C&O and B&O Use Picks and Shovels in Great Race

New Canal Vs. New Railroad for Lucrative Shipping Markets in West

Jun 12, 2009

One of the most competitive industrial races in America's history occurred out of public view, on 185 miles of wilderness lining the banks of the Potomac River.

On July 4, 1828, a few miles west of Washington, DC, workers armed with picks and shovels began digging the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal. On the same day, in nearby Baltimore, MD, workers also wielding picks and shovels began laying track for the new Baltimore & Ohio railroad.

The stakes were high and both well-financed combatants were headed for the same place—the rapidly developing markets of the headwaters of the Ohio River Valley. Delivery of coal from western Pennsylvania mines and products to and from other trans-Allegheny cities demanded more dependable transportation than provided by the horse-drawn land vehicles available.

C&O Planned To Become Lifeline to Ohio Valley

The city of Baltimore was also intensely involved. Although its port had a strategic advantage on the eastern seaboard, from being located closer to the Ohio River Valley than other eastern ports, it had suffered a business downturn. Politicians saw western coal markets as the port’s salvation, and backed the railroad route as a hedge that the canal backers might fail.

The huge success of the Erie Canal in New York had caused the slump at the Baltimore port. Completed in 1825, the canal reduced shipping costs to $10/ton, one-tenth that for land transportation, according to NYCANAL.COM.

John Quincy Adams Was Starter for C&O and George Carroll for B&O

The C&O Canal Company obtained rights-of-way from the Potomac Company, founded by ex-President George Washington and associates. They had tried unsuccessfully to make the cascading Potomac River navigable and had no further use for the rights.

In their grand plan, the C&O Canal was to become a lifeline for communities along the Potomac River. Pulled by mules, the 100-ft. canal boats would float coal, lumber, grain and other products upstream and downstream, through locks raising and lowering them 615 feet.

John Quincy Adams, third President of the US, signaled for C&O to begin the race as he scooped out the first ceremonial spade of soil. A few miles away, the B&O boosters countered with George Carroll, last living signer of the Declaration of Independence, to break ground. l

Floods, Labor shortages and Legal Issues Delays Canal 12 Years

The C&O was originally designed to extend 368 miles from Washington, D.C. to the Ohio River headwaters, be completed in 10 years and cost about $4 million. But floods, labor shortages and right-of-way problems slowed construction, sometimes for years at a time.

After 22 years, the canal had only reached Cumberland, MD, the halfway point of 185 miles, and cost $14 million dollars--$10 million over budget. Investors cancelled the rest of the project.

B&O Railroad Won the Race by Six Years

By the time the canal got to Cumberland, the B&O was already there, having arrived in 1842. The Iron Horse had won the race, and began gradually squeezing the C&O out of exporting western coal from Cumberland. The railroad was faster and cheaper.

But after the Civil War, increased coal traffic prolonged competition by the C&O. In 1871, its peak year, the company transported 850,000 tons down the waterway. During those profitable years, more than 500 boats were in operation.

By the late 1870s, however, the canal trade declined, as many of the Allegheny coal operators began to ship entirely by rail. Finally, in 1889 an enormous flood forced the company into receivership, and the B&O emerged as the majority owner of the company's bonds.

Rapid Railway Expansion Ended Canal Era in America

Explosive growth of the railroads in the following years ended the canal era in America. Finally, the government purchased the C&O Canal in 1938, placing it in the National Park Service. Then, after a great public clamor for preserving the memories and scenery of the romantic canal era, in 1971 the government made the waterway a national historic park.

The great race that began amidst much fanfare on Independence Day in 1828, ended less gloriously for the C&O Canal. However, through the efforts of citizen groups and the US Park Service, it has left a glorious legacy, and one that has restored the 185-mile trek to a remarkable resemblance of 19th-century canal technologies and lifestyles.

The entire canal route is the C&O National Historic Park. It winds through some of the most striking scenery and significant places in America’s history, which visitors can explore and experience by hiking, cycling, canoeing, rock climbing and horseback riding.

Might not that grand memorial soothe the aching soul of the old canal boatman, the one described in the final stanza of the song "C&O Canal," by John Sparling.

The copyright of the article C&O and B&O Use Picks and Shovels in Great Race in American History is owned by Howard Bryan Bonham. Permission to republish C&O and B&O Use Picks and Shovels in Great Race in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.