{{short description|Lock on the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal in Darnestown, Maryland, United States}} {{good article}} {{Use American English|date=September 2025}} {{Infobox waterlock | name = Riley's Lock | image = Lock 24 Rileys Lock with Lockhouse .jpg | caption = Riley's Lock and lockhouse | waterway = Chesapeake and Ohio Canal | country = USA | state = Maryland | county = Montgomery | maint = | operation = Defunct | first = | latest = | length = | width = | fall = | sealevel = | enda = | distenda = | endb = | distendb = | heritage = | map_cue = | map_image = | map_text = | lat = | long = | coordinates = {{coord|39.069167|-77.340877|display=inline|type:landmark_region:US-MD}}<!--http://www.candocanal.org/access.html--> | extra =Towpath milemarker 22.7 }}
'''Riley's Lock''' (Lock 24) and lock house are part of the 184.5-mile (296.9 km) Chesapeake and Ohio Canal (a.k.a. C&O Canal) that operated from the 1830s through 1923 along the Potomac River in the United States. They are located at towpath mile-marker 22.7, next to Seneca Creek, in Montgomery County, Maryland. The lock is sometimes identified as '''Seneca''' because of the Seneca Aqueduct that carried the canal over the creek to the lift lock. The name Riley comes from John C. Riley, who was lock keeper from 1892 until the canal closed in 1924.
The lock, lock house, and aqueduct attached to the lock were built in the early 1830s. Construction of Aqueduct 1 and other aqueducts further upriver took longer than other downriver portions of the canal, causing the first phase of canal operation to be between Georgetown and Lock 23. Completed in 1850, the canal connected Georgetown to Cumberland in Western Maryland by bypassing non-navigable portions of the Potomac River.
Today, Riley's Lock is part of Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park. The site is the only place on the canal that has a lift lock connected to an aqueduct. Picnic tables, restrooms, parking, and a canoe ramp are on site. Ruins of the Seneca Stone Cutting Mill are less than {{convert|0.25|mi}} away. The lock and surrounding area are known as excellent places for bird watching, and the 40-acre (16 ha) Dierssen Waterfowl Sanctuary is about {{convert|2|mi|km|spell=in}} away.
==Background== thumb|right|Great Falls of the Potomac River|alt=rocky waterfallthumb|right|Boat entering Riley's Lock|alt=picture of a boat on a canalGround was broken for construction of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal (a.k.a. C&O Canal) on July 4, 1828.<ref name="TrustBO">{{cite web |title=C&O Canal versus the B&O Railroad |website=C&O Canal Trust |url=https://www.canaltrust.org/about-us/about-the-co-canal/history/canal-history-co-canal-vs-bo-railroad/ |access-date=2020-06-28 |archive-date=2020-06-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200609133726/https://www.canaltrust.org/about-us/about-the-co-canal/history/canal-history-co-canal-vs-bo-railroad/ |url-status=live }}</ref> One of the early plans was for the canal to be a way to connect the Chesapeake Bay with the Ohio River—hence the name Chesapeake and Ohio Canal.<ref name="Rubin4">{{harvnb|Rubin|2003|p=4}}</ref> The canal has several types of locks, including 74 lift locks necessary to handle a 605-foot (184{{nbsp}}m) difference in elevation between the two canal ends—an average of about 8{{nbsp}}feet (2.4{{nbsp}}m) per lock.<ref name="NPSlock8">{{cite web |title=C&O Canal Lock 8 (Seven Locks) |website=National Park Service |publisher=U.S. Department of the Interior |url=https://www.nps.gov/places/000/c-o-canal-lock-8-seven-locks.htm |access-date=2020-09-26 |archive-date=2021-09-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210926162413/https://www.nps.gov/places/000/c-o-canal-lock-8-seven-locks.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The canal also has 11 aqueducts, and the Seneca Aqueduct at the Lock 24 location is the first aqueduct when traveling up the canal.