Williamsport, Maryland: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park, National Park Service
Vazquez N. 2012. Williamsport, Maryland: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park, National Park Service. Cultural Landscapes Inventory Report. 600278. NPS National Capital Region. National Capital Regional Office/ CLI Database
The approximate one‑mile stretch of canal near Williamsport, MD (mile 98.90‑mile 99.95) is a component landscape of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park (C&O NHP). The Williamsport cultural landscape (project area) is positioned about half‑way along the 184.5 mile‑stretch of the C&O Canal, between Dams 4 and 5, and about eight miles southwest of Hagerstown, MD. The project area is bordered by Conococheague Creek to the north (upstream); the Potomac Edison Power Plant, Potomac Park, and the Potomac River to the west (towpath side); Riverview Cemetery and the town of Williamsport to the east (berm side); and finally, marking the southern boundary (downstream), a wasteweir just below Lockwood Road. Its strategic location made the area a major center of activity during the construction and operation of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal (C&O Canal). The period of significance for the component landscape is the same as for the C&O NHP – 1828 to 1924 – the years that span the canal’s construction, operation, decline and final closure. Like the rest of the canal, the Williamsport cultural landscape reflects the ascent of canal‑based transportation and its ultimate decline in nineteenth‑century America. Therefore, the landscape and its events have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of history (National Register Criterion A). Illustrative of vernacular and industrial stone construction, the canal landscape also contains individual resources that embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period or method of construction (Criterion C). In addition, the Williamsport cultural landscape has yielded or is likely to yield, information important to prehistory or history (Criteria D). Although the C&O Canal is defined as a historic district having national significance, its National Register nomination does not adequately or completely document all of the contributing landscape features. The 1979 nomination, and subsequently filed Determinations of Eligibility (DOEs) primarily describe the buildings and structures of the canal. The Williamsport cultural landscape contains individual features and landscape characteristics that are not recognized in the National Register nomination or DOEs. These elements should be incorporated into the nomination file if an update to the National Register is written. After the C&O Canal was acquired by the National Park Service (NPS) in 1938, and designated a National Historical Park in 1971, the property is a popular recreational spot, where the canal towpath is primarily used by the public for hiking and biking.. However, the Williamsport cultural landscape continues to display many historically significant remnants of the transportation era; representing all the major structural features of the canal including towpath, aqueduct, lock and lockhouse, and boat basin. Other structures unique to only this area of the canal include Cushwa Warehouse, the Williamsport Power Generating Station, Bollman Bridge, and most importantly, Western Maryland Railroad’s Lift Bridge. In addition to these historic structures, topography, natural systems, and spatial organization are the primary landscape characteristics which are critical to the integrity of the Williamsport cultural landscape. The confluence of the Potomac River and Conococheague Creek, along with the expanse of a flat floodplain, allowed for the development of a larger industrial element to the Williamsport cultural landscape, and greatly influenced the spatial organization of the project area. This CLI finds that the cultural landscape retains integrity for its period of significance, 1828‑1924, with all seven aspects of integrity represented. While there have been some changes to the landscape, especially in the vegetation, and the loss of some features, the overall integrity of the landscape invokes the historic significance of the property.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Vazquez, Nancy
- Date of Issue
- 2012-07-20
- Publisher
- NPS National Capital Region
- Units
- CHOH , NCR
- Keywords
- 1860-1861, American Exploration and Settlement, Battles in the North and South, Canals, Colonial Exploration and Settlement, Commerce/ Trade, Creating Social Institutions and Movements, Degradation of Natural Environment, Developing the American Economy, Development of Transportation and Land Tenure Systems, Electric, Expanding Science and Technology, Export- Import, Historic Site, Historic Vernacular Landscape, Industrial Production Process ( including Agriculture), Industrial Towns, Labor Organizations, Landscape Architecture, Peopling Places, Politics and Diplomacy, Power and Lighting, Recreation/ Culture, Secession: The Nation Divides, Shaping and Transportation by Water, Shaping the Political Landscape, Social and Humanitarian Movements, The American Revolution, The Civil War, The Industrial Revolution, Water, Ways of Life