Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park - The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal

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 for a total distance of approximately 184.5 miles. The canal was already considered obsolete by the time it was completed because a railroad line had arrived in Cumberland eight years before the canal was finally finished. The C&O Canal operated from 1831 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.