A report on Chesapeake and Ohio Canal

Map of planned route.
A boat on the canal, circa 1900-1924
Canal boats waiting to be unloaded in Georgetown.
Low-angle bird's-eye view of central Washington toward the west and northwest with The Capitol in foreground. The Canal is visible running along the mall.
C&O Canal in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
Boat construction yard in Cumberland, MD
Map of Terminus in Cumberland in the mid 1890s. Yellow dots indicate modern highways as well as current (2013) location of Canal basin.
Register of waybills in the Cumberland Office, in 1858. Each canal boat had to have a waybill, even if empty, for passage through the canal. Fines were levied for lack of a waybill.
5 and 10 dollar notes, from C&O Canal company
Floodwaters around Lock 6 in 1936
Great Falls feeder culvert (no longer used) indicated by yellow arrow(14.08 mi), and Lock 18 (R).
Boat at Big Slackwater
An informal overflow. The towpath dips, allowing water to flow over it. Note the boards in the background for people to walk on.
Paw Paw Tunnel
Remains of the inclined plane
Culvert #30 lets Muddy Branch under the canal
Repairs at Big Pool
Mules being fed.
A steamboat on the C&O Canal. Note the steering wheel and the smokestack on this boat
Children tethered to canal boat. This photo was probably taken in one of the Cumberland basins.
Model interior of a C&O Canal freight boat
Recent view of the 9 mile level (between 33 and 34 miles) where the ghosts were reported to haunt.
Monocacy aqueduct in 2011, where the ghost of a robber could allegedly be seen on moonless nights

The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, abbreviated as the C&O Canal and occasionally called the "Grand Old Ditch," operated from 1831 until 1924 along the Potomac River between Washington, D.C., and Cumberland, Maryland.

- Chesapeake and Ohio Canal

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Potomac River

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The Potomac River drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay.

The Potomac River drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay.

The Potomac River in Washington, D.C., with Arlington Memorial Bridge in the foreground and Rosslyn, Arlington, Virginia in the background
Map showing the five geological provinces through which the Potomac River flows
The North Branch between Cumberland, Maryland, and Ridgeley, West Virginia, in 2007
Canoers at Hanging Rocks on the South Branch in the 1890s
Confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah at Harpers Ferry
View southwest across the tidal Potomac River from the south end of Cobb Island Road on Cobb Island, Charles County, Maryland
Captain John Smith's 1608 map
Tundra swans were the predominant species of swan on the Potomac River when the Algonquian tribes dwelled along its shores, and continue to be the most populous variety today.
View of the Potomac River from George Washington's birthplace in Westmoreland County, Virginia
Sunset over the Potomac near Mount Vernon
Map of the Potomac River and its environs circa 1862 by Robert Knox Sneden.
The Potomac River surges over the deck of Chain Bridge during the historic 1936 flood. The bridge was so severely damaged by the raging water, and the debris it carried, that its superstructure had to be re-built; the new bridge was opened to traffic in 1939. (This photograph was taken from a vantage point on Glebe Road in Arlington County, Virginia. The houses on the bluffs in the background are located on the Potomac Palisades of Washington, DC.)
Eutrophication in the Potomac River is evident from this bright green water in Washington, D.C., caused by a dense bloom of cyanobacteria, April 2012
This chart displays the Annual Mean Discharge of the Potomac River measured at Little Falls, Maryland for Water Years 1931–2017 (in cubic feet per second). Source of data: USGS
Map of land use in the watershed
After an absence lasting many decades, the American Shad has recently returned to the Potomac.
Several hundred bottle-nosed dolphins live six months of the year (from mid-April through mid-October) in the Potomac. Depicted here, a mother with her young.
Eastern Box Turtles are frequently spotted along the towpath of the C&O Canal.
Five-lined skink, juvenile
The South Branch near South Branch Depot, West Virginia
Confluence of the Cacapon River (barely visible) with the Potomac
Oblique air photo, facing southwest, of the Potomac River flowing through water gaps in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Virginia on the left, Maryland on the right, West Virginia in upper right, including Harpers Ferry (partially obscured by Maryland Heights of Elk Ridge Mountain) at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers.
Potomac River at Goose Creek
The Great Falls of the Potomac, viewed from the Virginia bank of the river (Engraving based on an aquatint drawn by George Jacob Beck in 1802)
View of the Potomac River, Analostan Island, Georgetown, and, in the distance, buildings of the nascent City of Washington. (Engraving based on an 1801 watercolor by George Jacob Beck)
Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C., viewed from across the Tidal Basin of the Potomac
The Pentagon, looking northeast with the Potomac in the distance
East Branch of the Potomac (now called the Anacostia River) near its confluence with the mainstem Potomac in Washington. (Watercolor drawn in 1839 by Augustus Kollner)
View of the Potomac from Mount Vernon
Potomac River seen while landing at Reagan National Airport
View northeast down the North Branch Potomac River from the Gorman-Gormania Bridge (U.S. Route 50) between Gormania, Grant County, West Virginia and Gorman, Garrett County, Maryland
The North Branch Potomac River near Piedmont, WV
The South Branch Potomac River near South Branch Depot, WV
The South Branch of the Potomac River at Millesons Mill, WV
Potomac River Watershed in West Virginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Maryland

