Evening star., 1937-06-20
By John Clagen Proctor.

Il tomac River above Washing
can hardly be surpassed any,
4 where. and one of these days
its banks and palisades will be built
up with the finest homes in America,
for its situation is ideal and its
view picturesquely charming and en-
chanting.
This, Of course, is not a new
thought, for the grandeur Of this
stream and the surrounding country
has inspired many a poet to do his
best work. and many happy and
profitable hours and days have been
spent along its winding course by
scientific and literary folk and others
seeking knowledge and pleasure.
Even the old canal. now a sluggish,
useless waterway, that parallels the
river for many miles. once served
the picnickers and eXcursionists of
Washington during the torrid seasons
OF bvgone days. And Great Falls,
beautiful In Summer and Winter,
and even inspiring when the mad
Hood waters race over its rugged rock
formation, Is such as few cities can
boast.
The Chesapeake & Ohio Canal was
begun on July 4. 1928, when Presi-
dent John Quincy Adams dug the
first spadeful of earth amidst the
shouts of the multitude and en-
livening strains of music" Seven
years later, also on July 4, We find
President Jackson, his cabinet, men,
bers Of the diplomatic corps and
about so invited guests enjoying
a canal boat ride, described as an
"all-day trip" to a point six miles
above Great Falls. The Marine Band
was taken along ito enliven the oc-
casion,' and it is quite likely that
Peggy .ONeale went along. too, to
grace the occasion. and that Gen.
Eaton assisted the President in en-
tertaining the crowd, although their
names are not specifically mentioned.
However. it took many years to
open up to general travel the area
on both sides of the upper Potomac,
and the building of the Conduit road,
which followed the Civil War, was
greatly responsible for the progress
made in this section since that time,
particularly on the Maryland side.
RENEATH this road. as perhaps
many know, are laid the conduits
which bring the Potomac water from
Great Falls to Washington, project
which had its beginning in 1852, when
Congress appropriated $4,000 for the
purpose OF making the necessary sur
veys. etc, for determining the best
means of affording the cities of Wash
3ngton and Georgetown an unfailing
and abundant supply of good and
wholesome water"
Plans having been submitted to
Congress a year later. an appropria-
ton of 100000 was made with which
to commence the work. and in 1855
S25O,O00 was added with which to
continue the work. Further sums Of
$25o,oOo, s1,oo0,o00. 100000 and
S500,000 were made, bringing the total
appropriation for the Washington
aqueduct, to June Is, 1860, up to
S2,905,000.
The building Of this aqueduct en-
tailed considerable amount of en-
gineering skill. Montgomery C..
Meigs was In charge OF the work,
and Cabin John Bridge in particular
will ever remain q monument to his
ability.
Work on this gigantic piece of ma
horo aortty f,,1
Of the framework necessary at the
time for structure OF this type is
convincing evidence of the engineer
ing skill required. The work was
rapidly pushed and within a year
and a half from the time it was
started the arch was keyed, and by
July l, 1859, the voussoirs. or arch
stones, as we'll as a considerable por-
tion Of the abutments, were in position.
Although the water was turned
into the aqueduct on December S,
1853, the bridge itself was not COM
pleted for year later, and even
then the parapet walls were not in
place and were not added until dur
ing the years 1873 and 1874, and
pedestrians and teams were protected
by low guard rail Of timbers or
logs.
PERHAPS not 10 per cent Of the
people who visit Washington to
zee its interesting sights ever get up
the Conduit road as far as Cabin
John Bridge. and yet this is one Of
the most wonderful bridges in the
world. Indeed. up until at least
few years ago-and the statement
may even hold true today-history re-
corded but one bridge or stone arch
longer than Cabin John, and that
was bridge that spanned the AIDA,
a tributary of the Pc. at Trezzo, in
Northern Italy, erected about 1880
AD... but which, however, was de-
stroyed In 1927. It's span was 25l
feet, only 81 more than that of Cabin
John, and its rise was SO feet, though
Ut the crown it was only feet thick
Writing for the records of the Co.
humbia Historical Society, DR.. w. T.
s. Curtis, whose father. Charles T.
Curtis, was selected by the then Capt.
Meigs because of his practical ex-
perience In the construction OF heavy
masonry, to act as general superin-
tendent and inspector, has this to
say Of similar European bridges:
within the last few years several
large masonry bridges have been con-
structed in Europe, very similar in
design to that of Cabin John. The
most important of these is the JAR
emcze Railway viaduct over the River
Pruth, in Gancia. on the line of the
Austrian Stanislau- Woronienka Rail-
road. having single arch over the
river Of IS meters span (2l3A feet),
with rise Of So feet. It is built of
sandstone, with thickness Of 6 feet
10lz inches at the crown and 10 feet
2 inches at the skewbacks, and Is IA
feet inches wide. The main arch
consists Of two thicnesses Of dimen-
sion stones, which head into each
other, while the spandrel arches are
h,,{I& - r,,hhf> o. 49,