<ref name="TrustRileyAndSeneca">{{cite web |title=Riley's Lock & Seneca |website=C&O Canal Trust |url=https://www.canaltrust.org/discoveryarea/rileys-lock-seneca/ |access-date=2020-08-01 |archive-date=2020-09-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926061314/https://www.canaltrust.org/discoveryarea/rileys-lock-seneca/ |url-status=live }}</ref> From Georgetown to Harpers Ferry (includes Lock 24, Riley's Lock), the canal is {{convert|60|ft}} wide at the surface, and {{convert|42|ft}} at the bottom. Including walls, lift locks are {{convert|100|ft}} long and {{convert|15|ft}} wide—usable lockage was closer to {{convert|88|ft}} long and {{convert|14.5|ft}} wide.<ref name="Unrau226">{{harvnb|Unrau|2007|p=226}}</ref><ref name="TrustBoatsNavigation">{{cite web |title=Accompanied by the Past - C&O Canal Boats and Navigation: 1851-1870 |website=C&O Canal Trust |url=http://www.candocanal.org/articles/boats-1850-89-combined.pdf |access-date=2020-09-04 }}{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><!--Page 10--> Some canal boats could carry over 110 tons (99.79 metric tons) of coal.<ref name="TrustBoatsNavigation"/><!--page 11-->
Portions of the canal (close to Georgetown) began operating in the early 1830s, and construction ended in 1850 without reaching the intended Ohio River termination.<ref name="CanalHist">{{cite web |title=Canal History: Canal Era from the 1830s-1870s |website=C&O Canal Trust |url=https://www.canaltrust.org/about-us/about-the-co-canal/history/canal-history-canal-era-from-the-1830s-1870s/ |access-date=2020-03-31 |archive-date=2020-06-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200609133652/https://www.canaltrust.org/about-us/about-the-co-canal/history/canal-history-canal-era-from-the-1830s-1870s/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Upon completion, the canal ran from Georgetown to Cumberland, Maryland. The canal was necessary since portions of the Potomac River, especially at Great Falls, could not serve for reliable navigation because the river can be shallow and rocky as well as subject to low water and floods.<ref name="MDScenicCO">{{cite web |title=Chesapeake & Ohio Canal |website=Visit Maryland, Maryland Office of Tourism Development |publisher=Maryland Department of Commerce |url=http://guides.milespartnership.com/md/Byways/16/mobile/index.html#p=17 |access-date=2020-03-29 |archive-date=2019-12-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191228162627/http://guides.milespartnership.com/md/Byways/16/mobile/index.html#p=17 |url-status=live }}</ref> The canal opened the region to important markets and lowered shipping costs. By 1859, about 83 canal boats per week were transporting coal, grain, flour, and farm products to Washington and Georgetown.<ref name="Kelly18">{{harvnb|Kelly|Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission|2011|p=18}}</ref> Tonnage peaked in 1871 as coal trade increased.<ref name="NPSCONHP">{{cite web |title=Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park |website=National Park Service |publisher=U.S. Department of the Interior |url=https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/wash/dc6.htm |access-date=2020-07-07 |archive-date=2020-08-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200815151221/https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/Wash/dc6.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>
The canal faced competition from other modes of transportation, especially the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O Railroad). Starting in Baltimore and adding line westward, the B&O Railroad eventually reached the Ohio River and beyond, while the C&O Canal never went beyond Cumberland in Western Maryland.<ref name="TrustBO"/> An economic depression during the mid-1870s, and major floods in 1877 and 1886, put a financial strain on the C&O Canal Company.<ref name="NPSCONHP"/> In 1889, another flood produced an estimated $1 million ({{Inflation|US|1000000|1889|fmt=eq}}) in damages and caused the company to enter bankruptcy.<ref name="TrustFlood">{{cite web |title=Canal History: Flooding and Its Effects on the Canal |website=C&O Canal Trust |url=https://www.canaltrust.org/about-us/about-the-co-canal/history/canal-history-flooding-and-its-effects-on-the-canal/ |access-date=2020-07-19 |archive-date=2020-06-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200612212828/https://www.canaltrust.org/about-us/about-the-co-canal/history/canal-history-flooding-and-its-effects-on-the-canal/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="CObankrupt">{{cite web |title=Chesapeake and Ohio Canal - The C&O Canal's Legal Status 1889–1939 |website=National Park Service |publisher=U.S. Department of the Interior |url=https://www.nps.gov/choh/learn/historyculture/receivership-era.htm |access-date=2020-06-18 |archive-date=2020-06-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200620232914/https://www.nps.gov/choh/learn/historyculture/receivership-era.