About the C&O Canal Trust
The C&O Canal Trust was founded in 2007 as the official philanthropic partner to the Chesapeake & Ohio (C&O) Canal National Historical Park. The Trust serves as a bridge between the National Park Service (NPS) and a vibrant community of individuals and partners who raise funds to preserve and protect the C&O Canal.
Excerpt: The Trust’s sole mission is working in partnership with the National Park Service to protect, restore, and promote the park, and to assist the National Park Service in ensuring that the park’s natural, cultural, historic, and recreational qualities are enjoyed by current and future generations.
The C&O Canal Trust works in partnership with the National Park Service and local communities to raise funds to preserve the park for future generations and to broaden support through programs that highlight the park’s historical, natural, and cultural heritage and recreational opportunities.
The C&O Canal Trust is the highly visible, well-respected nonprofit leader of the C&O Canal community, linking private citizens, organizations, and state and local governments with the C&O Canal National Historical Park. With the engagement of stakeholders, we see a safe and well-preserved park, its iconic towpath running uninterrupted for 184.5 miles through diverse landscapes and populations, supported by the communities it touches, and connecting, now and into the future, all who embrace the idea of the C&O Canal as “My Canal”.
The Trust’s guiding principles represent core values that govern our strategy, actions, and impact. They shape our culture, partnerships, and decisions, and are reflected in our enduring commitment to preserving, protecting, and restoring the C&O Canal National Historical Park in strong partnership with the National Park Service.
We provide the highest standard of support to our park partner as we work with the National Park Service towards a shared vision for the preservation and enhancement of the natural and historic character of the C&O Canal.
We welcome the broad range of geographic, demographic, and economic backgrounds of our canal community, seeking as far as possible to meet and engage stakeholders “where they are.”
We thoughtfully steward our philanthropic, volunteer, and other resources to engage in projects and programs that will have the greatest positive impact on the park both today and into the future.
We maintain an organization that is efficient, innovative, transparent, and trustworthy.
Purpose: To preserve and interpret the 19th-century transportation canal from Washington, D.C., to Cumberland, Maryland, and its associated scenic, natural, and cultural resources, and to provide opportunities for education and appropriate outdoor recreation.
The C&O Canal National Historical Park is a nationally significant landmark that enriches the District of Columbia, the State of Maryland, and the surrounding region. This continuous 184.5-mile park serves as a vital cultural, historical, and natural resource for roughly 5 million visitors each year.
The C&O Canal began as a dream of passage to western wealth. Operating for nearly 100 years, the canal was a lifeline for communities along the Potomac River as coal, lumber, and agricultural products floated down the waterway to market. Today, nearly two centuries after its groundbreaking, the C&O Canal’s legacy continues as a national historical park, each year ranking among our nation’s most-visited national parks out of over 430 units in the National Park System. While visitors traverse trails, marvel at locals, and admire the beautiful scenery, they also breathe life into nearby communities, sparking economic growth and vitality. Fueled by investment through the NPS and the invaluable contributions of our canal community, the C&O Canal endures as a vital economic cornerstone in our region.
Top image by Charles Kim