DOWN THE POTOMAC

Year Published: 1917

Creator: #VALUE!

Format: 16mm

Description: DOWN THE POTOMAC is a 12 minute silent film, produced by the Edison Company in 1917. It depicts a traveler in a small boat, being pulled by a horse, along the historic Chesapeake & Ohio Canal. The trip starts at its north-west terminus in Cumberland, Maryland, and heads 184 miles south east to Georgetown, Washington, D.C. The canal, completed in 1850, was in operation between 1831-1924, and was one of the last extant mule-hauled towpath canals built in the north east region of the fledgling United States. By the time the canal was completed, the parallel and efficient Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, which could run trains 365 days per year, was also in operation, competing for business. The canal followed the beautiful Potomac River Valley, even to this day. Highlights of the trip include the passage through the Paw Paw Tunnel which today, can be hiked through on a wooden walkway built within in the tunnel. The passenger will go through lift locks, and pass both abandoned and in-service boats along the canal. The canal passed near Harpers Ferry, W.Va., but on the Maryland side of the Potomac River, and through Great Falls, Maryland ,a piece of non-navigable river due to the sharp and high rocks located in the area. Finally, the trip ends in Georgetown, where traffic passed through the Potomac River. This film is significant for transportation historians and buffs since it shows the canal still in operation, as within a few years, a storm would finally damage much of the poorly maintained canal. Today, the canal is a National Park landmark, with several portions still watered with 19th century era interpreted boat rides. Work continues to this day with the restoration of the aqueducts, locks and the maintenance intensive Paw Paw Tunnel.

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