Come join the Poolesville Seniors on June 19th at 10:00 a.m. when we will tour lockhouse 24 at Riley’s Lock. The tour will be given by lockhouse docent Shelby Garrison. The house’s decor depicts life in the 1870s when lock keeper Allen Benson lived there with his family. This very well restored lockhouse is one and a half stories over a full basement.
After the tour, join Jon Wolz for a pop-up walk where we will walk over the Seneca Aqueduct to the canal boat basin used to load boats for the Seneca quarries. We will then walk back across the aqueduct town to Violette’s Lock. Walking a little farther down the towpath, we will visit the historic stone that has “22 MILES TO W C” carved on it. We will head back to lock 24 and depart. The roundtrip walk is about three miles. Expect to see a variety of birds along the way. Registration is required and limited to 15.
Location: 13015 Riley’s Lock Rd, Poolesville, MD 20837
Jon Wolz, our local expert on the C&O Canal and leader of our “pop-up” walks, has a long history with the canal. As a Montgomery Blair High School sophomore and Eagle Scout, he had already hiked the entire canal. In 1970, Jon was the Boy Scout chosen to testify before a Senate subcommittee on behalf of the bill to protect the C&O Canal as a National Historical Park. Maryland Congressmen Gilbert Gude and J. Glenn Beall sponsored the bill. Since 2015 Jon has volunteered as a level walker with the C&O Canal Association (COCA). His two levels encompass the area from White’s Ferry to Monocacy Aqueduct.