History of Places Along the GAP and C&O
The Point (Pittsburgh) - GAP Mile 149
Fort Pitt Block House (The Point, Pittsburgh) - GAP Mile 149
Fort Pitt Block House (The Point, Pittsburgh) - GAP Mile 149
Point State Park is where the Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers converge to form the Ohio - Pittsburgh's "Three Rivers." This was a strategic location for both the French and the British in the 1700's. Continue Reading
Fort Pitt Block House (The Point, Pittsburgh) - GAP Mile 149
Fort Pitt Block House (The Point, Pittsburgh) - GAP Mile 149
Fort Pitt Block House (The Point, Pittsburgh) - GAP Mile 149
If you’re starting or finishing a GAP trip at The Point in Pittsburgh, be sure to check out the Fort Pitt Block House. Built in 1764, it’s the oldest structure in all of Western Pennsylvania. Continue Reading
George Washington's First C&O/GAP Trip - Fort LeBoeuf, 1753
Fort Pitt Block House (The Point, Pittsburgh) - GAP Mile 149
George Washington's First C&O/GAP Trip - Washington's Landing
In 1753, the French had started building a line of forts from Lake Erie to the "Forks of the Ohio" (Pittsburgh), the last of which would be Fort Duquesne at The Point. The British learned of this plan and sent 21-year old George Washington from Virginia to Pittsburgh and up to Erie to deliver a message to withdraw.
George Washington's First C&O/GAP Trip - Washington's Landing
George Washington's First C&O/GAP Trip - Washington's Landing
George Washington's First C&O/GAP Trip - Washington's Landing
In December1753, George Washington and Christopher Gist made their way back from Erie to Virginia by way of the Forks of the Ohio. They built a raft and launched into the icy Allegheny River just upstream from The Point. The raft broke apart and they washed up on an island, now known as Washington's Landing.
Homestead Strike/Battle of Homestead - GAP Mile 138
George Washington's First C&O/GAP Trip - Washington's Landing
Homestead Strike/Battle of Homestead - GAP Mile 138
At Mile 138 of the GAP Trail, along the Monongahela River, a bloody battle occurred in 1892 which was one of the most dramatic events in U.S. labor history.
Carrie Furnaces - GAP Mile 137
George Washington's First C&O/GAP Trip - Washington's Landing
Homestead Strike/Battle of Homestead - GAP Mile 138
In Swissvale, across the Mon River from the GAP Trail, stands a 90-feet tall remnant of Pittsburgh’s steel industry - the Carrie Furnaces. You can tour them today!
Edgar Thomson Steel Works - GAP Mile 134
Edgar Thomson Steel Works - GAP Mile 134
Edgar Thomson Steel Works - GAP Mile 134
Across the Mon river from the GAP Trail in Braddock is the Edgar Thomson Works. This massive steel mill has been active since 1875 – it’s the world’s oldest integrated mill and the last remaining mill in Pittsburgh’s Mon Valley.
McKeesport, PA - GAP Mile 131
Edgar Thomson Steel Works - GAP Mile 134
Edgar Thomson Steel Works - GAP Mile 134
McKeesport sits at the confluence of the Mon and Yough rivers. In the mid-1700s, this was the home of Queen Aliquippa, a key Seneca ally of George Washington. The National Tube Company opened here in 1872 and for the next 20 years, McKeesport was the fastest growing municipality in the nation.
West Newton, PA - GAP Mile 113
Edgar Thomson Steel Works - GAP Mile 134
West Newton, PA - GAP Mile 113
Set along the Youghiogheny between McKeesport and Connellsville is West Newton.
After the Revolutionary War, a party of 48 war vets wintered here and built boats on their way to the Northwest Territory. Today it's the HQ of the Regional Trail Commission and the location of the GAP Visitor's Center.
Smithton, PA - GAP Mile 107
Connellsville, PA - GAP Mile 88
West Newton, PA - GAP Mile 113
Just off the GAP trail on the Yough River is the town of Smithton. Founded in 1800, it became a coal mining town during the steel industry's boom. In 1907, William “Stoney” Jones (grandfather of Shirley Jones) opened a brewery which ran for nearly 100 years, producing the famous Stoney's beer.