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Operations stopped for about two years. Court-appointed trustees recommended by the B&O Railroad took over receivership of the canal and began operating it under court supervision, but canal use never recovered to the peak years of the 1870s.<ref name="LOCCOcanal">{{cite web |title=Today in History - October 10 - The C&O Canal |website=Library of Congress |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/october-10/#:~:text=The%20C%26O%20Canal%20operated%20between,flour%2C%20iron%2C%20and%20limestone. |access-date=2020-06-18 |archive-date=2020-06-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200620153526/https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/october-10/#:~:text=The%20C%26O%20Canal%20operated%20between,flour%2C%20iron%2C%20and%20limestone. |url-status=live }}</ref> The C&O Canal closed for the season in November 1923.<ref name="TMCloseSeason">{{cite news |title=Canal to Close Season in Week |newspaper=Daily Mail (Hagerstown, Maryland) |page = 1 |date = 1923-11-13 |quote=The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal will be closed this week or early next week for the winter season.}}</ref> Severe flooding in 1924 prevented the canal from opening in the spring, and the resulting damage from the floods prevented it from opening during the entire year.<ref name="MHclose">{{cite news |title=Close C and O Canal |newspaper=Morning Herald (Hagerstown, Maryland) |page = 1 |date = 1923-08-01 |quote=...will not be reopened this year. The canal was damaged by the two floods this spring, and an effort has been made for several months to repair its banks, but with little success.}}</ref> The flood damage, combined with continued competition from railroads and trucks, caused the shutdown to be permanent.<ref name="CanalClosure">{{cite web |title=Canal History: Decline and Eventual Closing of the C&O Canal |website=C&O Canal Trust |url=https://www.canaltrust.org/about-us/about-the-co-canal/history/canal-history-decline-and-eventual-closing-of-the-co-canal/ |access-date=2020-06-12 |archive-date=2020-06-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200612212824/https://www.canaltrust.org/about-us/about-the-co-canal/history/canal-history-decline-and-eventual-closing-of-the-co-canal/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1938, the canal was sold to the United States government, and the canal was proclaimed a national monument in 1961.<ref name="NPSCONHP"/>
==History== thumb|right|Charles Wood was Lock 24 keeper "L.K." in 1865|alt=old mapthumb|right|Canal boat on Seneca Aqueduct over Seneca Creek in 1882|alt=old boat in aqueduct over creekWork on Lock 24 began in March 1829 and was completed March 1832 at a cost of $8,886.88 ({{Inflation|US|8886.88|1832|fmt=eq}}).<ref name="Unrau230">{{harvnb|Unrau|2007|p=230}}</ref> The lock was made from Seneca Creek Red Sandstone boated down the Potomac River from the Seneca Quarry.<ref name="Unrau159">{{harvnb|Unrau|2007|p=159}}</ref> Construction of the lock house began in November 1829, and was finished April 1830 at a cost of $1,066.25 ({{Inflation|US|1066.25|1830|fmt=eq}}).<ref name="Unrau245">{{harvnb|Unrau|2007|p=245}}</ref> By June 1832, a 22-mile (35 km) section of the canal was operating between Georgetown and Lock 23.<ref name="Unrau65">{{harvnb|Unrau|2007|p=65}}</ref> The Seneca Aqueduct, Aqueduct No. 1, was completed April 1832 at a cost of $24,340.25 ({{Inflation|US|24340.25|1832|fmt=eq}}).<ref name="Unrau239">{{harvnb|Unrau|2007|p=239}}</ref> The next two aqueducts upriver, No. 2 and No. 3, were completed in May 1833 and February 1834, respectively.<ref name="Unrau239"/> It was not until 1833 that a dam at Harpers Ferry was completed and enabled the canal to operate above Lock 23.