Georgetown and the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal

Historical marker location:

1057 Thomas Jefferson Street Northwest, Georgetown, District of Columbia

( Marker can be reached from C&O Canal Towpath Northwest east of Thomas Jefferson Street Northwest, on the left when traveling east.)

The city was built on a swamp: The area that is now Washington, D.C. was originally a swampy, marshy region along the Potomac River. The construction of the city involved extensive drainage and landfill projects to make the land suitable for building.