The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal operated along the banks of the Potomac in Maryland from 1831 to 1924 and also connected Cumberland to Washington, D.C. This allowed freight to be transported around the rapids known as the Great Falls of the Potomac River, as well as many other, smaller rapids.

B&O's Columbian crossing the Potomac River at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, 1949

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad

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The first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830.

The first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830.

B&O's Columbian crossing the Potomac River at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, 1949
Cornerstone of the B&O, laid July 4, 1828, by Charles Carroll of Carrollton, now displayed at the B&O Railroad Museum
Carrollton Viaduct
Share of the Baltimore and Ohio Rail-Road Company, issued 26. July 1856; signed by Johns Hopkins as president pro. tem.
Advertisement for the Baltimore and Ohio in an 1864 Baltimore city directory, promoting its repairs and reopening at one point during the war.
Table of Cumberland Coal shipped over B&O Railroad and C&O Canal, 1842–1865
Blockade of engines at Martinsburg, West Virginia, during strike in 1877
1876 B&O map
B&O route map of 1891
B&O headquarters building on North Charles Street in Baltimore
B&O stock certificate, 1903
Replacement of retaining wall of B&O in Hazelwood, Pittsburgh, 1906
B&O roundhouse complex, Martinsburg, West Virginia.
The Ellicott City Station near Baltimore, the oldest passenger station in the U.S., is now a museum devoted the B&O's role in the Civil War.
Scenes of the B&O Railroad. Decorative title page for Ele Bowen, Rambles in the Path of the Steam-Horse, 1855
Twelve and a half cent note issued by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company in 1841.
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad system map, circa 1961

The railroad faced competition from several existing and proposed enterprises, including the Albany-Schenectady Turnpike, built in 1797, the Erie Canal, which opened in 1825, and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal.

Cumberland, Maryland

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U.S. city in and the county seat of Allegany County, Maryland.

U.S. city in and the county seat of Allegany County, Maryland.

Map of Braddock's Military Road
Terminus of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal in Cumberland. Highway bridge is Interstate 68. Canal Place Museum is the brick building behind bridge.
A graph showing the population in Cumberland and Allegany County
Downtown Cumberland, Maryland
C&O Canal at Swain's Lock
Wills Creek
Downtown Cumberland
I-68/US 40 at its southwestern junction with US 220 in Cumberland

It also became an industrial center, served by major roads, railroads, and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, which connected Cumberland to Washington, D.C. and is now a national historical park.

Map of Washington, D.C., with Georgetown highlighted in maroon.

Georgetown (Washington, D.C.)

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Historic neighborhood and commercial and entertainment district located in Northwest Washington, D.C., situated along the Potomac River.

Historic neighborhood and commercial and entertainment district located in Northwest Washington, D.C., situated along the Potomac River.

