

1891 nearly half of the District's sewage was discharged into the Anacostia. In the mid-1890's, 

malaria, generally attributed to the favorable

mosquito-breeding conditions on the marshes and 

flats, increased significantly in the region bordering the Anacostia.

Some tentative efforts toward improving the 

channel were initiated in the late 1800's. The 

Navy Department began dredging in the vicinity 

of the Navy Yard in 1871. About 1890, Congress 

provided some funds for improving the Anacostia 

from the mouth to the Navy Yard, and this limited 

project was completed in 1892.

Lt. Col. Peter Hains of the U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers provided a big stimulus toward awareness and action in 1891 when he proposed a 

detailed program for improving the channel up to 

the Navy Yard (Hains, 1892). A navigable channel 

200 feet wide by 24 feet deep would be dredged, 

and the marshy areas would be reclaimed with the 

dredged material. During the following few years, 

local citizens groups and the 1901 McMillan 

Report added their suggestions and encouragement toward improving the river.

In 1902, Congress authorized a program of 

dredging and reclamation in the reach below the 

Navy Yard (llth Street) Bridge. This work, carried out by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 

began immediately and was mostly completed during the following 15 years, assisted by periodic 

supplementary appropriations. The dredged 

material sometimes contained objects of genuine 

historical interest, such as old coins dating back to 

the 18th century and solid cannon balls of various 

sizes (Duryee, 1953, p. 79). By the end of the project, some 460 acres had been reclaimed along the 

left (south) bank of the river, from Giesboro Point 

to the bridge at the Navy Yard (fig. 1). Thus, a significant part of what is today the U.S. Naval Station, north and west of the Anacostia Freeway, 

was under water until about the turn of the present century. Periodic dredging is still done to keep 

the channel navigable.

In 1911, Congress appropriated $100,000 to improve the river from the Navy Yard northward to 

the District line (Harts, and others, 1916, p. 4). 

The project was launched about 1912 and was still 

going on, to a minor degree, in the 1940's and 

1950's. The nature of the improvements was 

reconsidered, and plans were changed to varying 

extents, from time to time, but the general ingredients of dredging and reclamation always remained. As a result, the Anacostia, while somewhat narrower and probably shallower than in 

pre-Colonial times, is more attractive and proba14
bly larger in cross section than it would have been 

without the improvements. Parts or all of such 

features as the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, 

Kingman Lake, and Anacostia Park are due to 

these reclamation projects. Thus, although man 

brought on the Anacostia's sedimentation problem, he has in some cases found beneficial and 

agreeable solutions, or partial solutions.

POTOMAC RIVER

Helped by its excellent Potomac harbor, with 

waters as much as 25 feet deep, early Georgetown 

built up a lively trade with Europe, South 

America, and the West Indies. This trade 

developed in the middle and late 1700's and lasted 

through the first half of the 1800's. Tobacco, 

brought by farmers from the nearby countryside, 

was the chief export. So important was this crop 

that at times it was used locally in place of currency (Taggart, 1908, p. 153). Other prominent products were flour, leather, soap, candles, and beer 

(Martin, 1835, p. 491). The fishing industry 

flourished, and Georgetown sent large quantities 

of Potomac shad and herring to distant points in 

Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania (Taggart, 

1908, p. 194). It was a period of great prosperity 

for Georgetown business, and to a significant extent such business was possible because of the 

navigability of the river.

Sedimentation was recognized as a potentially 

dangerous problem at an early date. Georgetown 

passed a law in 1792 prohibiting the throwing of 

dirt into the Potomac without having first made a 

frame of logs or erected a stone wall for the purpose of containing such dirt.

Ocean-going ships apparently sailed into the 

Georgetown harbor in different channels at 

different periods. Originally, there were two channels or deeper sections in the Potomac leading to 

Georgetown. The two routes went around the east 

and west sides, respectively, of Theodore Roosevelt Island.

Reports differ as to whether the Virginia 

(western) channel, passing between the Island 

and Virginia and now called Little River, was 

navigable for large vessels prior to 1784. Duhamel 

(1935, p. 133 and p. 141) felt that John Smith and 

Henry Fleete, in their separate 17th-century 

voyages up the Potomac to Little Falls, "no doubt 

passed up the channel on the west side of the Island" and that this was the main channel of the 

Potomac until about 1805. Latrobe (1812), on the

other hand, says that up to 1784 the passage between the Island and the Virginia shore not only 

was shallow but was much obstructed by detached 

rocks and was considered practical only for 

rowboats. The earliest maps have no depth soundings and are not sufficiently detailed to shed light 

on this question. For example, Augustin Herrman's 1670 map shows the western passage to be 

decidedly wider than the eastern route, with the 

Island virtually hugging the Maryland shore. 

