Gondolas were 60 by 10 ft (18 by 3 m) log rafts, usually sold at journey's end for their wood by their owners, who returned upstream on foot.

[4] The Erie Canal, built between 1817 and 1825, threatened traders south of New York City, who began to seek their own transportation infrastructure to link the burgeoning areas west of the Appalachian Mountains to mid-Atlantic markets and ports.

[14]) By 1825, the Canal Company was authorized by an act of the General Assembly of Maryland in the amount of subscriptions of $500,000; this paved the way for future investments and loans.

In 1828, the C&O Canal and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) began fighting for sole use of the narrow strip of available land along the Potomac River from Point of Rocks to Harpers Ferry.

[25] After a Maryland state court battle that involved Daniel Webster and Roger B. Taney, the companies agreed to share the right-of-way.

In August[28] or September 1832, an epidemic of cholera swept through the construction camps, killing many workers and leading others to throw down their tools and flee.

[30][31][32] A lock keeper's house at the eastern end of this Washington Branch of the C&O Canal remains at the southwest corner of Constitution Avenue and 17th Street, N.W., at the edge of the National Mall.

[36] In March 1837, three surveys were made for a possible link to the northeast to Baltimore: via Westminster, via Monocacy-Linganore, and via Seneca, but they were all deemed impractical due to lack of water at the summit level.

[42] In April 1843, floods damaged much of the finished portion of the canal between Georgetown and Harpers Ferry, including the Shenandoah river lock.

[53] On the first day, five canal boats, Southampton, Elizabeth, Ohio, Delaware and Freeman Rawdon loaded with a total of 491 tons of coal, came down from Cumberland.

[47][55] Debt-ridden, the company dropped its plan to continue construction of the next 180 miles (290 km) of the canal into the Ohio Valley.

It wasn't until the mid-1870s that improved technology, specifically with larger locomotives and air brakes, allowed the railroad to set rates lower than the canal, and thus seal its fate.

[64] The fastest known time from Georgetown to Cumberland for a light boat was 62 hours, set by Raleigh Bender from Sharpsburg.

However, by 1903, the B&O had acquired sufficient bonds to become "a majority holder",[66] the reported reason being "to secure for the Wabash [railroad] system a foothold on the Atlantic seaboard" which had only been incorporated in February 1903.

[75] In the last few years, the tonnage and tolls for coal were as follows[72] One of the more unusual loads was a circus with about 9 people with their equipment, which included a black bear.

The black bear got loose on the journey, and the boatman told them, "You tie that thing good or you're never going to get to Harpers Ferry, for I'm going to leave the boat.

Nicholson called the canal a "public nuisance" due to the sewage and being a breeding ground for mosquitoes[82] In 1928–1929, there was some talk of restoring and reopening the canal from Cumberland to Williamsport, but with the onset of the Great Depression, the plans were never realized[83] In April 1929 after some freshet damage, the railroad repaired a break in the towpath, so that they could continue to flush out mosquitoes as demanded by the Maryland board of health.

This flood, caused by the thawing of earlier ice, combined with the flow of heavy rains, led to the highest water mark the Potomac River had ever had thus far, destroying lockhouses, levels, and other structures.

[86] Due to the inattention of the B&O Railroad, the canal became a "magnificent wreck" and would need intense repairs and reconstruction throughout many areas destroyed by the floods.

If one had to empty the whole level for winter, repairs, or emergencies, waste weirs often had paddle valves (similar to those found in locks) at the bottom which could be opened to let the water out.

The company official threw green cornstalks onto a roaring fire at the upwind portion of the tunnel, smoking the offenders out.

[132] Wright also suggested for passenger boats, having a draft of 10 inches (not including the keel) pulled by 4 horses at 7 miles per hour.

The boat would settle on raised beams (at lock 35, they were made of concrete), as the drydock was drained, and the men could make the necessary repairs,[149] using tin and tar.

[150] Originally, the canal plans did not have provisions for drydocks or repairs of boats, but by 1838 there were frequent complaints about drifting rafts and wrecks obstructing navigation.

[166] On April 2, 1831, Daniel Van Slyke reported: it is with great difficulty we have been able to preserve order among the boatmen, who in striving to push forward for a preference in passing the several locks are sometimes dis-posed to injure each other's boats as a means of carrying their point.

[165]One notorious incident occurred in May 1874 when George Reed of the Mayfield and Heison was fined $20 for mooring his boat illegally in the Cumberland Basin.

Aqueduct #3 (Catoctin) had a sharp bend at the upstream end, had been the site of a number of collisions from boatmen going too fast.

[170] The boating season ran from approximately March until December, with the canal drained during winter months to prevent damage from ice[171] and also for repairs.

[174] The U.S. Department of Labor stated that only the limitations of physical strength prevented the children from performing all operations connected with handling boats.

His son attended school 94 days out of a possible 178, and the father regretted it, but needed the family to help boat as he could not afford otherwise.