The Chesapeake & Ohio Canal (C & O Canal) broke ground in 1828 when President John Quincy Adams ceremoniously dug the first shovelful of dirt. The canal’s hopes as an important trade route were dashed when railroads made the canal era obsolete. By 1961, the C & O was proclaimed a national monument by President Dwight Eisenhower. Soon, visitors can ride the canal in a historic replica canal boat through Georgetown’s C & O Canal after the completion of its renovation. The Georgetown Canal Plan will surround a one-mile section of the restored canal with a sustainable urban park.
Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, 1057 Thomas Jefferson Street, NW, Washington, DC, Phone: 202-653-5190
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