Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National
Historical Park
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical
Park
IUCN Category V (Protected Landscape/Seascape)
Location
extending from Cumberland, MD to
Georgetown, Washington, DC, USA
Nearest
city
Washington, D.C.Nearest city:
Washington, D.C.
Area
19,586 acres (79.26 km²)
Established September 23, 1938 Established:
September 23, 1938
Visitors
3,000,005 (in 2005)
Governing
body
National Park Service
The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Na-
tional Historical Park is a United States
National Historical Park located in the Dis-
trict of Columbia and the states of Maryland
and West Virginia. The park was established
as a National Monument in 1961 by Presid-
ent Dwight D. Eisenhower
in order to
preserve the neglected remains of the Ches-
apeake and Ohio Canal along the Potomac
River along with many of the original canal
structures. The canal and towpath trail ex-
tends from Georgetown, Washington, D.C. to
Cumberland, Maryland, a distance of 184.5
miles (296.9 km).
The Chesapeake and
Ohio Canal
Construction on the Chesapeake and Ohio
Canal (also known as "the Grand Old Ditch"
or the "C&O Canal") began in 1828 but was
not completed until 1850. Even then, the
canal fell far short of its intended destination
of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Instead,
the
canal terminated at Cumberland, Maryland
for a total distance of approximately 184.5
miles (295.2 km). The canal was already con-
sidered obsolete by the time it was com-
pleted because a railroad line had arrived in
Cumberland eight years before the canal was
finally finished. The C&O Canal operated
from 1836 to 1924 and served primarily as a
means to transport coal from the Allegheny
Mountains to Washington D.C. The canal was
closed in 1924 in part due to several severe
floods that had a devastating impact on the
financial condition of the canal.
Creation of the national
park
The abandoned canal was purchased in 1938
by the United States Government and placed
under the care of the National Park Service,
which planned to restore it as a recreat