Canal Chronology

• 1785 - Potomac Company chartered
• 1823 - Potomac Company resolved to surrender its charter to a new company
• 1824 - C and O Canal Company chartered
• July 4, 1828 - Ground broken for the C and O Canal
• 1831 - Canal completed up to Seneca (Mile 23 area)
• 1833 - Segment to Harpers Ferry completed (Mile 60 area)
• 1839 - Segment to near Hancock completed (Mile 134)
• 1850 - Canal completed as far as Cumberland. Decision made not to go farther west.
• 1877 - Boatmen's strike and devastating flood
• 1889 - Major devastating flood causing Canal to go into receivership to B abd O Railroad
• 1892 - Canal repaired and was put back into operation
• 1902 - Canal Towage Company established. It tightened canal operations and bought up remaining indepentently-owned boats replacing distinctive names with numbers.
• 1924 - First major flood in 35 years. The ruined Canal closed down permanently.
• 1936 - Biggest recorded flood in Potomac Valley. Bridges at Harpers Ferry and Shepherdstown washed out.
• 1938 - U.S. Government acquired the derelict Canal from the B and O Railroad for $2 million. Historic restoration begun on lower 22 miles.
• 1939 - The Canal was dedicated as a public park.
• 1942 - Another major flood undid restoration work.
• 1950 - Proposal for parkway to Cumberland along Potomac to be constructed issued by assistant Secretary of the Interior.
• January 3, 1954 - Washington Post editorialized in favor of the proposed parkway construction.
• January 19, 1954 - Justice William O. Douglas wrote letter to editor inviting the editor to hike the Canal. The Post wrote in a January 21 editorial, "We Accept."
• March 20, 1954 - Hike began at Lock 72 and finished in D.C. eight days later, with editors conceding that Canal should be preserved.
• January 23, 1962 - President Eisenhower signed a proclamation to establish the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Monument in Maryland (but this did nothing to protect Canal from potential road construction.)
• January 8, 1971 - President Nixon signed an act to establish and develop the C and O Canal National Historical Park, authorizing expansion from about 5,000 acres to over 20,000.
• June 24, 1972 - Hurricane Agnes caused great damage which took years to repair.
• May 17, 1977 - C and O Canal was dedicated to Justice Douglas
• November, 1985 - Another very destructive flood, with repairs taking over a year.
• January 19-20, 1996 - Devastating flood.

Statistics

• General width of canal at towpath level: 50 to 60 feet
• General width at bottom: 30 to 40 feet
• Depth: minimum of 6 feet of water
• Lock size: 15 feet wide, 90 feet long
• Typical boat: 14.5 feet wide, 92 feet long (including rudder which could be moved so boat could fit through lock.)
• Draw: 4.5 feet of water
• Maximum cargo: 135 tons
• Typical cargo: 120 tons of coal