C&O Canal NHP
Park History
NPSHistory.comThe Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park preserves the 184.5-mile towpath and canal route that runs from Georgetown in Washington, D.C. to Cumberland, Maryland, paralleling the Potomac River. Constructed between 1828 and 1850, the C&O Canal was conceived as a transportation route to connect the eastern seaboard with the Ohio River valley, but competition from the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad ultimately limited the canal's commercial success. The canal ceased operations in 1924 after a devastating flood, and a campaign led by Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas in 1954 helped save the corridor from being converted into a highway. It was designated a national historical park in 1971.
FLAGGED FOR REVIEW: Interpretive materials
C&O Canal NHP in MD preserves a piece of American history that the public has trusted the National Park Service to protect and interpret. The interpretive materials at this site have been developed over years by historians, subject-matter experts, and park staff — and are now being reviewed under Secretary's Order 3431.
Why this matters: C&O Canal NHP is part of a network of over 400 national parks that serve as America's classrooms. The interpretive materials here were developed by subject-matter experts to help visitors understand the full story of this place. When historically accurate content is removed, the public loses access to its own history.
These need to be removed and not replaced. They are in a heavily flood prone area, hense their condition, and C&O Canal, a seperate NPS Park site interps these stories elsewhere
Photographs attached to this park's records in the leaked NPS review database.
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