Aquia Creek
The White House was built largely using sandstone quarried from Aquia Creek from 1792 to 1799.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d1/Aquia_Creek_Landing%2C_February_2024.jpg/220px-Aquia_Creek_Landing%2C_February_2024.jpg)
History
The Public Quarry at Government Island in the creek served as the source for Aquia Creek sandstone. This sandstone was used in numerous public buildings; the National Capitol Columns were quarried in the early 1800s, and transported to Washington on a barge. The White House, which began its construction in 1799, was built largely from sandstone material that was quarried from the banks of Aquia Creek from the previous seven years (1792-1799).
In an early American Civil War skirmish, the Battle of Aquia Creek, three Union gunships fired on a battery garrison during the Union campaign to blockade Chesapeake Bay between May and June 1861. There were an estimated ten casualties.