Aquia Creek ( /ɑːˈkwaɪə/) is a 27.6-mile-long (44.4 km)[1] tributary of the tidal segment of the Potomac River and is located in northern Virginia. The creek's headwaters lie in southeastern Fauquier County, and it empties into the Potomac at Brent Point in Stafford County, 45 miles (72 km) south of Washington, D.C.

Aquia Creek
Aquia Creek Landing in Union control in February 1863. This position swapped hands between the two armies during 1861 and 1862, until the Union established a logistical supply point here for the Army of the Potomac.
Location
Location	Fauquier and Stafford counties, Virginia, US
Physical characteristics
Mouth
• location	Potomac River
• elevation	0 feet (0 m)
Length	27.6 miles (44.4 km)

The White House was built largely using sandstone quarried from Aquia Creek from 1792 to 1799.[2]

History

The Public Quarry at Government Island in the creek served as the source for Aquia Creek sandstone. This sandstone was used in numerous public buildings; the National Capitol Columns were quarried in the early 1800s, and transported to Washington on a barge.[2] The White House, which began its construction in 1799, was built largely from sandstone material that was quarried from the banks of Aquia Creek from the previous seven years (1792-1799).

In an early American Civil War skirmish, the Battle of Aquia Creek, three US gunships fired on a battery garrison during the Union campaign to blockade Chesapeake Bay (May–June 1861). There were an estimated 10 casualties.[3]

See also

• List of rivers of Virginia

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Aquia Creek.