<ref name="NRHPCOcanal">{{cite web |title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Chesapeake and Ohio Canal<!--see page 25--> |publisher=National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior (National Archives) |url=https://catalog.archives.gov/id/117692021 |access-date=2020-07-21 |author1=Romigh, Philip S. |author2=Mackintosh, Barry |year=1979 |archive-date=2020-07-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200721124852/https://catalog.archives.gov/id/117692021 |url-status=live }}</ref> Riley's Lock is unique because it has a combination of an aqueduct and lift lock. The Seneca Aqueduct carries canal boats over Seneca Creek directly to the lift lock.<ref name="TrustRileyAndSeneca"/>
Some C&O Canal records remain, allowing some of the lock keepers to be identified. Charles H. Shanks was listed as lock keeper on July 1, 1839.<ref name="Unrau597">{{harvnb|Unrau|2007|p=597}}</ref> He was still listed as lock keeper on May 31, 1842.<ref name="Unrau610">{{harvnb|Unrau|2007|p=610}}</ref> John Wells was lock keeper on May 31, 1845, and was still lock keeper at the end of 1850.<ref name="Unrau611">{{harvnb|Unrau|2007|p=611}}</ref><ref name="Unrau621">{{harvnb|Unrau|2007|p=621}}</ref> Charles Wood is listed as Lock 24 tender circa 1865.<ref name="NPScanalworkers">{{cite web |title=Chesapeake & Ohio Canal - Canal Workers |website=National Park Service |publisher=U.S. Department of the Interior |url=https://www.nps.gov/choh/learn/historyculture/canalworkers.htm |access-date=2020-06-26 |archive-date=2020-06-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200628174200/https://www.nps.gov/choh/learn/historyculture/canalworkers.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> An 1865 map of Montgomery County, Maryland, confirms Wood as the lock keeper by showing "Chas. Wood L.K." (lock keeper) at a point on the canal near Seneca Creek.<ref name="MCmap1865">{{Cite map |author = Martenet & Bond |year = 1865 |title = Martenet and Bond's Map of Montgomery County, Maryland |url = https://www.loc.gov/item/2002620533/ |location = Baltimore, Maryland |publisher = Simon J. Martenet |access-date = 2020-06-29 |archive-date = 2020-06-25 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200625183700/https://www.loc.gov/item/2002620533/ |url-status = live }}</ref> The map also shows a "J.W. Darby's" near the creek and canal, and John Darby and Son (Upton) were known to have a lease for a nearby warehouse granted in 1871.<ref name="MCmap1865"/><ref name="Unrau694">{{harvnb|Unrau|2007|p=694}}</ref>
===Civil War=== At the beginning of the American Civil War, Union Army leadership realized that the Potomac River area near Locks 23 and 24 was a possible crossing point for a Confederate invasion that could include Washington. The small community of Darnestown, less than {{convert|4|mi}} north of Lock 24, became occupied during 1861 by 18,000 Union troops.<ref name="MCHShistory9">{{harvnb|Montgomery County Historical Society|1999|p=9}}</ref> About halfway between Lock 24 and Darnestown, Major General Nathaniel P. Banks kept his headquarters at the Samuel Thomas Macgruder farm where the Potomac River could be observed from high ground.<ref name="Kelly216">{{harvnb|Kelly|Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission|2011|p=216}}</ref>
On June 27, 1863, 5,000 cavalry troops under the command of Confederate General Jeb Stuart crossed the Potomac River near Lock 24. Intent on disrupting Union supply lines, they seized the canal between Locks 23 and 24, and damaged lock gates, drained water from the canal, and burnt canal boats. From there, they advanced to Rockville, Maryland, before rejoining General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia in the Battle of Gettysburg.<ref name="RowsersFord">{{cite web |title=Rowsers Ford |website=C&O Canal Trust |url=https://www.canaltrust.org/pyv/rowsers-ford/ |access-date=2020-08-07 |archive-date=2020-08-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806131441/https://www.canaltrust.org/pyv/rowsers-ford/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