Connellsville, PA - GAP Mile 88
Connellsville, PA - GAP Mile 88
Connellsville, PA - GAP Mile 88
It was here that British General Braddock and George Washington crossed the Yough on their ill-fated march toward Fort Duquesne in 1755. Connellsville also made most of the coke used to fire Pittsburgh's steel mills and at one point was one of the wealthiest cities in the U.S.
Ohiopyle, PA - GAP Mile 71
Connellsville, PA - GAP Mile 88
Connellsville, PA - GAP Mile 88
Ohiopyle comes from the Native American words “Ohio pehelle,” meaning “white, frothy water.” In 1754, George Washington arrived here, hoping to travel the Yough by boat the rest of the way to the "Forks of the Ohio" (Pittsburgh). However, upon seeing this 20-foot waterfall, he decided to take a land route.
More History of Places Along the GAP and C&O
Confluence, PA (GAP Mile 60)
Confluence, PA (GAP Mile 60)
Confluence, PA (GAP Mile 60)
Here the Casselman River, Youghiogheny River, and Laurel Hill Creek meet. The area was given the name “Turkeyfoot” by Christopher Gist, George Washington’s guide, during their second expedition to Western Pennsylvania in May of 1754.
Rockwood, PA (GAP Mile 44)
Confluence, PA (GAP Mile 60)
Confluence, PA (GAP Mile 60)
Rockwood was an important stop-over point for the railroad in the late 1800's and early 1900s. As GAP cyclists make their way along the Casselman River into town, they are greeted with a huge metal sculpture of a train engine as a reminder of the importance of the railroad in Rockwood’s history.
Meyersdale, PA (GAP Mile 32)
Confluence, PA (GAP Mile 60)
B-52 Crash on Savage Mountain - Carrying Two Nuclear Bombs
Meyersdale's economy was once fueled by lumber and coal and was served by both the B&O and Western Maryland Railroads.
Today it's Pennsylvania's Maple Capital, and each year they crown a “Maple Queen.” You may meet one of them at Donges Drive-In, home of the famous maple milkshake!
B-52 Crash on Savage Mountain - Carrying Two Nuclear Bombs
B-52 Crash on Savage Mountain - Carrying Two Nuclear Bombs
B-52 Crash on Savage Mountain - Carrying Two Nuclear Bombs
On January 13, 1964, a B-52 carrying two nuclear bombs crashed on Savage Mountain near the GAP Trail during a severe winter storm on its return trip from Europe. The crew and wreckage were spread over a wide area from just south of Meyersdale to south of I-68. A rescue effort was quickly mobilized, and the story is both tragic and heroic.
Big Savage Tunnel (GAP Mile 22)
B-52 Crash on Savage Mountain - Carrying Two Nuclear Bombs
Big Savage Tunnel (GAP Mile 22)
Completed in 1912, the 3,294-foot Big Savage Tunnel was built by the Western Maryland Railway as part of their Connellsville Extension. The railroad abandoned it in 1975, and it sat unused until the late 1990s when the GAP Conservancy took the initiative to refurbish it to accommodate bikers.
Mason-Dixon Line (GAP Mile 20)
B-52 Crash on Savage Mountain - Carrying Two Nuclear Bombs
Big Savage Tunnel (GAP Mile 22)
This famous line separating Maryland and Pennsylvania typically brings to mind the delineation between the northern and southern states during the Civil War. However, it was actually drawn during the mid-1700s as a way of resolving a disagreement between two colonial property owners.
Frostburg, MD (GAP Mile 15)
Cumberland Bone Cave (GAP Mile 4)
Helmstetter's Curve (GAP Mile 5)
Mesach Frost established the first Inn here after the National Road made it to Frostburg in 1812. Stagecoaches were the first vehicles on the National Road. The area was a center of coal mining and brick-making and the railroad arrived in 1852. Some original buildings still stand in this historic mountain town.
Helmstetter's Curve (GAP Mile 5)
Cumberland Bone Cave (GAP Mile 4)
Helmstetter's Curve (GAP Mile 5)
This sweeping 180-degree arc was built in 1912 as a way of allowing trains to make their way up the mountain via a gentle grade. The bend was so sharp that it allowed passengers at one end to see those at the other end.
