In 2015 forty members of George Pointer’s descendants held a family reunion. It was organized by James Fisher, an 8th generation descendant of the Pointers, and his partner Tanya Hardy; it was held on the grounds where his ancestors had owned a farm for almost 80 years. That land had become a park for the Lafayette Elementary School in Chevy Chase, DC. Two years later the Mayor of Washington and city council officially renamed the park Lafayette-Pointer Park after their famous ancestor. The Historic Chevy Chase DC community has also established a series of webinars to explore the history and legacy of the Pointer and Harris families.
The National Park Service has also formally recognized the role that George Pointer played in the building of the Potomac Canal, which was the predecessor of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal today. James and Tanya have also worked with the NPS at Great Falls in the planning for George Pointer’s 250th anniversary in October 2023.
The place where the Pointers’ cottage was for more than 40 years looks much the same as it did when they lived there. Lock 6 of the C&O Canal still floods periodically and has to be cleaned out. But long ago the railroads in the 19th century made the canals obsolete so that the only boats on the Potomac now are kayaks. The sycamore trees, eagles and woodpeckers are the same, however, as is the sound of the river flowing over the Little Falls near the Pointers’ cottage.