Ambitious Failure: Chain Bridge, the First Bridge Across the Potomac River

The story of a bridge built across the Potomac River, below the Little Falls, that came to be known as Chain Bridge

The first bridge that spanned the Potomac River was a wooden toll bridge built in 1797 just below Little Falls, the Potomac s head of navigation. Over the decades eight bridges have spanned the river at that site. It was the third bridge, a chain suspension bridge, from which Chain Bridge received its name. The Little Falls location was selected because the river is very narrow at that point.

Georgetown merchants were hopeful that the bridge would divert Virginia s inland trade away from their commercial competitor, Alexandria, and the farmers and planters would bring their goods into Georgetown.

This is the story of investors, and later the government, who continually poured money into a bridge which was probably built at the wrong site. A location near the Three Sisters Islands was often examined for a bridge, but it was continually rejected because the river was wider at that point and the cost would be much greater than if the bridge at Little Falls were repaired or replaced.

It is the story of Georgetown s struggle to maintain its independence as a separate entity. Georgetown merchants believed that their economic survival depended upon maintaining a bridge above their town, and later, the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, or it would eventually be swallowed up by the expanding Federal City. In the long run, Georgetown did lose its battle for survival when, under the District Territorial Act of 1871, the separate municipalities within the District of Columbia were folded into a single entity. However, the Chain Bridge survived; but at what cost? Ambitious Failure?

Carole Herrick lives with her husband, Philip, in McLean, Virginia. As a nationally ranked tennis player, she attended Los Angeles State College, where she received her BA in history. She is a past president of the McLean Historical Society and is a member of the Fairfax County History Commission. Herrick co-chaired McLean & Great Falls Celebrate Virginia, 1607-2007, and served on the board of Fairfax 2007, two organizations that promoted the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown. She co-chaired the McLean Centennial Celebration in 2010 and chaired McLean Remembers the Civil War the following year. In 2001 Herrick received the Heartbeat of Rotary Award and in November of 2012 she was inducted into the National Women s Tennis Hall of Fame.

Herrick has authored five other books: August 24, 1814: Washington in Flames; A Chronological History of McLean; Virginia; Yesterday 100 Recollections of McLean and Great Falls, Virginia; Yesterday Additional Recollections of McLean and Great Falls, Virginia; and Images of America: McLean.