Map of Washington, D.C., with Georgetown highlighted in maroon.
Oak Hill Cemetery Chapel, designed by James Renwick Jr. in 1850, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Bank on the corner of M Street & Wisconsin Avenue
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal
The Old Stone House, built 1765, is the oldest house in Washington, D.C.
Georgetown around 1862. Overview of the C&O Canal, Aqueduct Bridge at right, and unfinished Capitol dome in the distant background.
Sailing vessels docked at the Georgetown waterfront, c. 1865
Children playing on sidewalk in Georgetown during the Great Depression, Carl Mydans, 1935
The Washington Harbour complex located on the Potomac River. Healy Hall is visible in the background.
Shops along Wisconsin Avenue
Hyde-Addison School
Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School
Healy Hall at Georgetown University.
Francis Scott Key Bridge across the Potomac River, connecting Georgetown to Rosslyn, Virginia
The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal passes through Georgetown.
Enlargeable diagram of Washington area trolley lines:
Orange = Washington, Arlington & Mount Vernon Electric Railway.
Blue = Washington, Arlington & Falls Church Railway (WA&FC).
Yellow = Nauck (Fort Myer) line of WA&FC.
Light green = W&OD Bluemont Division.
Dark green = W&OD Great Falls Division.
The "Exorcist steps"

Construction of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal began in July 1828, to link Georgetown to Harper's Ferry, Virginia (West Virginia after 1863).

Erie Canal

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Historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie.

Historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie.

Erie Canal map c. 1840
Aqueduct over the Mohawk River at Rexford, one of 32 navigable aqueducts on the Erie Canal
The Mohawk Valley, running east and west, cuts a natural pathway (water gap) between the Catskill Mountains to the south and the Adirondack Mountains to the north.
Profile of the original canal
Operations at Lockport, New York, in 1839
Stonework of lock abandoned because of route change, at Durhamville, New York
An original five-step lock structure crossing the Niagara Escarpment at Lockport, now without gates and used as a cascade for excess water
Erie Canal lock in Lockport, New York
1853 map of New York canals emboldened, center: the Erie Canal; other lines: railroads, rivers and county borders
Lithograph of the Erie Canal at Lockport, New York c. 1855. Published for Herrman J. Meyer, 164 William Street, New York City.
Aqueduct over Nine Mile Creek north of Camillus, New York, built in 1841 and abandoned c. 1918; one of 32 navigable aqueducts on the Erie Canal, it has since been restored.
Upstream view of the downstream lock at Lock 32, Pittsford, New York
Map of the "Water Level Routes" of the New York Central Railroad (purple), West Shore Railroad (red) and Erie Canal (blue)
Rochester, New York, aqueduct c. 1890
Two "low" lift bridges in Lockport, New York, July 2010
The modern Erie Canal has 34 locks, which are painted with the blue and gold colors of the New York State Canal System.
Gateway Harbor in North Tonawanda, about 1000 ft from the present-day western terminus of the Erie Canal where it connects to the Niagara River
The Old Erie Canal and its towpath at Kirkville, New York, within Old Erie Canal State Historic Park
Buffalo's Erie Canal Commercial Slip in Spring 2008
Erie Canal Lock 18, Cohoes, New York
Old Erie Canal State Historic Park, DeWitt, New York
The modern single lock at the Niagara Escarpment

In time, projects were devised in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and relatively deep into the coastal states.

Patowmack Canal

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Series of five inoperative canals located in Maryland and Virginia, United States, that was designed to bypass rapids in the Potomac River upstream of the present Washington, D.C., area.

Series of five inoperative canals located in Maryland and Virginia, United States, that was designed to bypass rapids in the Potomac River upstream of the present Washington, D.C., area.

Lock 1 of the Patowmack Canal. Rounded pebbles and sand fill lock for stabilization. The lock is a total of 18 feet (5 m) deep.
Logo for the Patowmack Company (1785 - 1828), which built the Patowmack Canal.
The Little Falls canal was reused for the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. Here is part of it.
Lock 2 of the Patowmack Canal
Remains of House Falls / Long Canal / C&O Canal

This canal was later repurposed for the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal (C&O), partially as Feeder #1, and as the canal itself from Lock 5 to just before Fletcher's Boat House.

First Aqueduct Bridge between 1860 and 1865

Aqueduct Bridge (Potomac River)

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Bridge between Georgetown, Washington, D.C., and Rosslyn, Virginia.

Bridge between Georgetown, Washington, D.C., and Rosslyn, Virginia.

