MD: Chesapeake City - C&D Canal

Day 360 - Part A
Chesapeake City, MD
July 18, 2016
NM Traveled: 9
NM To Date: 5910

Since we went to bed early for a change, i.e. before 11:00, we woke up earlier than usual without an alarm to wake us. We wanted an early start so that we could make a stop over in Chesapeake City to visit the Canal Museum located there.

Sea Moss (behind the sailboats)
Leaving BBYH
(Kenny took the picture from the docks)

We made our way to the canal and from there to Chesapeake City, Maryland.

C&D Canal

Chesapeake City, MD

 Kenny told us last night that the red boats in the next picture are "pilot" boats. When the huge vessels come through the C&D Canal, an experienced pilot directs their passage. According to Kenny, each state has its own pilot, and they switch off pilots when the vessel crosses the state line.

Red "Pilot" Boats

Chesapeake Inn
(The let us tie up for free while we visited town.)

Route to the Museum

Same bridge as last night's sunset picture
Chesapeake City, MD

United States Army Corps of Engineers
(Manages the canal and museum)

The C&D Canal Museum

Standing at the halfway point along the C&D Canal

The canal museum is housed in the Old Lock Pump House and explains the history of the canal through the years.

Old Lock Pump House for the C&D Canal

The marble plaque on the side of the building is a dedication to those who made construction of the canal possible. I found the details of the sharing of the cost to build the canal interesting.

It outlines the cost breakdown of the canal as follows:
     Total Cost = $2,250,000
     United States Portion = $450,000
     Pennsylvania = $100,000
     Maryland = $50,000
     Delaware = $25,000
     Private Citizens from all three states made up the remainder of the cost

The idea of the canal started when Augustine Herrman surveyed the area in 1661. It was his dream that a canal be built to connect the Chesapeake Bay to the Delaware River. Over 100 years later, in 1764, the route was finalized and  marked for construction. Unfortunately, the Revolutionary War and then the War of 1812 delayed the beginning of the construction. The canal finally opened in 1829 and, as a result, removed 300 miles of travel from shipping routes saving commercial vessels millions of dollars. The line on the map below shows the route replaced by the C&D Canal.

Distance from Baltimore to Philadelphia or NYC
greatly reduced with opening of the canal

The picture below shows a steamboat from the Baltimore and Philadelphia Steamboat Company. Notice that almost no space exists between the sides of the lock and the vessel. Over time, vessels got larger and the canal had to grow in size to accommodate the larger ships.

Steamboat in C&D Canal Lock - 1800s

The front room of the museum included a hands-on exhibit of how a lock works plus many displays explaining the history of the locks and canal. Stepping into a second room allowed us to see the equipment used in the pump house.

"Worker" observing operation of the equipment

Stevens Valve Gear - 1851

Cypress Lift Wheel - used to raise water 14'

Engine - installed 1854

Mural in Pump House
Showing operation of vessels on the canal
before the engines and lift wheel were installed

Our tour of the C&D Canal museum completed, we decided to take a few minutes to ride our bikes through town in daylight.

Town Clock
Chesapeake City est. 1839

Old Houses Practically Sit on the Street

Bohemia Ave. Business District and Church

Cute,  Little, Old House in Chesapeake City, MD

Belle Connell's Emporium
in Chesapeake City, MD

Belle Connell's Emporium - facade
(photo taken from the street)

A short way down the road, we found this guy hanging around outside a local Bed & Breakfast. If I stayed here, I might "freak out" to see him hanging outside my window!

The Blue Man Inn

As we roamed the two main roads through town, we saw lots of great, old places. Clark pointed out a bakery. We stopped and I went inside where I was excited to see scones for sale - Blueberry, Raspberry, and Apple-flavored! The last time I found scones was in a Starbucks in Chattanooga, Tennessee. I have looked in every bakery I found between there and here and finally ...  more scones.

House proudly flying the
Flag of Maryland

Stone Building on the Corner

General Store

Fountain / Garden with Canal in Background

We only asked the Chesapeake Inn for two hours of time at their dock, and we were anxious to continue on to our next and final stop for the day - Delaware City. From the fountain it was a short trip along the water's edge back to the inn and our boat.  We pulled in our lines and continued on our way down the canal to Delaware.