Abner Cloud had this house built in the year 1801. If you look up, on the chimney, you can see the initials "A.C." and the date 1801. Abner Cloud lived here with his family until he died in 1812. His widow lived another 40 years.
The Appalachian Forest National Heritage Area (AFNHA) works to conserve, enhance, interpret, and promote a regional network of forest heritage resources in the central Appalachian Highlands. Designated a National Heritage Area in 2019, AFNHA covers sixteen counties in West Virginia and two counties in western Maryland.
One of the most well-known hikes in the United States, this trail runs through Harpers Ferry and visitors can hike a portion of it! This sign at The Point can help direct guests and get them started on this famous trail.
Located in Sharpsburg, Maryland, with a view toward Shepherdstown, West Virginia, Ferry Hill has stood for two centuries above the Potomac River and the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, participating in and watching history pass by. Ferry Hill is best known as the home of Henry Kyd Douglas, Confederate Officer and author of his Civil War personal account, "I Rode With Stonewall."
To alleviate traffic congestion on the C&O Canal, the Incline Plane allowed coal boats to be transported down to the Potomac River by means of a system of caissons, pulleys, steel cables and counterweights. After an accident in 1877 in which three men were killed, the caissons were drained of water before the boats descended. In 1878, 1,918 trips were recorded on the Incline Plane. Also in that year, a model of the Incline Plane was exhibited at the World's Fair in Paris. Aft
Inlet lock 1 is where water is diverted from the Potomac River into the five miles of the Georgetown section of the C&O Canal. Eight dams at various points along the canal allowed water to flow into the eight sections. If one of the eight sections were damaged, the canal company could close just one section to affect repairs - they did not have to shut down the whole canal!
This is one of series of intakes that provided water to help power the mills in this area including a flour and a paper mill. Providing water to the mills was another form of income for the canal company. At least one intake was in used until the 1960's.
This is one of series of intakes that provided water to help power the mills in this area including a flour and a paper mill. <br /><br />Thees are ruins of two dual intakes for the Wilkins Rogers Milling Company water intake ruins are located on river (Fishmarket Square) side of the canal. When operational, each intake consisted of two intake openings stacked directly on top of each other. They supplied the former mill to the south with surplus canal water from 1839 to 1960. <br />
The very first lock on the C&O Canal. Locks are like elevators and allow boats to move up in elevation. By closing and opening the lock gates in the right order, one can fill or empty the lock chamber. This will raise or lower the boat.Seventy-three more locks over the next 183 miles lead into Cumberland, Maryland in the Allegheny Mountains. Today, visitors can still travel the towpath, tracing the same route as mules and canal boats more than 100 years ago.From the shore of
Can you find the words "TE AMO" ("I love you" in Latin and Spanish) on the capstones of Lock 2? They were chiseled by an unknown mason for an unknown reason. Chances are, he was unable to finish the inscription - witness the letters PA in the lower left hand corner. What was the rest of that word to be? The rest of the inscription? Do you wonder what he intended to say?If you look down into the lock chamber, you can still see the original timber foundation from construction
Like all the lift locks on the canal, canal boats could be raised for an upstream journey or lowered for a downstream journey by opening and closing the lock doors in the correct sequence. Lift Lock 3 was restored in 2016-2019. The lock was fully disassembled, the original wood foundation removed and replaced with a re-enforced concrete foundation, and the lock rebuilt using as much of the original stone as possible.
Along the 184.5 miles of the canal are 74 lift locks. These locks were put into place to help boats overcome the 605-foot elevation change between Georgetown and Cumberland. The C&O Canal is like a staircase, canal boats traveled along the flat sections and used the locks to take a “step up or down” about eight feet. The locks typically had hand-operated miter gates that were simple and followed Leonardo da Vinci’s original 1485 design.
