The calm, narrow Potomac River made this an ideal ferry crossing, and in 1791 Edwards Ferry began operating here, linking Maryland farmers with the Goose Creek Canal in Virginia and the markets of Leesburg. Although the ferry closed in 1836, the community that had grown around it endured and kept the name Edwards Ferry. In time, the community included a general store, a warehouse, and 36 residents, and with the arrival of the C&O Canal the small village prospered as commerce increased. During the Civil War, Edwards Ferry connected Union Maryland with Confederate Virginia, and throughout the war many troops and supplies from both sides crossed the river here. Jarboe’s Store, a general store and post office run by Eugene E. Jarboe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, remained here until flood damage in 1996 forced the National Park Service to partially tear down the unstable structure.