A Million Little Pieces Of My Mind

In May of 1980, our family set out to visit a local scenic spot known as Great Falls. Accompanying us were our friends and my former roommates, Mike Mundell and Richard (Dick) Keminck. This felt like stepping into a rugged slice of untouched wilderness just beyond the hum of Washington, D.C. This is where the Potomac River thunders through the narrow Mather Gorge, its frothy white rapids crashing over jagged rocks with a force that echoes through the humid air.

Great Falls Park in Virginia has a rich and layered history that stretches back over 10,000 years. Indigenous peoples—including Algonquin, Iroquois, and Siouan tribes—once used the area as a vital trading and fishing site along the Potomac River. In the late 18th century, George Washington helped fund the Patowmack Canal, one of the first American canals to use locks, designed to bypass the treacherous falls and connect the East Coast to the Ohio River Valley. The canal's remnants still lie within the park, a testament to early American engineering. Over the years, the area evolved from a canal town to a textile mill site, then to an amusement park in the early 1900s. In 1930, Congress passed the Capper-Cramton Act, which laid the groundwork for preserving the region as part of the George Washington Memorial Parkway. Finally, in 1966, Great Falls Park was officially established under the National Park Service, protecting both its natural beauty and historical significance for generations to come.