===Riley family=== thumb|right|Seneca Creek, Seneca Aqueduct, and Riley's lock house in 2012|alt=aqueduct over creek and lock housethumb|right|John and Roberta Riley gravestone at Darnestown Presbyterian Church|alt=gravestoneWilliam H. Riley came to America from Ireland around 1849, and found work at the Seneca quarry. By 1880 he was working on the C&O Canal, as was his oldest son, John C. Riley. John married in 1890 and began working at the same quarry where his father worked years earlier. During 1892, the quarry shut down, but John was able to replace William Benson as lock tender for Lock 24.<ref name="RileyFamilyHistory3">{{cite web |title=Riley Family History Page 3 |website=Western Maryland Historical Library |url=https://digital.whilbr.org/digital/collection/p16715coll18/id/740 |access-date=2020-08-05 |archive-date=2021-09-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210926123837/https://digital.whilbr.org/digital/collection/p16715coll18/id/740 |url-status=live }}</ref>
The family lived in the lock house until 1905 when a young daughter drowned in the canal. After the tragedy, John's wife Roberta and the children moved up the hill (at River Road) while John stayed at the lock house. Family members would visit the lock house daily, but at nighttime were always back to the safety of the house on the hill. Riley would sometimes rent the extra lock house rooms to campers.<ref name="RileyFamilyHistory7">{{cite web |title=Riley Family History Page 7 |website=Western Maryland Historical Library |url=https://digital.whilbr.org/digital/collection/p16715coll18/id/744 |access-date=2020-08-05 |archive-date=2021-09-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210926123837/https://digital.whilbr.org/digital/collection/p16715coll18/id/744 |url-status=live }}</ref> In November after the canal closed for the season, he would live with the family at the house on the hill until the canal reopened in March.<ref name="RileyFamilyHistory8">{{cite web |title=Riley Family History Page 8 |website=Western Maryland Historical Library |url=https://digital.whilbr.org/digital/collection/p16715coll18/id/745 |access-date=2020-08-05 |archive-date=2021-09-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210926123906/https://digital.whilbr.org/digital/collection/p16715coll18/id/745 |url-status=live }}</ref>
The canal was closed permanently in 1924, but Riley continued working near the lock. The 1930 U.S. Census lists him as a canal watchman, and the family had a boat rental business that lasted until the 1940s.<ref name="RileyFamilyHistory9">{{cite web |title=Riley Family History Page 9 |website=Western Maryland Historical Library |url=https://digital.whilbr.org/digital/collection/p16715coll18/id/746 |access-date=2020-08-05 |archive-date=2021-09-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210926123837/https://digital.whilbr.org/digital/collection/p16715coll18/id/746 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="COhome">{{cite news |title=CO Canal a Special Place to Call Home |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1987/02/20/co-canal-a-special-place-to-call-home/eda35746-9b8a-44cf-9743-f0170ef5134e/ |access-date=2020-08-01 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=1987-02-20 |last1=Meyer |first1=Eugene L. |archive-date=2021-09-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210926123851/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1987/02/20/co-canal-a-special-place-to-call-home/eda35746-9b8a-44cf-9743-f0170ef5134e/ |url-status=live }}</ref> At the age of 69, John Riley died suddenly at his home on April 11, 1931, and was buried at the Darnestown Presbyterian Church cemetery.<ref name="EvStarRileyObit">{{cite news |title=Deaths - Riley, John C. (page A-9 lower right) |url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1931-04-13/ed-1/seq-9/#date1=1931&index=7&rows=20&words=JOHN+RILEY&searchType=basic&sequence=0&state=&date2=1931&proxtext=John+Riley&y=13&x=14&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1 |access-date=2020-08-05 |newspaper=Washington Evening Star (from Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress) |date=1931-04-13 |archive-date=2021-09-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210926123907/https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1931-04-13/ed-1/seq-9/#date1=1931&index=7&rows=20&words=JOHN+RILEY&searchType=basic&sequence=0&state=&date2=1931&proxtext=John+Riley&y=13&x=14&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1 |url-status=live }}</ref> Today, Lock 24 is known as Riley's Lock in honor of John Riley and the Riley family, and the road that leads to the lock is named Rileys Lock Road (without the apostrophe).