19-734: Seneca Quarry is a historic site located at Seneca , Montgomery County , Maryland . It is located along the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal on the north bank of the Potomac River , just west of Seneca Creek . The quarry was the source of stone for two Potomac River canals: the Patowmack Canal (opened in 1802, and officially known as the Great Falls Skirting Canal) on the Virginia side of Great Falls ; and
38-482: Is bounded by Clopper Road to the north, Longdraft Road to the east, Great Seneca Highway to the south, and Riffleford Road to the west in Gaithersburg . Clopper Lake averages a depth of 18 feet (5.5 m), has shallow enclaves, is stocked with largemouth bass, tiger muskie, channel catfish, sunfish, bluegill, and pumpkinseed sunfish, and allows boating. The park contains 50 miles (80 km) of trails, some in
57-578: The Potomac River in Montgomery County, Maryland , United States. The park features facilities for boating and fishing as well as trails for hiking, cycling, and horseback riding. It is managed by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources . The park opened as Seneca State Park in 1958. The Maryland General Assembly authorized funds for land purchases in each year from 1965 to 1968. The park saw "Stage A" development when, in
76-548: The 1966, the General Assembly authorized funds for camping and picnicking sites, roads, utilities, buildings, and other features. In 1975, Clopper Lake was created for recreational use and flood control by damming Long Draught Creek, a tributary of Seneca Creek. The developed portion of the state park centers on 90-acre (36 ha) Clopper Lake and the Clopper Lake Day Use Area (CLDUA) which
95-533: The C&;O Canal for two years. Baltimore quarry operator George Mann purchased the Seneca quarry in 1891 and operated it for the next decade. By 1901, quarrying operations had stopped as the quality of the rock diminished and Victorian architecture was no longer in vogue. The Seneca Schoolhouse, a small one-room schoolhouse of red sandstone, was built in 1866 to educate the children of the stone cutters who worked at
114-488: The C&O Canal, having supplied red sandstone for the latter for locks 9, 11, 15 - 27, and 30, the accompanying lock houses, and Aqueduct No. 1, better known as Seneca Aqueduct , constructed from 1828 to 1833. Seneca red sandstone, also known as redstone, formed during the Late Triassic age, 230 to 210 million years ago. The current geological name is Poolesville Member of Manassas Sandstone. Iron oxide gives
133-710: The C&O Canal, just NW of the aqueduct" and the restored quarry master's house, located within Seneca Creek State Park . The quarry proper, Seneca Aqueduct, and the quarry cemetery are all part of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park . The quarry falls within the boundaries of the Seneca Historic District . Seneca Quarry was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. Seneca, Maryland Too Many Requests If you report this error to
152-499: The C&O Canal. The Seneca Ridge Trail is a 5.8 miles (9.3 km) natural surface trail in the upland areas on the south bank of Seneca Creek. It provides a connection between Clopper Lake and Schaeffer Farm and is usable for hiking , trail running , and biking . Sections of Seneca Creek can be travelled by kayak, especially south of Route 28, Darnestown Road, or further north during periods of high water. North of Route 28, it may be necessary to portage around trees down across
171-723: The CLDUA, and 12 miles (19 km) in the Schaeffer Farm Trails Area. Trails are used for hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, and cross-country skiing. The Lake Shore Trail loops around Clopper Lake. 16.5 miles (26.6 km) miles of the Seneca Creek Greenway Trail follows Great Seneca Creek within the park from Route 355 to the Potomac River . The Seneca Bluffs Trail is a 7.5 miles (12.1 km) natural surface trail between Black Rock Mill, Darnestown Road, Poole's General Store, and
190-746: The D.C. Jail in the 1870s. Montgomery C. Meigs purchased the Government Quarry nearby for the Washington Aqueduct project in the 1850s, and that quarry provided stone for the parapet of the Union Arch Bridge , better known as the "Cabin John Bridge," the Washington Aqueduct Dam at Great Falls, McClellan Gate at Arlington National Cemetery , as well as the mile-long boundary wall that surrounds
209-538: The Washington, D.C. market, and the quarry's success is attributed to the canal. The Peter family of Georgetown, which built Tudor Place , owned the quarry from 1781 until 1866. John P.C. Peter, a great-grandson of Martha Washington, made the quarry into a commercial success by utilizing the C&O and winning the bid to supply red sandstone for the Smithsonian Castle , constructed 1847-1855. Peter built
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#1732780336270228-513: The Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.237 via cp1104 cp1104, Varnish XID 212861326 Upstream caches: cp1104 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 07:52:16 GMT Seneca Creek State Park Seneca Creek State Park is a public recreation area encompassing more than 6,300 acres (2,500 ha) along 14 miles of Seneca Creek in its run to
247-717: The cemetery. After the American Civil War , the Seneca Sandstone Company purchased the quarry in 1866, expanding the stonecutting mill in 1868, but went bankrupt in 1876 after financial mismanagement, sometimes referred to as the "Seneca Stone Ring Scandal." It was closed for seven years. In 1883, the Potomac Red Sandstone Company reopened the quarry but only operated until 1889, when the Great Flood of 1889 knocked out
266-417: The creek. The park has picnicking facilities, a tire playground, a 27-hole disc golf course, and a restored 19th-century cabin. Hunting is permitted in several areas of the park. Since 1995, the annual Winter Lights Festival has featured a drive-through holiday light show at year's end in the Clopper Lake Day Use Area. The park also offers visitors hayrides that showcase the local fauna. The highlight of
285-479: The hayride is when the tour guide shines a flashlight into a particular glade and dozens of pairs of white-tailed deer eyes light up in response. The remains of Seneca Quarry , built in 1837, is off Tschiffely Mill Road just west of where Seneca Creek empties into the Potomac. The mill cut the red sandstone for the Smithsonian Castle . The restored quarry masters house stands above the quarry site. Both are part of
304-572: The quarry. Located in Poolesville, Maryland , it provides tours to schoolchildren so that they can experience a typical school day as it would have been on March 13, 1880. Seneca Quarry is now overgrown with sycamore trees, tulip poplars, and dense brush such as wild rose , such that it is impenetrable much of the year. It is best visited in winter. The property includes ruins of the stonecutting mill, located at "the Junction of Seneca Creek and
323-483: The sandstone its rust color. It was prized for its ease of cutting, durability and bright color. The stone quarried here for the Smithsonian Castle was originally described as "lilac grey" in color when quarried," but turned rusty red as it weathered. Numerous quarries operated on the one-mile stretch of the Potomac River west of Seneca Creek. The C&O Canal provided a way for the heavy sandstone to reach
342-461: The state park. The partially restored Black Rock Mill has interpretive exhibits featuring a history of area floods. The Seneca Schoolhouse is a restored 19th-century schoolhouse which was built for the children of local quarry laborers. Parts of the park were once part of an estate owned by the Clopper family. The Woodlands area near the Clopper Lake Day Use Area commemorates the Clopper family with
361-653: The stonecutting mill, drawing power from the adjacent canal turning basin. He also built a miniature of Tudor Place near the quarry called Montevideo, now owned by the Kiplinger family. Seneca Quarry provided the stone for hundreds of buildings around the Washington, DC area, including houses in the Dupont Circle and Adams Morgan area, the James Renwick Jr. -designed Trinity Episcopal Church (1849; demolished 1936), Luther Place Memorial Church (1873), and
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