Riverfront Park, Laurel, Maryland

It all started as an innocent trip to the Patuxent River to throw rock in the water (or to the other bank). Riverfront Park was our destination. We parked at the west end of Main Street, Laurel, and followed a trail down to the river. Everything seemed fine and normal.

Having fun

A bend in the river

The kids even climbed some rocks. That was fun for everyone but the parents. "It's too high" was a complaint that was about to seem insignificant.

Posing on top

Nearby, we spotted some ruins with a helpful information display.

What's that?

A large dam with a mill race was built on the river in 1850. Water was stored and diverted to a cotton mill right next to the river. The original dam was 222 feet across and 27 feet tall. The dam needed lots of repairs through the years and was mostly destroyed in the 1940s. The remains are still there.

One side of the dam

The other side, a lot rougher

With their great curiosity and lack of fear, my two oldest wandered in through the rocks to it check out. 

Thirsty minds

They found the gate to the mill race. The race let the water onto two overshot wheels (the water flows onto the top of the wheel) and a Boyden Turbine. The gate was open to various degrees depending on how much energy the mill needed. The gate is long gone but the gateway is there, letting anyone through.

A passageway for water

Looking from the water side of the dam

Going through was not so stressful for us parents. Going up, on the other hand, did give us the willies. Not that we went up; our kids did.

That really is too high, right?

View from the mill side of the dam

If only that branch wasn't there

Mill race gate from the mill side

We always have fun finding new bits of old history in our neighborhood. We initially had to drag the kids out for this hike but they returned home big fans.