The seven-mile-long Alexandria Canal system linking Alexandria to Georgetown was begun in 1834 and completed in 1843. The Alexandria Canal’s Tide Lock No. 4 and adjacent holding basin, the only remaining portions of the city’s canal system, are relics of Virginia’s industrial and transportation history, being part of a waterway that helped to bring on the economic regeneration of Alexandria in the mid-19th century. The canal, which remained in operation until 1886, connected Alexandria with the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal running inland to Cumberland, Maryland. It was used largely for transporting coal. The Alexandria Canal Tide Lock and basin had long been filled in but were restored late in the 20th century as a point of interest in the city’s waterfront park development.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Programs
DHR has secured permanent legal protection for over 700 historic places - including 15,000 acres of battlefield lands
DHR has erected 2,532 highway markers in every county and city across Virginia
DHR has registered more than 3,317 individual resources and 613 historic districts
DHR has engaged over 450 students in 3 highway marker contests
DHR has stimulated more than $4.2 billion dollars in private investments related to historic tax credit incentives, revitalizing communities of all sizes throughout Virginia