Newport Mills

Arlington, VA

In 1797, the merchants of Georgetown spanned the Potomac at the Little Falls, raising the first bridge across the river in a bid to capture trade that might otherwise flow downstream to the rival Virginia port of Alexandria. The original Falls Bridge let wagons hauling goods from Virginia's "upper country" roll directly into Georgetown, knitting the young capital region's commerce together. Repeatedly destroyed by floods and rebuilt over the decades, the crossing eventually took the name "Chain Bridge" from a chain-suspension version that once stood here.

Arlington, VA

Where Pimmit Run empties into the Potomac at the river's head of navigation, colonial Virginia planter Thomas Lee patented land in 1719 and, in 1742, established an official tobacco inspection warehouse. In the tobacco economy of the Tidewater, such government-licensed warehouses were vital chokepoints where the colony's signature crop was graded, certified, and prepared for shipment to Britain. This riverside spot grew into what's remembered as Arlington's first industrial complex, later associated with figures like Philip Richard Fendall in the years after 1794.

Portsmouth, VA

Founded in 1767 on the Elizabeth River, the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia, is one of the oldest and largest shipyards in the United States. Despite its name, the yard sits in Portsmouth, and over two centuries it built, repaired, and outfitted vessels through the American Revolution, the Civil War — when the ironclad CSS Virginia was rebuilt there from the burned USS Merrimack — and both World Wars. This marker was unveiled in 1967 to commemorate the yard's 200th anniversary, dedicated by senior Navy officers including the Commander in Chief of the Atlantic Fleet.

Baltimore County, MD

In 1772 three Quaker brothers from Bucks County, Pennsylvania — the Ellicotts — settled this steep granite valley on the Patapsco River and built flour mills that helped transform the surrounding farmland from tobacco to wheat. To move their flour to market they cut a road down to Baltimore, knitting the young port to its hinterland. Nearly six decades later, on May 20, 1830, the pioneering Baltimore & Ohio Railroad reached this very spot, making the milling town one of the first railroad destinations in the nation.