Goose A goose ( : geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera ''Anser'' (the grey geese and white geese) and '' Branta'' (the black geese). Some other birds, mostly related to the ...

Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
, accessed August 15, 2011

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...

of the

Potomac River The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augus ...

in Fauquier and

Loudoun Loudoun ( gd, Lughdan) is a parish in East Ayrshire, Scotland and lies between five and ten miles east of Kilmarnock. The parish roughly encompasses the northern half of the Upper-Irvine Valley and borders Galston Parish (which encompasses the ...

counties in

northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. It comprises the principal drainage system for the

Loudoun Valley The Loudoun Valley is a small, but historically significant valley in the Blue Ridge Mountains located in Loudoun County in Northern Virginia in the United States. Geography The lush and fertile valley lies between Catoctin Mountain and the B ...

Course

Goose Creek rises somewhere near the intersection of US 17 and US 50 at Paris,VA. The creek initially flows eastward down the mountain, falling in its first .Once in Loudoun, the creek continues in a northeastward direction for to the western foot of

Catoctin Mountain Catoctin Mountain, along with the geologically associated Bull Run Mountains, forms the easternmost mountain ridge of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are in turn a part of the Appalachian Mountains range. The ridge runs northeast–southwest for ...

, 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 Little River may refer to several places: Australia Streams New South Wales *Little River (Dubbo), source in the Dubbo region, a tributary of the Macquarie River * Little River (Oberon), source in the Oberon Shire, a tributary of Coxs River (Haw ...

. The creek flows for through central Loudoun County, reaching the Potomac just east of Leesburg,south of Harrison Island,and west of Selden Island. Goose Creek is partially dammed north of State Route 267. The dammed part is called Goose Creek Reservoir.The dam may be portaged through the woods on the eastern shore.There is also Beaverdam Reservoir,which comes from a source of water called the Beaverdam Creek,which branches off of Goose Creek.

North Fork

The North Fork of Goose Creek rises at the east end of Sleeter Lake in Round Hill and flows in a southeastward direction, joining with the main branch in the

water gap A water gap is a gap that flowing water has carved through a mountain range or mountain ridge and that still carries water today. Such gaps that no longer carry water currents are called wind gaps. Water gaps and wind gaps often offer a prac ...

of the Catoctin Mountain.

Conservation

The Goose Creek Association works to protect the watershed and landscape.

Map of Goose Creek

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 The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, abbreviated as the C&O Canal and occasionally called the "Grand Old Ditch," operated from 1831 until 1924 along the Potomac River between Washington, D.C. and Cumberland, Maryland. It replaced the Potomac Canal, wh ...

was constructed to allow canal boats from Goose Creek to enter the canal. By 1845, the

Goose Creek and Little River Navigation Company A goose ( : geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera ''Anser'' (the grey geese and white geese) and '' Branta'' (the black geese). Some other birds, mostly related to the she ...

canal system had been completed on Goose Creek to Ball's (Evergreen) Mill, 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 The Washington and Old Dominion Railroad (colloquially referred to as the W&OD) was an intrastate short-line railroad located in Northern Virginia, United States. The railroad was a successor to the bankrupt Washington and Old Dominion Railway ...

to Leesburg. Most of the locks and dams were destroyed by the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. Goose Creek Bridge on the

Ashby's Gap Turnpike U.S. Route 50 (US 50) is a transcontinental highway which stretches from Ocean City, Maryland to West Sacramento, California. In the U.S. state of Virginia, US 50 extends from the border with Washington, D.C. at a Potomac River crossing at Ross ...

was the site of a Civil War battle in the

during the Gettysburg Campaign in 1863. (''See Battle of Upperville#Goose Creek for details.'') The bridge was built between 1801 and 1803 and is the longest remaining stone turnpike bridge in the state of Virginia. In ''

The Water Dancer ''The Water Dancer'' is the debut novel by Ta-Nehisi Coates, published on September 24, 2019, by Random House under its One World imprint. It is a surrealist story set in the pre–Civil War South, concerning a superhuman protagonist named Hiram ...

'', a

slave narrative The slave narrative is a type of literary genre involving the (written) autobiographical accounts of enslaved Africans, particularly in the Americas. Over six thousand such narratives are estimated to exist; about 150 narratives were published as s ...

style novel by Ta-Nehisi Coats, the Goose serves as both a water symbol and the geographic location of the fictionalized tobacco farm, Lockless, Virginia.

Tributaries

Tributaries are listed in order from the source of Goose Creek to its mouth. * Mitchell's Branch * Bolling Branch * Gap Run * Panther Skin Creek * Cromwell's Run * Wancopin Creek * North Fork Goose Creek ** Jacks' Run ** Crooked Run ** Beaverdam Creek * Big Branch *

* Tan Branch * Black Branch * Beaver Dam Creek * Sycolin Creek * Tuscarora Creek ** Dry Mill Branch * Cattail Branch

Variant names

According to the

Geographic Names Information System The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is a database of name and locative information about more than two million physical and cultural features throughout the United States and its territories, Antarctica, and the associated states of ...

, Goose Creek has been known by the following names throughout its history: * Cokongoloto * Cokongoloto Anglice * Goes Creek * Goes Flug * Gohongarestaw * Gooscreek * Goose River * Lee's Creek * Tiber River

References

External links

* * {{authority control Rivers of Loudoun County, Virginia Rivers of Fauquier County, Virginia Rivers of Virginia Tributaries of the Potomac River