They could get to Little Falls in Washington, DC, before they would have
to portage.  The next obstacle is Great  Falls, just north of DC.  

Check out the C&O Canal.  It started operating in 1831, so it wasn't an
option for you ancestors, but it has information on the height difference
(605 ft) and 74 locks to Cumberland, MD.  So, there would be at least 74
portages.

Google it, or here's the wikipedia entry.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%26O_Canal

Sue

On Sun, 26 Aug 2012 15:26:31 -0600 CLAUDE RICHARDS <[log in to unmask]>
writes:
> I am working on a theory that my ancestral family may have "sailed" 
> up the Potomac and gone overland to the Monongahela River and then 
> down the Ohio.  This would have been about 1784-1792.
> 
> Can someone tell me (during that time period):
> 1.     how far up the Potomac they could have gotten before having 
> to go overland?
> 2.     how far up the Monongahela they could have put in to the 
> water?  
> 3.     where I might get further information on this?
> 
> They owned next to nothing so a boat could have been small.
> 
> Thanks for your help.
> 
> Claude Richards
>  
> "Government is not reason. It is not eloquence. Government is force; 
> like fire it is a dangerous servant -- and a fearful master.” 
> 
> —George Washington
> 
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