Great Falls Tavern Visitor Center

Located at 11710 MacArthur Blvd., Potomac, MD 20854 (301-767-3714) the Great Falls Tavern Visitor Center is open year round, seven days per week from 9 AM to 4:45 PM. (Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Days) Call ahead to confirm hours of operation.

The Great Falls of the Potomac have drawn people to the river's shore for centuries. To Native Americans it was a gathering place, to George Washington it was an impediment to navigation, to thousands of visitors every year it is a awe-inspiring site. Tourists have been drawn to the Great Falls of the Potomac long before there was a canal. The Great Falls Tavern carries on a long tradition of hospitality for visitors to the C&O Canal. Soon after the canal's ground breaking in 1828 construction began on the original lockhouse. In response to travelers' requests for shelter and a meal, the locktender here at Great Falls, W.W. Fenlon, asked the Canal Company to build the three-story north wing for a hotel. Proposing himself as innkeeper but adding, "Mrs. Felon is better calculated for Land Ladie," he wrote. The hotel opened for business in 1831. The entrance door invited guests into a large, windowed room with fireplaces and a bar. As the inn's first proprietor Mr. Fenlon presided over lively entertainment like fishing parties, dances and social events in the "ballroom," in addition to good dinners and a place to sleep. A community of over 100 people grew nearby with shops and a post office.

The National Park Service offers interpretive programs year round and boat rides in the spring, summer and early fall. (Due to structural damage, the Canal Clipper at Great Falls did not run in 2005. Please call the visitor center for alternative programs).

• communities.msn.com/SilverSpringHistoricalSociety
• www.homestead.com/silverspringhistory
• www.mdarchives.state.md.us
• www.montgomeryhistory.org
• www.cvbmontco.com