<ref name="RileyName">{{cite web |title=Riley's Lock & Seneca |website=C&O Canal Trust |url=https://www.canaltrust.org/discoveryarea/rileys-lock-seneca/ |access-date=2020-08-06 |archive-date=2020-09-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926061314/https://www.canaltrust.org/discoveryarea/rileys-lock-seneca/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Today== thumb|right|Riley's Lock and lock house in 2020 as viewed from walkway on the Seneca Aqueduct over Seneca Creek|alt=canal lock and lock houseRiley's Lock and lock house are part of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park.<ref name="NPShike10">{{cite web |title=C&O Canal Hike 10 |website=National Park Service |publisher=U.S. Department of the Interior |url=https://www.nps.gov/pohe/planyourvisit/co-hike-10.htm |access-date=2020-07-16 |archive-date=2020-06-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200615205207/https://www.nps.gov/pohe/planyourvisit/co-hike-10.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Congress authorized the establishment of the park, and acquisition of adjacent land, in 1971.<ref name="NPSCONHP"/> A Riley's Lockhouse History Program is run by local Girl Scouts through a special permit from the park. On weekends in the spring and fall, Girl Scouts give tours of the lock house during the afternoons.<ref name="WPostGirlScouts">{{cite news |title=Reliving the Lockhouse Life |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1985/02/15/reliving-the-lockhouse-life/799b42a1-e59d-4c06-a086-a44aa9d682c5/ |access-date=2020-08-07 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=1985-02-15 |last1=Oman |first1=Anne H. |archive-date=2021-09-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210926123854/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1985/02/15/reliving-the-lockhouse-life/799b42a1-e59d-4c06-a086-a44aa9d682c5/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="TrustGS">{{cite web |title=Riley's Lockhouse (Girl Scouts) |website=C&O Canal Trust |url=https://www.canaltrust.org/discoverypoi/rileys-lockhouse/ |access-date=2020-08-07 |archive-date=2020-08-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200815022557/https://www.canaltrust.org/discoverypoi/rileys-lockhouse/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Riley's Lock is also part of the Seneca Historic District listed in the National Register of Historic Places along with the Seneca Stone Cutting Mill, Seneca Quarry, and other nearby places.<ref name="NRHPSeneca">{{cite web |title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Seneca Historic District |publisher=National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior (Maryland Historical Trust) |url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/b7537cf8-d9db-499f-b7cd-407a7338ea02 |access-date=2020-08-07 |author=Muir, Dorthy; Kephart, Mary Ann; Kiplinger, Austin (Historic Medley District, Inc.) |year=1975 |archive-date=2021-09-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210926123849/https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/b7537cf8-d9db-499f-b7cd-407a7338ea02 |url-status=live }}</ref> The ruins of the Seneca Stone Cutting Mill are only {{convert|0.2|mi}} west of the lock.<ref name="TrustSSMill">{{cite web |title=Seneca Stone Cutting Mill |website=C&O Canal Trust |url=https://www.canaltrust.org/pyv/seneca-stone-cutting-mill/ |access-date=2020-08-07 |archive-date=2020-10-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030140851/https://www.canaltrust.org/pyv/seneca-stone-cutting-mill/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
