Come on a journey to remember and commemorate the history and travels of Captain John Smith!
Over four hundred years ago, Englishman John Smith and a small crew set out in an open boat to explore the Chesapeake Bay. Between 1607 and 1609 Smith mapped and documented nearly 3,000 miles of the Bay and its rivers. Along the way he visited many thriving American Indian communities and gathered information about this “fruitful and delightsome land.” In December 2006 the U.S. Congress designated the routes of Smith’s explorations of the Chesapeake as a national historic trail—the first national water trail.
Are you ready to follow in the wake of Captain John Smith? Visit sites along the National Historic Trail and learn about the native cultures and the natural environment of the 17th-century Chesapeake through the Captain John Smith Chesapeake Geotrail. The Trail provides opportunities for you to experience the Bay through the routes and places associated with Smith’s explorations. Caches will be located in museums, refuges, parks, and towns in Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware along the rivers and creeks that Smith and his crew explored four centuries ago.
The Captain John Smith (CJS) Geotrail launched June 4, 2011 with over 40 caches within Maryland, Virginia and Delaware. A trackable geo coin was awarded to the first 400 geocachers for locating at least 15 CJS caches. To be eligible for the coin, geocachers must download a passport from either the CJS Geotrail or Maryland Geocaching Society website. Geocachers must find and log at least 15 finds, record the code word from each cache on their passport, and post a picture of themselves at each cache location. After discovering the 15 required caches, geocachers may have their passports validated in person or via mail at the National Park Service, Chesapeake Bay Office located at 410 Severn Ave, Suite 314, Annapolis, MD 21403. Please refer to the passport for complete validation instructions.
Participating in the CJS Geotrail is fun and we hope that many people join in. However, it is not a requirement for logging your find on this cache once you find the container.
You are seeking a traditional hide. A Lock & Lock stocked with a variety of items. Cache was placed with special permission so please follow all park rules and no night caching!
Important: Parking is only available from East Bound Clara Barton Parkway. N38 58.293, W77 09.636. Coming FROM the east, turn around at the Carderock (David S Taylor) Naval Surface Warfare exit just outside the Beltway.
Photo Courtesy of Potomac Conservancy
Located along the C&O Canal towpath, the River Center at Lockhouse 8 was originally built in 1830 to provide shelter for the Lockkeeper and his family. Lockhouse 8 played a vital role in the operation of the C&O Canal as a primary transportation route along the Potomac River. Lock 8 is the first of the series of locks known as "Seven Locks," which raise the Canal 56 feet over the distance of one and a quarter miles. Solomon Drew, the first keeper of Lock 8, was paid $100 per year.
In the early 1900s, canal operations ended and the Lockhouse was abandoned, and the building remained closed until it was re-opened as the River Center at Lockhouse 8.
The River Center at Lockhouse 8 was established via a partnership between the Potomac Conservancy and the National Park Service in 2001. That partnership ended at the conclusion of the lease in 2019.
In 2025, the C&O Canal Trust met with the NPS to discuss a potential rehabilitation project. In 2026, the Trust rehabilitated the property and it is now part of their Canal Quarters program where you can spend the night in a Lockhouse.
While Smith did not document each day of the Potomac River journey in detail, his writings reflect that the shallop Discovery sailed as far up-river as the Little Falls of the Potomac. As one primary purpose of the voyage was to search for potential minerals or other valuable resources, the crew was eager at the prospect of the interesting geology that they found in this region of the Potomac. Securing the shallop, the crew of Englishmen took samples of rocks found near Little Falls and continued to explore the area near the river on foot. A short distance from the river, the crew found spangled layers of gilded soils, which Smith documented. The gilded soil that Smith described in his writing was likely mica-rich sediments common today at this location. The crew continued to hike above the river to look for silver, gold, or other precious minerals, and Smith also documented that they found “a clay sand so mingled with yellow spangles as if it had been half pin-dust.” Doubting the likelihood of finding potential productive mines, the crew headed back to the shallop and returned downriver, heading back towards Jamestowne after spending a month and a half aboard the shallop.
Thanks to CPHug for helping with this hide and to the Maryland Geocaching Society for assisting with this project!