1830s: C&O Canal versus the B&O Railroad

This photograph of the Point of Rocks railroad tunnel exemplifies why the fight between the railroad and the canal took place.

NPS / Canal Trust Photo

The competition between the Chesapeake & Ohio (C&O) Canal and the Baltimore & Ohio (B&O) Railroad intensified when the two companies clashed over the narrow right-of-way where the Potomac River cuts through a mountain ridge at Point of Rocks in Frederick County, Maryland. The C&O Canal Company believed they owned the narrow strip due to their predecessor, the Potowmack Company, who had owned the land. Whereas the B&O Railroad disagreed and fought hard for the land, leading the dispute to court in 1828. It took four years for the court to decide in the Canal Company's favor.

Although the C&O Canal Company won the court battle, the two companies were able come to an agreement because the canal company needed money. Both companies were able to squeeze a canal and railroad onto this narrow strip, but things were still too tight on the narrow strip of land. This prompted the B&O Railroad to blast a tunnel through the hill next to the canal. Both companies operated side by side until the canal closed in 1924.

Due to financial overruns, a cholera epidemic, and construction obstacles, building the C&O Canal from Georgetown in Washington, DC to Cumberland, Maryland, a distance of 184.5 miles, took a total of 22 years to complete. Whereas the railroad reached Cumberland a full eight years before the canal and continued building west with great speed.

 

Action Challenge:

Plan a trip to visit the C&O Canal at Point of Rocks and check out the magnificent tunnel that the B&O Railroad created through the mountain.
View the narrow path between the canal and mountain as you ponder:

• Could there have been a better solution than blasting through the mountain?

Share your experiences, thoughts and feelings when visiting this place of competition on social media, using #FindYourPark, #candocanal and tag us @COcanalNPS.

 

References

C&O Canal versus the B&O Railroad. (n.d.). Retrieved from Canal Trust: https://www.canaltrust.org/about-us/about-the-co-canal/history/canal-history-co-canal-vs-bo-railroad/

Canal History: Canal Era from the 1830s-1870s. (n.d.). Retrieved from Canal Trust: https://www.canaltrust.org/about-us/about-the-co-canal/history/canal-history-canal-era-from-the-1830s-1870s/

Lisa, R. (2014, September 4). Point of Rocks: Canal and Railroad Clash. Retrieved from Canal Trust: https://www.canaltrust.org/discoveryarea/point-of-rocks/