Goose Creek (Potomac River tributary)

Goose Creek
Creek
Goose Creek Bridge
Country	United States
State	Virginia
Region	Loudoun County, Fauquier County
Source
- location	Linden
- elevation	1,040 ft (317 m)
- coordinates	38°54′53″N 78°04′13″W / 38.9148335°N 78.0702756°W / 38.9148335; -78.0702756
Mouth	Potomac River
- location	Lansdowne
- elevation	187 ft (57 m)
- coordinates	39°06′04″N 77°28′38″W / 39.1012177°N 77.4772109°W / 39.1012177; -77.4772109Coordinates: 39°06′04″N 77°28′38″W / 39.1012177°N 77.4772109°W / 39.1012177; -77.4772109
Length	55 mi (89 km)

Goose Creek is a 53.9-mile-long (86.7 km)tributary of the Potomac River in Fauquier and Loudoun counties in northern Virginia. It comprises the principal drainage system for the Loudoun Valley.

Goose Creek rises at Manassas Gap on the Blue Ridge near Linden. The creek initially flows eastward down the mountain, falling 600 feet (180 m) in its first 10 miles (16 km). At Delaplane the creek levels out and turns in a northeasterly direction for another 10 miles, whereupon it passes under U.S. Route 50 and enters Loudoun County. Once in Loudoun, the creek continues in a northeastward direction for 15 miles (24 km) to the western foot of , where it turns to the north briefly, before reaching the confluence of the North Fork and then turning to the east and cutting through a gap in the mountain. On the east side of the mountain the creek again turns to northeast, joining with the Little River. The creek flows for 15 miles (24 km) through central Loudoun County, reaching the Potomac just east of Leesburg and south of Harrison Island. Goose Creek is partially dammed north of State Route 267. The dam may be portaged through the woods on the eastern shore.

The North Fork of Goose Creek rises at the east end of Sleeter Lake in Round Hill and flows 13.3 miles (21.4 km) in a southeastward direction, joining with the main branch in the water gap of the Catoctin Mountain.

In 1849, construction began on a system of locks and dams to render the creek navigable up to three large mills in the Loudoun Valley on the Little River, North Fork and main creek bed. Across the Potomac from the mouth of a creek, a special lock on the C&O Canal was constructed to allow canal boats from Goose Creek to enter the canal. By 1845, the Goose Creek and Little River Navigation Company canal system had been completed on Goose Creek to Ball's (Evergreen) Mill, 12 miles (19 km) upstream from the mouth. Due to financial concerns it was decided that the canal would not be built any further upstream. Though the lower portion of the canal saw significant usage, only one boat was ever known to have traveled the whole stretch, and by 1857 the canal was put out of business by the completion of the Alexandria, Loudoun and Hampshire Railroad to Leesburg. Most of the locks and dams were destroyed by the Union Army during the Civil War.