Robert Brooke's 1737 map, on the other hand, 

shows the Island definitely closer to the Virginia 

shore. G. W. P. Custis, quoted by Jackson (1878, p. 

71) said that in early days (mid-1700's) both 

branches of the river around the island were open 

and that the eastern branch was used as the ship 

channel to Georgetown.

Thomas (1963, p. 45-46) suggested that the two 

channels have alternated as the main channel. 

The western one, being a short cut for floodwaters, 

would be scoured after major floods and would 

serve until deposition had gradually made it 

shallow again, by which time the eastern channel 

would assume preference.

In any case, a severe flood, including huge 

blocks of ice, swept down the river in the winter of 

1783 84 and tore open the western passage to a 

depth of 25 feet. This "Little River" channel immediately became the main shipping passage for 

about the next 20 years. During this period, 

however, a bar below the Island, at the junction of 

the two channels, grew at a steady rate and began 

impeding the movement of larger vessels in both 

channels. In 1805, a dam or causeway was built 

between Virginia and the head of the Island to 

close off the western channel, with the hope that 

the increased flow in the Georgetown channel 

would flush out the accumulating sediments. This 

marked the end of the western channel as a boat 

route and introduced a period of gradual filling-in 

of Little River. Such deposition still continues today. The fill has come from natural sedimentation 

on those occasions when the river overtops the 

causeway and when storms wash in sediment 

from the adjoining slopes, and from artificial fill 

dumped in by man. Almost two-thirds of the channel at the north end of the Island, or about 6 acres 

of land, was filled in along the Virginia shore from 

1863 to 1931, and further artificial filling has been 

carried out more recently (Thomas, 1963, p. 48). 

Thus, Little River today is relatively narrow and 

does not resemble its appearance in its days of

15
grandeur as a main channel for trans-Atlantic 

ships.

Directing the Potomac entirely into the eastern 

or Georgetown channel routed not only all the 

water but also all the increasing amounts of sediment into that region. The channel bar continued 

to develop from the lower end of Theodore 

Roosevelt Island. At least as early as 1815, 

Georgetown began using a "mud machine" to 

deepen the channel so that larger ships could get 

to the harbor (Bryan, 1914, p. 505). Congress appropriated money in 1833 for more extensive 

dredging, and by 1835 the depth over the bar had 

been increased from 10 or 12 feet to about 15 to 19 

feet, which was enough to float large ships 

(Jackson, 1878, p. 44). However, more dredging of 

the main channel was required in subsequent 

years at various places, and this has continued to 

the present.

Sedimentation also became noticeable in 

several spots that were not in the ship channel 

(Hains, 1883). During the mid-1800's, marshy 

zones and eventually dry land was formed by 

natural accretion along the eastern edge of 

Theodore Roosevelt Island. This land extended 

southward, close to the Virginia shore. The 

southern extension, about as long again as 

Theodore Roosevelt Island, eventually was severed by the river and became an island in its own 

right now known as Columbia Island. Later, for 

example about 1911-20, some artificial fill was 

added to Columbia Island (Thomas, 1963, p. 48), 

extending it to the south. The Island now supports 

the traffic circle at the west end of Memorial 

Bridge and a complex system of major highways. 

The narrow waterway called the Boundary Channel, separating the Island from the Virginia mainland, approximately marks the original shore of 

the river.

Probably the most prominent areas of accretion 

were along the eastern shore. From Easby's Point 

(27th and about D Streets, NW.), following the 

shoreline south and east along Constitution 

Avenue to 17th Street, NW. (Tiber Bay), a large 

shoal region had been forming since at least the 

early 1800's. A second bothersome shoal or bar 

formed only a few yards further south, where later 

(1808) was built Long Bridge (now 14th Street, or 

George Mason Bridge). The bridge slowed the current and accelerated the depositional process. By 

1870, these shoal areas, collectively amounting to 

over 300 acres called the Potomac Mats, were

sufficiently built up to be above water at low tide 

(Chappell, 1973, p. 15). They were widely regarded 

as a menace to health and had a decided stench 

due to receiving large amounts of city sewage 

(Hains, 1894, p. 57).