Cumberland Bone Cave (GAP Mile 4)
Cumberland Bone Cave (GAP Mile 4)
Cumberland, MD (GAP Mile 0; C&O Mile 185)
Along the GAP outside Cumberland is a small cave opening. Bones and fossils of 40 mammal species (many over 200,000 years old) were discovered here starting in 1912, including mastodons and a saber-toothed cat!
Cumberland, MD (GAP Mile 0; C&O Mile 185)
George Washington's Headquarters (Cumberland, GAP Mile 0; C&O Mile 185)
Cumberland, MD (GAP Mile 0; C&O Mile 185)
Cumberland sits at the confluence of Wills Creek and the Potomac River and is built on the site of mid-1700's Fort Cumberland. It was known as the "Queen City" and was rich in two types of coal - one for home use and the other for making steel. Today it's the nexus of the GAP and C&O and a great place to visit!
George Washington's Headquarters (Cumberland, GAP Mile 0; C&O Mile 185)
George Washington's Headquarters (Cumberland, GAP Mile 0; C&O Mile 185)
George Washington's Headquarters (Cumberland, GAP Mile 0; C&O Mile 185)
Built in 1754, George Washington used this building as his headquarters throughout the French and Indian War and returned to use it again in 1794 during the Whiskey Rebellion.
Memorial to Irish Canal Workers (Cumberland, GAP Mile 0; C&O Mile 185)
George Washington's Headquarters (Cumberland, GAP Mile 0; C&O Mile 185)
George Washington's Headquarters (Cumberland, GAP Mile 0; C&O Mile 185)
In the 1830's, most local laborers were not willing to take canal-building jobs, so the C&O Canal Company recruited workers from Ireland. The Paw Paw Tunnel was largely built by Irish workers....
More History of Places Along the C&O Canal
Groundbreaking of the C&O Canal
Groundbreaking of the C&O Canal
Groundbreaking of the C&O Canal
On July 4, 1828, President John Quincy Adams headed up the Potomac River from Georgetown by steamboat. At the head of Little Falls, they were greeted by a crowd of about 2,000 people. Adams then took the ceremonial spade and drove it into the ground.
Oldtown, MD (C&O Mile 167)
Groundbreaking of the C&O Canal
Groundbreaking of the C&O Canal
Oldtown was the earliest settlement in all of Allegany County, MD. Its most notorious resident was Thomas Cresap, a fierce frontiersman who helped George Washington and others make their way through the mountains to western Pennsylvania.
Paw Paw Tunnel (C&O Mile 155)
Groundbreaking of the C&O Canal
Little Orleans, MD (C&O Mile 141)
Downstream of Paw Paw, WV, the Potomac makes five horseshoe-shaped bends. Canal engineers decided to dig through the mountain rather than follow the river. Work started in 1836 and took 14 years. The 3,118-foot Paw Paw Tunnel is a highlight of any C&O trip.
Little Orleans, MD (C&O Mile 141)
Round Top Cement Mill (C&O Mile 127)
Little Orleans, MD (C&O Mile 141)
In the 1800's, a ford enabled people to cross the Potomac at this spot, and Orleans Crossroads was established on the opposite side in West Virginia. A smaller town was formed here and given the name "Little" Orleans.
Round Top Cement Mill (C&O Mile 127)
Round Top Cement Mill (C&O Mile 127)
Round Top Cement Mill (C&O Mile 127)
In 1837, surveyors discovered a form of limestone here which was ideal for making cement. A mill was built which provided cement used for the next 60 miles of canal construction, as well as in building the U.S. Capitol, the Cabin John Bridge and the Washington Monument....
Hancock, MD (C&O Mile 125)
Round Top Cement Mill (C&O Mile 127)
Round Top Cement Mill (C&O Mile 127)
Hancock sits at the narrowest part of the state of Maryland, where the north-south distance between PA and WV is only 1.8 miles. It was settled in the early 1700s as a trading post. Edward Hancock ran the river ferry here and later became a Revolutionary War hero.
Berkeley Springs, WV (C&O Mile 125)
Berkeley Springs, WV (C&O Mile 125)
Berkeley Springs, WV (C&O Mile 125)
Just across the Potomac from Hancock is the charming town of Berkeley Springs. Here natural mineral water springs flow at a constant temperature of 74 degrees, attracting Native Americans for thousands of years and George Washington in the mid 1700s on his trips from Mount Vernon to Western PA. In the early 1800's it was the top spa town in the U.S. and is a great place to visit and stay today.
