History of The Grand Old Ditch

     Construction of the Chesapeake and Ohio canal began on Independence Day, July 4, 1828 as President John Quincy Adams turned the first spade of earth during a ceremony at Little Falls, Maryland. Also, that very same day a new company in Baltimore Maryland laid the cornerstone for a new transportation ideal and called it the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. A race for the acquisition of labor and land around the Potomac River would soon begin.
     Potomac Valley was predominantly agricultural and the lack of skilled stone masons lead to the influx of workers from England, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, and Wales who were promised safe passage to America along with housing, food, whiskey and a fair days wages. The B&O Railroad became a serious rival with the C&O canal for both labor and property rights. A court battle for right of way along Point of Rocks, MD caused construction delays before, in January of 1832, the C&O Canal won the land rights needed to continue the canal. During the four year delay, reports of "feuds" between work groups fighting over what little work there was made it necessary for the government to send Federal troops up the canal on a few occasions to settle the unrest. Well-marked gravesites above Little Orleans, MD hold the remains of workers who died from disease within makeshift labor camps or were killed during the worker feuds.
     From the beginning, the canal had its share of problems. Building supplies were scarce and expensive and slate or gravel was predominate above Harper's Ferry which made excavation more time consuming. Despite these difficulties, the construction of the canal continued. Each section was opened as it was completed starting with the Georgetown to Seneca section in 1831. The Canal was completed to Harper's Ferry in 1834, and Hancock in 1839.
     The completion of the Paw Paw Tunnel took almost 11 years due to financial problems and delayed the opening of the last 50.5 miles. In 1850, the canal was completed to Cumberland Maryland 8 years after the B & O Railroad was operating in the Ohio Valley. The final 180 miles to Pittsburgh was never completed. Cost to build the canal was reported at $11,000,000 but repairs made after the occasional river flood and other changes made to the canal design doubled the final cost to $22,000,000.

     Structures built to operate the canal included:

• 74 lift locks which raised the canal from near sea level at Georgetown to an elevation of 605 feet at Cumberland MD;
• 7 dams in the Potomac River to supply water to the canal;
• 11 stone aqueducts which carried the canal over major Potomac tributaries;
• Hundreds of culverts which allowed roads and streams to pass under the canal;
• A number of water bypass trenches that allowed excess water to "spill over" to control the water level in the canal;
• An assortment of lock houses, river locks, stop locks, bridges, and shops;
• The 3118 foot long Paw Paw Tunnel which burrowed the canal under a mountain.

     The average canal boat was 92 feet long and could carry up to 120 tons. The waterway was 40-60 feet wide at the surface and had a depth of about 6 feet. The canal boats were pulled by two mules that walked along a dirt and stone towpath next to the canal. Coal was the usual cargo but corn, wheat and flour were also shipped by canal. Lumber, limestone, sand, and gravel made it's way to Washington DC by canal also. The trip took about eight days and the average day extends from daybreak until dark. Most canal boats were privately owned and operated by families with every member helping.
     In 1938 the C&O Canal was turned over to the U.S. government by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in lieu of a $2 million debt. William O. Douglas, then Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, stopped a proposal during the late 50s that would have turned the canal into an auto scenic parkway. Later in 1961 the C&O Canal was given the status of National Monument and on January 8, 1971, President Richard Nixon signed legislation creating the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park.