Evening star., 1925-03-15
Great Boulevard From Capital May Follow Old Canal
BY BLANCHE L. HowLETT.

BY BLANCHE 4. HOwLETT.
The earth is swathed in floods of silver light: :
The Lincoln ParthenUn. the Palisades.
The wooded hills. the hower-cOvered gladcs
Are clothed with mystic charm this moonlight
night.
The Monument stands forth shaft of might
a Ah hwhippoorwiil: with odd request. inrades
The evening stiffness Of the forest shades;
An owlct houtS; the moon is far too bright
ne nid canal. beyond the city's pale,
is hathed in light. Tntll the dawn appears,
old Georgetown College acts as sentinel
Ion hear bird. mimic nightingale,
rn1t ceases now his lay. As daylight nears,
lhree Sisters ring De Profunds bell
" HE plan to extend the parks of
the Nations Capital to in
clude several outlying sec
l. uons of historic interest has
met with enthusiastic re-
sponse, A. park commission, armed
with purchasing appropriation and
at last empowered to act. gives every
reason to hope for real accomplish
ment along these lines, if the appro-
priaton authorized in the bill is
passed by Congress
RunninS parallel with the shore of
the lazy and beautiful rPatowmack."
beloved of Washington. lies the Ches-
apeake and Ohio Canal. now aban-
doned and fallen into disuse. But
hack IN the days when Destiny was
writing most rapidly the beginnings
or the history of our great Republic
this waterway was the scene OF act
i've commerce. with boats busilv ply-
ing up and down its length from
tIdewater. at Georgetown, to Cum
berland, Md
The proposal has been made that
the Federal Government purchase this
canal, to be used as the roadbed of a
boulevard and parkway between
aShington and CumberIad. Md The
suggestion is a most feasible one. in
Connection with the proposed acqui-
siTlon Of the virgin and historic for
e tracts lying at tn" dOorSiH of the
: .'ipltal City. These two features of
tht program for land acquisition are
"l outstanding desirah lity and have
already been discussed in the pages
on American Forests and Forest Life
IN the matter of the proposed bouIe-
ward the engineering feat has been
accomplished, and filling in with the
available soil on either side vould
Dc comparatively small matter.
The canal is lS4ls miles long with
an average width of 65 feet at the
surface. It is desired that the Fed
tTat Government own this striD Of
land as a parkway from the Potomac
RIVER to and including Conduit road
ES Tar as Great Falls The State of
MarNland also may he Interested in
"a i-A--- -.AA tlAt-T- a 'DASDluTrnf hNllll-
ward lN9 miles long, from the Capital
City 10 Cum brls nd. Md This bouIe-
ward would offer features that com
mend themselves 20 the traveller
scenery and history.
shepherds stOwu and Harpers Ferry
are TWO of the most interesting towns
that the canal Passes between Cum
oeriand and Georgetown. At Sheph-
erdstown- on the edge of a cliff
overlooking the Potomac. is a monu-
meht erected TO the memory of James
Kumssy, inventor OF the steamboat
though Robert Fulton is generally
credited with this achievement In
I'S', on the Potomac River near
Shepherdstown. James Rumsey made
a successful demonstration of a boat
propelled by steam.
1t is interesting to find that in
1854, George Washington spent a
night at Bath, Berkeley County. Va
and James RumSey, one of the pro
prietors Of the tavern, showed Wash
ington then his invention for propell-
ing boats against the stream by
mechanical contrivance. Mr.. Rumsey
was afterward made the general
manager of the Potowmack Company
= = = =
THE dream of George Washintons
life was to see the East and the
way The West in those days was
known only as a dense and extensive
wilderness west of the Appalachian
Mountains. Washington had the vision
TO see that a country of such vast
extent could be held together only by
closer bonds.
As early as 1854, twenty years be-
fare the Revolution, Washington in
person, explored the proposed route
with
West blythe waters of the Potomac
and Youghiogheny Rivers. The result
Of his efforts was the formation of
the Potwmack Company. which was
organized in 1885 with George Wash
tngton as president
The plan of Improvement of the
Patowmack Company was that of
open-river navigation except at
localities where the falla made navi-
cation impossible, at which places
lateral canals with locks were con-
structed. Navigation was opened in
1902, and the canals were in CON
tinuous operation until 1880, when
the locks at Great Falls were
abandoned.
The expense of keeping the upper
Potomac in a navigable condition was
great, and the people began to see
the feasibility of a continuous canal
from tidewater, at Georgetown, to
Cumberland, Md. To consumate this
required the rights and privileges
secured under the charter of the
Patowmack Company to be sur
rendered. In January, 1924, the
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal was
authorized by act of the Virginia
Assembly; in December, 1924, by
Maryland, and by the act of Congress
approved March 5, 1925. The Patow-
mack Company gave it's final con-