Abandoned Maryland: the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal

[xzmattzx]

The Chesapeake & Ohio Canal is a canal that begins in Georgetown in Washington DC and travels westward to Cumberland, Maryland. The canal was begun on July 4, 1828, on the same day that the Balitmore & Ohio Railroad, the first railroad in the United States, was begun. From the first day, the race between the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal and the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad to reach the Ohio Valley was underway. The area at Harpers Ferry was the first major milestone, and the canal reached Maryland Heights, the area across the Potomac River from Harpers Ferry, Virginia, first. After Harpers Ferry, though the railroad had an easier time securing land rights, and continued westward to Cumberland, Maryland, while the canal fell behind the railroad. The Chesapeake & Ohio Canal could not find skilled labor or building supplies, and so it took until 1850 to reach Cumberland, which was 8 years after the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad had reached Cumberland. The canal was obsolete due to the B & O Railroad and railroad technology in general by the time it reached Cumberland, and so plans to continue westward from Cumberland were abandoned. The canal was used to transport coal and other goods along the Potomac to Washington. The canal was used until 1924, when flooding of the Potomac River ruined the canal. The canal was buoght by the Federal government in 1938 from the Baltmore & Ohio Railroad to be restored and used as a recreation area. In 1971, the canal was designated a National Historic Landmark.

Lock 33 is the lock located at Maryland Heights, across the Potomac River from Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. Here, a notch in the mountains where the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers converged marked a major milestone in the westward expansion of transportation. Lock 33 was built in 1833, and the competing railroad reached the same point by 1834.


The canal, with old pillars from a former bridge, before the nearby tunnel was dug, in the foreground.



Looking at a section of the canal below Lock 33 from under the Pratt truss bridge that was built in 1893 for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad's Valley line.



On the cliffside above Lock 33 is an old advertisement for Mennen's Borated Talcum Toilet Powder. The advertisement was painted at around 1903.



Looking east along the towpath at the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal and the Potomac River from below Lock 33. The revetment wall is in the center, and the retaining wall is on the left.



Looking under the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad's deck plater bridge at Lock 33.



Lock 33. The tunnel in the center is the bypass flume, which was connected to the loading wharf.



Looking into Lock 33.



Lock walls.



The old building on Sandy Hook Road along the canal was the Elgin House, or sometimes known as Spencer's Store.



The location of the upstream gate for Lock 33.



Looking west up the canal at the canal bed. The retaining wall is on the right.



The flint and granite blocks of Lock 33.

[bma83]

What a beautiful area!

[MDguy]

The Waterway may be abandoned but the trail isn't! I love it

[Rick S]

wow...reminds me of the MORRIS CANAL that crossed New Jersey back in the day. Check it out:

http://www.roxburynewjersey.com/canal.htm

[Chadoh25]

Wow, very cool!