|
 |
 |
C-5 • The Conococheague
Aqueduct | 1834
In Williamsport, at the foot of West Potomac Street, West of Route 63
Eleven aqueducts built from Georgetown to Cumberland, carried The C&O Canal over streams and rivers. In 1923 Captain Fred Meyers’ mule-drawn canal boat collided with the upstream wall, which collapsed! Captain Fred jumped to safety. But it was the beginning of the end for not only the aqueduct, but the entire C&O Canal. Having survived fierce artillery bombardment by Confederate artillery and Capt. Meyers’ accident, the battered, patched-up aqueduct and the entire canal were finally shut down by the Great Potomac Flood of 1924. Williamsport was seriously considered by George Washington as our new nation’s capital. Today, this site is maintained by the National Park Service, and is easily accessible by car, with ample parking, picnic areas, and well marked and maintained trails along the C&O Canal. Plaques and signs point out the site’s importance in our history for visitors of all ages.
|
|
 |
|
|
|