Dam No. 5 (C&O Mile 106)
Berkeley Springs, WV (C&O Mile 125)
Berkeley Springs, WV (C&O Mile 125)
Spanning 700 feet across the Potomac, Dam No. 5 was first built in 1835 to fill the canal. It became a target of the Confederacy in the Civil War, and a siege by Stonewall Jackson in 1861 nearly led to the canal drying up. Since 1900 it has operated as a hydroelectric power plant.
Williamsport, MD (C&O Mile 99)
Berkeley Springs, WV (C&O Mile 125)
Falling Waters, MD (C&O Mile 94)
At the confluence of Conococheague Creek and the Potomac River, Williamsport was a contender for the location of the Nation's Capital in the 1790's. The C&O Canal reached Williamsport in 1835, bringing a wave of growth to the town.
Falling Waters, MD (C&O Mile 94)
Antietam Battlefield (C&O Mile 77)
Falling Waters, MD (C&O Mile 94)
After Gettysburg, Robert E. Lee retreated with Union General George Meade in pursuit. He arrived here on July 6, 1863, hoping to cross over the Potomac into Virginia. The river was swollen due to recent rains. Lee was trapped, and Lincoln wanted Meade to finish him off.
Antietam Battlefield (C&O Mile 77)
Antietam Battlefield (C&O Mile 77)
Antietam Battlefield (C&O Mile 77)
About two miles off the C&O Canal towpath at milepost 77 is the Antietam Battlefield. It is the site of the single bloodiest day of the Civil War - September 17, 1862. It occurred 18 months into the war and resulted in over 22,000 men killed, injured or missing in just 12 hours.
Shepherdstown, WV (C&O Mile 73)
Antietam Battlefield (C&O Mile 77)
Antietam Battlefield (C&O Mile 77)
Shepherdstown is the oldest town in West Virginia, just across the Potomac from the C&O. After the Battle of Antietam, Robert E. Lee's army retreated to this spot, which led to the Battle of Shepherdstown two days later. Inventor James Rumsey demonstrated the world's first steamboat here in 1787. (Image is attributed to Jim Surkamp)
More History of Places Along the C&O Canal
John Brown's Raid, Harpers Ferry, WV (C&O Mile 61)
John Brown's Raid, Harpers Ferry, WV (C&O Mile 61)
John Brown's Raid, Harpers Ferry, WV (C&O Mile 61)
Harpers Ferry is best known for John Brown’s raid, during which the first shots of the Civil War were fired. John Brown was an abolitionist who wanted to lead a slave revolt. On October 16, 1859, Brown led a raid on the U.S. arsenal in Harpers Ferry with twenty-one men.
Jefferson Rock, Harpers Ferry, WV (C&O Mile 61)
John Brown's Raid, Harpers Ferry, WV (C&O Mile 61)
John Brown's Raid, Harpers Ferry, WV (C&O Mile 61)
From lower Harpers Ferry, walk up to St. Peter's Church, and then up the trail to a clearing above the river. Thomas Jefferson described the scene from this spot in his “Notes on the State of Virginia” in 1785.
Battle of Harpers Ferry (C&O Mile 61)
John Brown's Raid, Harpers Ferry, WV (C&O Mile 61)
Battle of Harpers Ferry (C&O Mile 61)
On September 12-15, 1862, under orders from Robert E. Lee, "Stonewall" Jackson directed a three-pronged Confederate attack with 23,000 men on 14,000 Union soldiers guarding Harpers Ferry. The Rebels were successful in commanding three ridges surrounding the town, leading to a humiliating Union surrender.
Brunswick, MD (C&O Mile 55)
Point of Rocks, MD (C&O Mile 48)
Battle of Harpers Ferry (C&O Mile 61)
Starting in the 1730’s, a ferry operated here in what was known as “German Crossing.” The area was first known as “Eel Town” because Native Americans would fish for eel in the Potomac in those days.
