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Visit a section of river between Great Falls and Georgetown...
Great Falls
Claude Moore Colonial Farm
Glen Echo, Md.
Potomac Overlook Regional Park
Little Falls
Chain Bridge
Georgetown, Washington, D.C. |
The Chesapeake & Ohio Canal begins-or ends, depending on how you look at it—in Georgetown. Georgetown is the southern terminus of the canal, where boats loaded with coal and other products of the west ended their journeys. Georgetown still has many sites of its earlier history, when canal boatmen and rivermen lived in hovels near the river. Today, canal boatmen's homes have become restored townhouses.
Georgetown originally was a part of Frederick County, Maryland. In 1781, it was surveyed as part of the county survey. The town was the largest tobacco port in the United States by the end of the 18th century. A large public wharf at the foot of Wisconsin Avenue extended into the Potomac at low tide.
Development in Georgetown during the canal era included the growth of large flour mills and other "grocery" industries. A major change in the town occurred in 1874, when it was given by Maryland to the District of Columbia. Many of the colorful street names were changed. For example, Wapping Street and River St., became Wisconsin Avenue and M Streets.
The busy Port of Georgetown owes much of its success in history to the Potomac and the C&O Canal. By 1851, the canal had led to the development of factories, bakeries, lime kilns, and flour mills. Four locks of the canal in Georgetown supplied water for mill operations. The canal company actually sold water it brought down from Little Falls, a 32-foot "head" that was adequate for many mill operations.
Georgetown businesses were the main customers of canal traffic. Traffic jams of dozens of boats were reported in the early 1870s, the heyday of canal operation. Coal piled up along the waterfront. To relieve the traffic, the canal company built an inclined plane that mechanically lowered boats from the canal to the Potomac. The incline allowed the boats, which weighed up to 120 tons when empty and 240 tons when full, to move quickly to the river where they were towed to the Navy Yard, Alexandria, and points south.
Many of the bridges that were built for the canal were based on designs for other canals. Unfortunately, the bridges that carry traffic over the canal in Georgetown were too low, for all but the most heavily laden boats. Four of the original bridges that were built of masonry in Georgetown were torn down in the 1860s, and replaced with higher wrought iron ones. The only remaining canal bridge of masonry carries Wisconsin Avenue across the canal. It was high enough to allow for larger boats.
The Georgetown, a 90-foot replica of a canal boat, floats up the canal through the historic district. Park employees lead mules along the towpath and describe life on a canal boat during the 19th century. Boat captain, crews, and mule tenders narrate the trips, share stories of the canal days, and sing canal songs. Tickets cost $7.50 for adults, $6.00 for seniors and $4.00 for children ages 2 to 12. The point of departure at the Foundry Mall is located south of M St. in Georgetown between 30th and Thomas Jefferson Streets, N.W.
The Georgetown, Chesapeake & Ohio National Historic Park, National Park Service. Telephone: 202-653-5844.
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