fbpx Skip to main content
Category

Stories

How to Build a Canal: Engineering in the park

By Explore Your Park, Historic Figure, History, Stories

Photo provided by National Park Service

Building a 184.5 mile canal doesn’t just happen in a day; it requires meticulous planning. Engineers played an essential role in designing, planning, and building the park. With over 1,300 historic structures, a variety of engineers and experts were needed to turn George Washington’s dream into a reality. To unlock the transportation potential of the Potomac River, aqueducts, culverts, locks and lockhouses, a canal prism, the towpath, and more were built. Canal engineers were the masterminds behind the construction and maintenance of such structures.

The Vision of C&O Canal Engineers

United by the goal of connecting the Chesapeake Bay to the Ohio River, C&O Canal engineers brought their expertise and experience to complete the decades-long construction of the canal. Chief Engineer Benjamin Wright was recruited by the Chesapeake and Ohio Company after his success with the Erie Canal. Known as the Father of American Engineering, Wright learned much of his craft from his uncle who helped train him in surveying techniques. He designed plans for many of the historic structures we love today, including the Monocacy Aqueduct, before stepping down as Chief Engineer in 1831, paving the way for another C&O engineer.

Tower Lock at Great Falls. Photo provided by National Park Service

Charles Fisk rose to the title of Chief Engineer in 1837, after joining the project as an assistant engineer almost ten years prior. Fisk is the only C&O Canal engineer who served throughout the entire construction of the C&O Canal and was heavily involved with the construction, maintenance, and operations of dams. A Yale graduate, Fisk was dedicated to creating high-quality, durable structures and continued to reside in Washington, D.C., even after the canal’s completion.

Before the C&O Company began their work on the canal, the Patowmack Company focused on building navigable skirting canals on the Potomac River around some of its formidable rapids. However, this system incurred excessive costs that proved unsustainable, leading to its eventual abandonment. The skirt canals also required engineers, including supervisory engineer Captain George Pointer. Captain Pointer was a formerly enslaved person who worked for the Patowmack Company. He participated in the first project survey of the Potomac River and continued to work for the company even after he bought his freedom. After he retired, Captain Pointer spent the rest of his life living near Lock 6.

Georgetown Preservation Projects. Photo by Trust Staff

Continuing the Legacy

Today, many engineers honor the legacy of Captain George Pointer, Charles Fisk, and Benjamin Wright. As the C&O Canal approaches the 200th anniversary of its groundbreaking, it requires increased care to remain a safe and beautiful space to recreate and preserve the history of our region and our country. National Park Service staff are currently working on engineering projects throughout the park, including stabilizing Dam 5, rehabilitating the towpath, stabilizing Log Wall, and multiple Georgetown preservation projects. These projects help protect and preserve the structures that the canal’s first engineers worked so hard to build, engraving their stories in the continued history of the park.

To view current and recently completed projects, visit: https://www.nps.gov/choh/planyourvisit/park-project.htm

Canal Community Story- Emma Horne

By Bike, Canal Community Story, Canal Story, Stories

Celebrate your love for the C&O Canal by sharing your personal story about the Park. Each story will take a look at a person’s relationship with the C&O Canal. Whether an NPS ranger, a volunteer, or a visitor, everyone has a story to tell about the canal! If you want to share your story, fill out the form below, email it to us at [email protected] or post it on your social media feeds with the hashtag #MyCanalStory. We could use your story here on our website!

Tell Us Your Canal Story

Canal Community Story- Mike Felder

By Canal Community Story, Canal For All, Canal Story, Stories, Volunteer

Celebrate your love for the C&O Canal by sharing your personal story about the Park. Each story will take a look at a person’s relationship with the C&O Canal. Whether an NPS ranger, a volunteer, or a visitor, everyone has a story to tell about the canal! If you want to share your story, fill out the form below, email it to us at [email protected] or post it on your social media feeds with the hashtag #MyCanalStory. We could use your story here on our website!

Tell Us Your Canal Story

Canal Community Story- Chris Forth

By Bike, Canal Community Story, Canal Story, Stories

Celebrate your love for the C&O Canal by sharing your personal story about the Park. Each story will take a look at a person’s relationship with the C&O Canal. Whether an NPS ranger, a volunteer, or a visitor, everyone has a story to tell about the canal! If you want to share your story, fill out the form below, email it to us at [email protected] or post it on your social media feeds with the hashtag #MyCanalStory. We could use your story here on our website!

Tell Us Your Canal Story

Women on the C&O Canal

By Blog, Content, History, Stories

To celebrate Women’s History Month we are taking a look at the roles women played on the C&O Canal. Much of the canal’s history focuses on men, but thanks to the late Karen Gray, the C&O Canal National Historical Park’s former volunteer historian, we have this information on the canal’s women. Read More

Surviving Hurricane Agnes at Lockhouse 6

By Canal Quarters, Stories

The threat of Hurricane Florence this past September reminded people across the Mid-Atlantic about past hurricanes that have devastated the area.

Aftermath of Hurricane Agnes at Lock 7 – NPS photo

In June of 1972, Hurricane Agnes came roaring into Maryland. It would go on to cause over $110,000,000 worth of damage in Maryland alone.  Susan S. Garmon was a 17 year-old teenager at the time, living in Lockhouse 6 with her family in the newly-created Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park. This is her story. Read More

#MyCanal – Riding the Towpath: A Natural vs. Man-Made Continuum by Joe Schlag

By Stories

I embarked on my first towpath ride on Saturday, July 29, planning to ride from Georgetown to Cumberland over a week’s time. This was not my first time going long-distance on the towpath, as I participated in the Sierra Club’s 50 mile walk from Washington, D.C. to Harpers Ferry, WV when I was a decade younger. But this was my first time traversing the miles by bike. Read More

Presidents and the C&O Canal

By History, Stories

The C&O Canal is wonderful for many reasons, but one of them is its vast history. With the White House only a 10-minute walk from the Park, various Presidents have enjoyed the Canal and the Potomac River over the years for both its recreational opportunities and tranquility.

Without further ado, let’s take a stroll through history on the Canal with our former Presidents. Read More

Recreation After Restoration: CCC Life Along the Canal

By History, Stories

William Allen lived and worked at Camp NP-2 in Cabin John, and was well known to his fellow enrollees as the “camp jitterbug No. 1” for his dancing all about the camp. In June 1938, the camp welcomed a new batch of enrollees from Baltimore. Not long after that, Allen stopped dancing – those “Baltimore boys” were experienced visitors to jazz clubs, and Allen was essentially shamed into early dancing retirement by his friends. Read More

The CCC and the C&O

By History, Stories

The C&O Canal National Historical Park (NHP) traces its existence as a recreational site to hundreds of young black men. These men, all of whom were out-of-work and between 18 and 25 years old, lived and worked at two camps (Camp NP-1 and Camp NP-2) operated by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), located along the canal near present-day Carderock Recreation Area from 1938-1942. Read More

1850s shop ledger provides peek into C&O Canal history

By History, Stories

The archives of the C&O Canal National Historical Park (NHP) hold a merchant’s ledger (1856-1858) from Williamsport, MD that provides details about everyday life along the canal and insights into park history. The ledger’s more than 260 lined pages provide insight into the foodways, economics, and material culture of people along the canal whose stories have often become invisible to the historical record.

Read More