The Maryland Ornithological Society lists the lock as one of the top birdwatching places in Montgomery County, with over 200 species sited.<ref name="MOS">{{cite web |title=Birder's Guide to Maryland and DC - C&O Canal – Pennyfield, Violette's & Riley's Locks |website=The Maryland Ornithological Society |url=https://birdersguidemddc.org/site/co-canal-pennyfield-violettes-rileys-locks/ |access-date=2020-08-06 |archive-date=2020-06-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200628171631/https://birdersguidemddc.org/site/co-canal-pennyfield-violettes-rileys-locks/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In addition, the 40–acre (16 ha) Dierssen Waterfowl Sanctuary is not far away at towpath marker 20.0.<ref name="TrustDierssen">{{cite web |title=Dierssen Waterfowl Sanctuary |website=C&O Canal Trust |url=https://www.canaltrust.org/pyv/dierssen-waterfowl-sanctuary/ |access-date=2020-08-07 |archive-date=2020-08-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812213702/https://www.canaltrust.org/pyv/dierssen-waterfowl-sanctuary/ |url-status=live }}</ref> An outdoor education camp and the DC National Rowing Club are located nearby on Rileys Lock Road.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Home - Calleva Outdoors I Summer Camp and Year Round Adventures|url=https://calleva.org/|access-date=2021-04-30|website=Calleva|language=en-US|archive-date=2021-04-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210430010235/https://calleva.org/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Club|first=DC National Rowing|title=DC NATIONAL ROWING CLUB|url=https://dcnationalrowing.org/water-practice|access-date=2021-04-30|website=DC National Rowing Club|language=en-US|archive-date=2021-04-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210430010235/https://dcnationalrowing.org/water-practice|url-status=live}}</ref> Although considered part of the tiny community of Seneca, the lock has a Poolesville address and is found in the Darnestown census-designated place near Seneca Creek by taking Rileys Lock Road off of Montgomery County's River Road.<ref name="RileysParking">{{cite web |title=Riley's/Seneca Parking |website=C&O Canal Trust |url=https://www.canaltrust.org/pyv/rileysseneca-parking/ |access-date=2020-08-03 |archive-date=2020-08-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200810212459/https://www.canaltrust.org/pyv/rileysseneca-parking/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="TravilahCDPmap">{{cite web |title=Travilah, CDP, Maryland (map) |website=United States Census Bureau |publisher=United States Census Bureau, United States Department of Commerce |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/map?q=Travilah,%20CDP,%20Maryland&g=1600000US2478650&tid=ACSDP5Y2018.DP05&layer=VT_2018_160_00_PY_D1&vintage=2018&cid=DP05_0001E |access-date=2020-07-22 |archive-date=2020-07-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200722164157/https://data.census.gov/cedsci/map?q=Travilah,%20CDP,%20Maryland&g=1600000US2478650&tid=ACSDP5Y2018.DP05&layer=VT_2018_160_00_PY_D1&vintage=2018&cid=DP05_0001E |url-status=live }}</ref>
==See also== *Locks on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal
==Notes==
<!--===Footnotes=== {{Reflist|group=Note}}-->
===Citations=== {{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}
===References=== {{refbegin}} *{{Cite book | last = Balkan | first = Evan | title = The Best in Tent Camping: A Guide for Car Campers Who Hate RVs, Concrete Slabs, and Loud Portable Stereos | publisher = Menasha Ridge Press | year = 2008 | location = Birmingham, Alabama | oclc = 1015877303 | isbn = 978-0-89732-755-8 }} <!--*{{Cite book | last = High | first = Mike | authorlink = | title = The C & O Canal companion: A Journey through Potomac History | publisher = Johns Hopkins University Press | year = 2015 | location = Baltimore, Maryland | page = | url = | doi = | id = | oclc = 876370927 | isbn = 978-1-42141-505-5 |access-date= }}--> *{{Cite book | last1 = Hullfish | first1 = Bill | last2 = Ruch | first2 = Dave | title = The Erie Canal Sings: A Musical History of New York's Grand Waterway | publisher = Arcadia Publishing Inc. | year = 2019 | location = Chicago, Illinois | oclc = 1104726854 | isbn = 978-1-43966-713-2 }} *{{Cite book | last1 = Kelly | first1 = Clare Lise | last2 = Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission | title = Places from the Past: The Tradition of Gardez Bien in Montgomery County, Maryland - 10th Anniversary Edition | publisher = Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission | year = 2011 | location = Silver Spring, Maryland | url = https://montgomeryplanning.