Catoctin Aqueduct (C&O Mile 51)
Point of Rocks, MD (C&O Mile 48)
Point of Rocks, MD (C&O Mile 48)
Along the C&O Canal, eleven aqueducts were built as “water bridges” to enable canal boats to pass over the streams that flow into the Potomac River. The Catoctin Aqueduct was built in 1832 to carry boats over Catoctin Creek.
Point of Rocks, MD (C&O Mile 48)
Point of Rocks, MD (C&O Mile 48)
Point of Rocks, MD (C&O Mile 48)
Groundbreaking of both the C&O Canal and the B&O Railroad occurred in 1828. The race was on – to reach Cumberland and beyond. As they moved along the Potomac, they often fought for right-of-way. Nowhere was this battle more intense than at Point of Rocks, MD.
White's Ferry, Dickerson, MD (C&O Mile 35)
Battle of Ball's Bluff, Leesburg, VA (Across from Edward's Ferry, C&O Mile 31)
Battle of Ball's Bluff, Leesburg, VA (Across from Edward's Ferry, C&O Mile 31)
White's Ferry is the last of nearly 100 ferries that previously operated on the Potomac River. From the late 1800s, the ferry boat bore the name Jubal A. Early, named after a prominent Confederate General during the Civil War.
Image courtesy of rgk88 at https://flickr.com/photos/80741457@N00/688985479
Battle of Ball's Bluff, Leesburg, VA (Across from Edward's Ferry, C&O Mile 31)
Battle of Ball's Bluff, Leesburg, VA (Across from Edward's Ferry, C&O Mile 31)
Battle of Ball's Bluff, Leesburg, VA (Across from Edward's Ferry, C&O Mile 31)
On October 21, 1861, three months into the Civil War, the Union army crossed over the Potomac just downriver from White's Ferry and climbed up Ball's Bluff. They were driven back down the bluff and into the river, suffering a humiliating defeat.
More History of Places Along the GAP and C&O
Great Falls (C&O Mile 14)
Fletcher's Cove/Abner Cloud House/Little Falls (C&O Mile 3)
Fletcher's Cove/Abner Cloud House/Little Falls (C&O Mile 3)
Great Falls is one of the most dramatic features of the Potomac River along the C&O Canal. Here the river drops 76 feet in less than a mile through a gorge which narrows from a width of 1,000 feet to just 100 feet, creating a series of thundering rapids.
Fletcher's Cove/Abner Cloud House/Little Falls (C&O Mile 3)
Fletcher's Cove/Abner Cloud House/Little Falls (C&O Mile 3)
Fletcher's Cove/Abner Cloud House/Little Falls (C&O Mile 3)
This is the oldest building along the entire C&O Canal. It was built in 1801 by Abner Cloud, a mill operator who sold flour and grain to residents and merchants in Georgetown. This cove is also the location of Fletcher's Boathouse, run by the Fletcher family for 145 years until 2004.
Tide Lock (C&O Mile 0)
Fletcher's Cove/Abner Cloud House/Little Falls (C&O Mile 3)
Eastern Terminal of the C&O Canal (Lockkeeper's House on the Mall in DC)
The official beginning (or end) of the C&O Canal is where Rock Creek flows into the Potomac River near Georgetown. Canal boats would enter or exit Tide Lock and head up or down the Potomac, loading or unloading their cargo at wharves along the river.
Eastern Terminal of the C&O Canal (Lockkeeper's House on the Mall in DC)
Eastern Terminal of the C&O Canal (Lockkeeper's House on the Mall in DC)
Eastern Terminal of the C&O Canal (Lockkeeper's House on the Mall in DC)
This lockkeeper's house is the oldest building on the National Mall in DC, found at Constitution Avenue & 17th Street. In the early/mid 1800s the Washington City Canal connected the Potomac and Anacostia rivers, and this was where the C&O Canal met the Washington Canal.
Lincoln Memorial & Gettysburg Address
Eastern Terminal of the C&O Canal (Lockkeeper's House on the Mall in DC)
Lincoln Memorial & Gettysburg Address
Marty and I finished our ride at the Lincoln Memorial in DC. Inside is a seated Lincoln, looking out over the reflecting pool and toward the Washington Monument. To his right, the Gettysburg Address is etched into the marble. He gave this famous speech Nov. 19, 1863...