First Aqueduct Bridge between 1860 and 1865
First Aqueduct Bridge after addition of superstructure and roadway. Note the Howe trusses and arches added for strength.
View of the Potomac Aqueduct Bridge from Georgetown into Rosslyn, Virginia
Aqueduct Bridge from Georgetown, ca. 1900
Second Aqueduct Bridge, some time between 1924 and 1933.
Side view of second Aqueduct Bridge abutment, with Water Street and Whitehurst Freeway visible through the arch.
Canal bridge
Photograph of first bridge with new superstructure
Close-up photo of first bridge with new superstructure
Downstream view (towards Roosevelt Island) of second bridge
View of second bridge from Virginia towards Georgetown
Side view of second bridge abutment, before enlargement to allow the Georgetown Branch to pass beneath
Aqueduct Bridge's Georgetown abutment and piers in Potomac river upstream of Key Bridge (c. 1940)
Second bridge's Georgetown abutment and Potomac Boat Club (1967)
Aqueduct Bridge pier, from Virginia shore upstream of Key Bridge (1967)
Pier and remnant of Virginia abutment of Aqueduct Bridge upstream of Key Bridge (1967)
Aerial view of Key Bridge and George Washington Memorial Parkway, with pier of Aqueduct Bridge visible in the foreground and remnant of Aqueduct Bridge abutment visible on the Virginia shoreline (c. 1990)
Pier and remnant of Virginia abutment of the Aqueduct Bridge upstream of Key Bridge (2005)
Georgetown abutment and pier of Aqueduct Bridge, seen from the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal towpath (2013)
Aqueduct Bridge remnants seen from below (2022)

It was built to transport cargo-carrying boats on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal in Georgetown across the Potomac River to the Alexandria Canal.

The Alter Strom, in the sea resort of Warnemünde, Germany.

Canal

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Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi).

Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi).

The Alter Strom, in the sea resort of Warnemünde, Germany.
The Royal Canal in Ireland.
Small boat canals such as the Basingstoke Canal fuelled the industrial revolution in much of Europe and the United States.
Bridge on the Naviglio Grande, in the town of Cassinetta di Lugagnano, in Italy
Canal in Broek in Waterland, Netherlands.
Canal in Venice.
Saimaa Canal, a transportation canal between Finland and Russia, in Lappeenranta
Westbury Court Garden: the garden "Canal".
Loading Anthracite on the Lehigh Canal to feed the early United States industries in the pioneer-era.
1. Design High Water Level (HWL)
  2. Low water channel
    3. Flood channel
    4. Riverside slope
    5. Riverside banquette
    6. Levee crown
    7. Landside slope
    8. Landside banquette
    9. Berm
   10. Low water revetment
   11. Riverside land
   12. Levee
   13. Protected lowland
   14. River zone
The Danube-Black Sea Canal in Romania
The Amsterdam-Rhine Canal near Rijswijk, Netherlands
Canal de Castilla in Castile and León, Spain, is 207 km long, crossing 38 municipalities. Initially built to transport wheat, it is now used for irrigation.
Canal in Sète, France.
The Grand Canal of China at Suzhou.
Thal Canal, Punjab, Pakistan.
Dutch canal in Negombo, Sri Lanka.
Lowell's power canal system.
Bridgewater Canal in England
Erie Canal, Lockport, New York, c. 1855
Aqueduct over the Mohawk River at Rexford, New York, one of 32 navigable aqueducts on the Erie Canal.
Sluice in the canal of Gabčíkovo Dam (Slovakia) – the canal is conveying water to a hydroelectric power station.
American canals circa 1825.
A family rides a boat in one of the canals of Amsterdam.
A proposal for the Nicaragua Canal, from around 1870.
Abandoned DeLessups equipment, Panama jungle
Canals can disrupt water circulation in marsh systems.
A canal (Gracht) in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Griboyedov Canal in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Aerial view of the man-made canals of the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.
Wharfs along the Oudegracht in Utrecht, Netherlands.
Canal of La Peyrade in Sète, France.
Two Panamax ships in the Miraflores Locks on the Panama Canal, Panama.
alt=A series of approximately 20 black lock gates with white ends to the paddle arms and wooden railings, each slightly higher than the one below. On the right is a path and on both side's grass and vegetation.|The flight of 16 consecutive locks at Caen Hill on the Kennet and Avon Canal, Wiltshire.
A canal boat traverses the longest and highest aqueduct in the UK, at Pontcysyllte in Denbighshire, Wales.
The Corinth Canal seen from the air.
Miami and Erie Canal Lock in Ohio, United States