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Places-from-the-Past-web_with_cover.pdf | oclc = 48177160 | isbn = 978-0-97156-070-3 | access-date = 2020-03-26 | archive-date = 2021-04-12 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210412012413/https://montgomeryplanning.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Places-from-the-Past-web_with_cover.pdf | url-status = live }} *{{Cite book | last = Kytle | first = Elizabeth | title = Home on the Canal | publisher = Johns Hopkins University Press | year = 1996 | location = Baltimore, Maryland | oclc = 1048227577 | isbn = 978-0-80185-328-9 }} *{{Cite book | last = Lowman | first = Jeff | title = Paddling Maryland and Washington, DC : A Guide to the Area's Greatest Paddling Adventures | publisher = FalconGuides | year = 2015 | location = Guilford, Connecticut | oclc = 920824361 | isbn = 978-1-49301-492-7 }} *{{Cite book | last = Montgomery County Historical Society | title = Montgomery County, Maryland – Our History and Government | publisher = Montgomery County Government Office of Public Relations | year = 1999 | location = Rockville, Maryland | url = https://montgomerycountymd.gov/cct/Resources/Files/history.pdf | access-date = 2021-09-10 | archive-date = 2021-05-05 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210505184652/https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/cct/Resources/Files/history.pdf | url-status = live }} *{{Cite book | last = Rubin | first = Mary H. | title = The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal | publisher = Arcadia | year = 2003 | location = Charleston, South Carolina | oclc = 904439352 | isbn = 978-1-43961-250-7 }} *{{Cite book | last = Unrau | first = Harlan D. | title = Historic Resource Study: Chesapeake & Ohio Canal | publisher = National Park Service - United States Department of Interior | year = 2007 | location = Hagerstown, Maryland | url = http://www.whilbr.org/assets/uploads/Unrau_HistoricResourceStudya.pdf | oclc = 184689456 | access-date = 2020-08-07 | archive-date = 2012-05-09 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120509193630/http://www.whilbr.org/assets/uploads/Unrau_HistoricResourceStudya.pdf | url-status = live }} *{{Cite book | last = U.S. National Park Service Division of Publications | author-link = National Park Service | title = Chesapeake and Ohio Canal: A Guide to Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park, Maryland, District of Columbia, and West Virginia | publisher = United States Government Printing Office | year = 1991 | location = Washington, District of Columbia | isbn = 9780912627434 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=B0LPd856uggC&dq=Chesapeake+and+Ohio+canal+Swain&pg=PA81 | oclc = 1020193560 | access-date = 2020-08-07 | archive-date = 2021-09-10 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210910205208/https://books.google.com/books?id=B0LPd856uggC&pg=PA81&dq=Chesapeake+and+Ohio+canal+Swain&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjW4J3rusXqAhWCTt8KHbj5AYUQ6AEwAXoECAEQAg#v=onepage&q=Chesapeake%20and%20Ohio%20canal%20Swain&f=false | url-status = live }} *{{Cite book | last = Welles | first = Judith | title = Potomac | publisher = Arcadia Publishing | year = 2019 | location = Charleston, South Carolina | oclc = 1111392250 | isbn = 978-1-46710-436-4 }} *{{Cite book | last = Youth | first = Howard | title = Field Guide to the Natural World of Washington, D.C. | publisher = Johns Hopkins University Press | year = 2014 | location = Baltimore, Maryland | oclc = 903126664 | isbn = 978-1-42141-203-0 }} {{refend}}
==External links== {{commons category|Lock 24 (C&O Canal)}} * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEd6fkEe5YQ YouTube - C&O Canal Riley's Lock, Seneca Creek Aqueduct, Seneca Stone Cutting Mill] * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMB_oSugo9Q YouTube - Paths to the Present 76 - Tour of historic Seneca Quarry] (includes lock and aqueduct) * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGaePr43KUw YouTube - Riley's Lock, Potomac River and Seneca Creek] * [https://www.montgomeryhistory.org/ Montgomery County Historical Society]
Category:Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Category:Locks of Maryland