In 1874, work began on a project designed to 

remedy the irritating dual problems of the smelly, 

growing flats and the need for a dumping area for 

the increasing amounts of sediment dredged from 

the shipping channel. This project was to pour 

material dredged from the channel directly onto 

the adjacent flats, thus reclaiming acres of land 

and extending the city out to what had been the 

middle of the river (Chappell, 1973, p. 18-19) (fig. 

3). For the first few years, this was done in 

piecemeal fashion, without a coherent overall plan 

for the entire region. The project was modified in 

1876 to preserve and dredge the Washington 

channel, a strip of deeper water hugging the District shore from the arsenal up to Long Bridge, 

and along which a number of wharves and 

businesses were established. (This channel, at the 

time of Ellicott's 1792 survey, extended much 

farther north, past Easby's Point, and was considerably filled in over the years by the Potomac 

River and Tiber Creek.) After about 3 years of surveys and proposals of general unified plans for 

this river activity, Congress in 1892 adopted a 

program calling for dredging the Washington and 

Georgetown channels to admit the largest ships, 

reclaiming the Potomac Mats, and constructing a 

sluicing (tidal) basin at the head of the Washington harbor (which otherwise would become a 

dead-end inlet) to keep that harbor in proper sanitary condition.

Work began in November of 1882. The overall 

project was under the auspices of the U.S. Army 

Corps of Engineers, and nearly all the work was 

contracted out to private firms. By 1890, the initial dredging and tidal basin were mostly completed, and the flats, including Tiber Bay, were 

filled in to above high tide. (Of course, the sedimentation in the river did not stop, and dredging 

had to continue, both to keep the channels deep 

and to provide more fill for the reclamation.) Construction of a seawall around the reclaimed land 

and further filling were done over the following 20 

years to about 1911 (Chappell, 1973, p. 53-94).

The entire massive undertaking covered a distance of nearly 3 miles and provided the city with 

what is now East and West Potomac Parks and 

the Tidal Basin. Thus all of these areas, including

16
FIGURE 3. Looking west along the mall, view of Agriculture Department (left), Washington Monument (only partly completed), and Potomac shoreline, 1866. Note: Potomac shore extending in to about 17th and Constitution Avenue. (Photograph from Library of Congress collection.)

the spots on which we see the Lincoln Memorial, 

Reflecting Pool, Jefferson Memorial, the golf 

course, and Hains Point, until about a hundred 

years ago were under water as part of the Potomac 

River (figs. 1 and 3).

Further reclamation has been done along the 

Virginia shore south of 14th Street Bridge, during 

the present century. The most notable change in 

this area has been in the National Airport region. 

The promontory that originally jutted into the 

river at this location was about 1 mile from 

Giesboro Point on the opposite shore. Reclamation 

for National Airport (1938 39), using sediment 

dredged from the river, extended the western 

shore into the river nearly a quarter of a mile in 

addition to enlarging the land area northward and 

southward.

Thus, with the regions mentioned above and 

other river zones in the vicinity of Washington, 

D. C., having been filled in with sediment, the

Potomac of today is a considerably smaller river 

than it was a few centuries ago. It is interesting to 

speculate on the extent to which it will be further 

reduced by sediment deposition and reclamation 

in another century or two.

CONCLUSIONS

What can we learn from this pattern of disappearance of the natural waters of an area?

Sediment has played a very important, and 

usually underestimated, role in restricting the use 

of our larger waterways. Rock Creek basin, the 

canal, the Anacostia, the Potomac, all have 

diminished in width and depth due to the influx of 

sediment. The available evidence historical, 

geological, and engineering from other studies 

strongly suggests that most of this sediment has 

been made available to the river during the last 

200 years by man's carelessness. Unless greater 

efforts are made to retain freshly exposed dirt on 

construction sites and on newly plowed fields,

17
there will be a continued disappearance or shrinking of our streams and (or) a considerable expense 

in keeping them dredged.

Some of the disappearance of springs and 

creeks within the District is a necessary consequence of building a city. Also, given a sufficient 

supply of water and a filtration plant, we cannot 

claim to be dependent on springs and streams for 

our basic water needs. But these cannot be sufficient justifications for eliminating all of our 

natural surface waters. Cities, to be enjoyable and 

inspiring places in which to live, need more than 

asphalt, steel, and glass. The beauty of Rock Creek 

alone, with its accompanying park, shows the advantage of protective legislation for at least the 

more scenic streams.

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* U.S. Government Printing Office: 1977-777-034/7 Regions