When a stream is too difficult to modify with canalization, a second stream can be created next to or at least near the existing stream. This is called a lateral canal, and may meander in a large horseshoe bend or series of curves some distance from the source waters stream bed lengthening the effective length in order to lower the ratio of rise over run (slope or pitch). The existing stream usually acts as the water source and the landscape around its banks provide a path for the new body. Examples include the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, Canal latéral à la Loire, Garonne Lateral Canal, Welland Canal and Juliana Canal.

Pittsburgh

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City in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County.

City in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County.

Fort Pitt Blockhouse, built by the British in 1764, is the oldest extant structure in Pittsburgh.
Monongahela River scene, 1857
Downtown facade memorializing Pittsburgh's industrial heritage with an image of legendary steelworker Joe Magarac
Pittsburgh in 1874, by Otto Krebs
Burning of Union Depot, Pittsburgh, during the Pittsburgh railroad strike of 1877
Pittsburgh in 1903
Downtown Pittsburgh and the Duquesne Incline from Mt. Washington
Pittsburgh's 90 distinct neighborhoods
Downtown Pittsburgh from Station Square
The Carnegie Library, Museums of Art and Natural History (foreground), Carnegie Mellon University (background)
The North Side
Bird's-eye view of Pittsburgh, 1902
The Shadyside neighborhood
Panorama of Pittsburgh, PA from the Duquesne Incline which shows the confluence of the Allegheny (left) and the Monongahela (right) rivers which merge to form the Ohio River (lower left)
ALCOSAN Treatment Plant
Map of racial distribution in Pittsburgh, 2010 U.S. census. Each dot is 25 people:
Phipps Conservatory
Benedum Center
Pittsburgh from the West End Overlook
PNC Park, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates
Heinz Field, home of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Pittsburgh Panthers (football)
Petersen Events Center, home of Pittsburgh Panthers basketball
Palumbo Center, home of Duquesne Dukes basketball
Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix
The Pittsburgh City-County Building, the seat of government of the City of Pittsburgh.
2020 Presidential Election by Precinct Biden:     Trump:
A Ford Taurus and a Chevrolet Impala belonging to the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police
The University of Pittsburgh
Carnegie Mellon University
KDKA studios at Gateway Center
UPMC's flagship, UPMC Presbyterian
Allegheny General, the flagship of the Allegheny Health Network
Pittsburgh's numerous bridges visible from the air
I-279
The Steel Plaza subway station
Penn Station was built in 1903

The Great Allegheny Passage and Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Towpath connect the city directly to downtown Washington, D.C. (some 335 mi away) with a continuous bike/running trail.

Key Bridge (Washington, D.C.)

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Six-lane reinforced concrete arch bridge conveying U.S. Route 29 traffic across the Potomac River between the Rosslyn neighborhood of Arlington County, Virginia, and the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Completed in 1923, it is Washington's oldest surviving road bridge across the Potomac River.

Six-lane reinforced concrete arch bridge conveying U.S. Route 29 traffic across the Potomac River between the Rosslyn neighborhood of Arlington County, Virginia, and the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Completed in 1923, it is Washington's oldest surviving road bridge across the Potomac River.

Key Bridge under construction, c. 1920
The Key Bridge Marriott in Rosslyn, the company's oldest hotel, and a minor location in the Watergate scandal (2009)
Southern terminus of Key Bridge and remaining pier and abutment of Aqueduct Bridge (2005)
View of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, US 29, over the Potomac River from Georgetown
Key Bridge (Washington DC) Looking West
Key Bridge (Washington DC)
Key Bridge (Washington DC)
Boats docked beside the Key Bridge in Georgetown

The first Aqueduct Bridge was built in 1830 to carry the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal across the Potomac to connect with the Alexandria Canal on the Virginia shore.