Far from a tropical paradise, Goose Island is a vanishing enigma. It sits in the Potomac River. Goose Island is located in the southwest quadrant of Washington D.C.
Imagine, if you will, a mudflat. This mudflat barely rises above the water’s surface. That is Goose Island. It is more of a geographical footnote than a landmark. Goose Island is at the mouth of Oxon Creek. It lies between Oronoco Bay in Alexandria and Marbury Point. Marbury Point is now part of the Blue Plains water treatment plant.
Goose Island’s story is one of disappearance. It is a rarely above-water landmass. Nautical charts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reveal more. Goose Island is in a shallow area. This area extends south past the Woodrow Wilson Bridge into Maryland. This area serves as a dumping ground for dredging spoils.
The story of the land around Goose Island goes back millennia. Native Americans camped along a tidal creek for thousands of years. This was before Washington D.C. existed. After the city’s establishment in 1790, the creek changed. It became a canal. Later, it was a sewer. The sewer carried the city’s waste into the Potomac River. Areas of open water and low-lying creek banks were filled in during the 19th century. These efforts aimed to maintain navigation on the Potomac River.
Tiber Creek, also known as Goose Creek, once drained about half the downtown area. It emptied into a broad, shallow tidal estuary. The mouth of Tiber Creek was near 17th Street. It measured some 700 to 800 feet wide.
Artifacts found near Goose Island indicate episodic use of the area for at least 7000 years. The Smithsonian Institution holds 147 specimens. These are from a location known as the Monument Grounds archeological site.
Today, Goose Island remains a mostly submerged reminder. It is a reminder of the ever-changing geography of our nation’s capital. It is a testament to the forces of nature and human intervention. Goose Island is a place where the past and present converge.