Busy final 12 miles. Many trail users including a formal running race. Did see about 15 Double-crested Cormorants.
Mile Marker 2.3
Incline Plane
The Incline Plane was built in 1876 as a way to combat early traffic issues during the heyday of the canal. It lowered boats directly into the Potomac River to avoid boat traffic in Georgetown and delays there. Prior to that, some frustrated boat captains were having to wait two days to get into Georgetown from two miles away because of boat traffic. Since Georgetown was not the final destination for every boat and many just needed to go through Georgetown to access the Potomac River at the tide lock, the incline plane was created to enable boats to bypass Georgetown. A river lock wouldn’t work because the location where the backup occurred was more than 39 feet above the river at low tide. The Potomac Lock and Dock Company proposed the incline plane, which was a caisson into which a boat would float. The boat, encased in the caisson, traveled on the rails of the incline plane from the canal and descended into the river. It was balanced by two counterweights and powered by a turbine supplied with waterpower from the canal. This engineering marvel was the largest of its kind in the world. Unfortunately, it soon became non-essential as transportation on the canal dramatically declined in the following decade. The incline plane was seriously damaged during a flood in 1889 and was never put back into service. Today you can barely make out the incline straight up from the wayside exhibit along the canal. (Source: www.canaltrust.org)
Mile Marker 1.0
Alexandria Aqueduct
One lone pier, the remainder of the north abutment above the Key Bridge, is all that stands of the once magnificent Alexandria Aqueduct. Also known as the Potomac Aqueduct, it was built between 1833 and 1843, and stood as a technological marvel of early 19th century engineering. Its purpose was to connect the C&O Canal to Alexandria via a seven-mile-long canal for trade and commerce. When the Civil War began, the federal government seized the aqueduct, drained the water, and converted it into a roadway to transport troops and supplies. After the war, it was converted back into an aqueduct with a toll bridge above. By the 1880s, the aqueduct was no longer in use. The wooden aqueduct was removed, and it was replaced with a steel truss structure that could carry heavier traffic to Virginia. When the Francis Scott Key Bridge was finished in 1923, the aqueduct was abandoned. (Source: www.canaltrust.org)
Mile marker 0.4
Douglas Bust
Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas played an integral part in saving the canal from being turned into a parkway during the 1950s. His love for the canal led him to challenge editors from The Washington Post to hike the entire 184.5 miles of towpath with him to see why the space should be left untouched. His efforts provided a focal point for media attention and intensified the efforts of conservation groups who sought to preserve the canal. Thanks to his efforts, the National Park Service abandoned the parkway idea. (Source: www.canaltrust.org)
Mile marker 0.0
Georgetown
Georgetown is situated on the Fall Line and was the farthest point upstream that oceangoing boats could navigate the Potomac River. Established in 1751 as a tobacco port town, Georgetown is where the C&O Canal begins. The creation of the C&O Canal provided an economic boost to the area. Transportation of goods such as tobacco, sugar, and molasses from the West Indies, as well as salt from Europe, passed through Georgetown. These shipping industries were later replaced by coal and flour industries, until they declined in the late 19th century. A flood in 1890, coupled with the expansion of the railroads, brought destitution to the canal, and Georgetown’s waterfront became more industrialized. The shipping trade vanished from Georgetown between the Civil War and World War I. In 1967 the Georgetown Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. (Source: www.canaltrust.org)
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