Monocacy Aqueduct

Monocacy Aqueduct, C&O Canal, Frederick County, Maryland

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Monocacy Aqueduct

Construction of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal began in 1828 in Georgetown, District of Columbia, and reached its terminus in Cumberland, Maryland, in the summer of 1850. The C&O Canal system included eleven stone aqueducts designed to carry the canal across the major river tributaries that drain into the Potomac River along the canal’s route.  The Monocacy Aqueduct is the largest of the eleven aqueducts erected along the C&O Canal, and is often described by many historians as one of the finest canal features in the United States. Ten of the eleven aqueducts remain as key features of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park, which was designated as a National historical park in 1971.

Monocacy Aqueduct, C&O Canal, Frederick County, Maryland

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At 516-feet in length with seven arches each measuring 54 feet, the Monocacy Aqueduct is the largest structure on the canal. It crosses the Monocacy river just before it empties into the Potomac.  The aqueduct, which was finished in 1833, is constructed of pink quartzite quarried from nearby Sugarloaf Mountain and brought to the site by a small railroad built for that purpose.   This makes it unique among the structures along the canal in this area as the others are built of either sandstone or limestone.

Monocacy Aqueduct, C&O Canal, Frederick County, Maryland

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Following the 1972 Hurricane Agnes flood, which destroyed the Catoctin Aqueduct when the flood waters undercut its piers, the National Park Service and the Federal Highway Administration designed a steel banding system to stabilize the structure and installed a steel rod reinforcing system. The National Park Service and park supporters were concerned about the structural stability of the aqueduct and a major engineering evaluation was undertaken to determine stabilization needs and associated cost. The C&O Canal National Historical Park and its partners restored the aqueduct to its original state in 2004-2005. The aqueduct was formally rededicated in May of 2005.

Summary

Article Name

Monocacy Aqueduct

Description

The Monocacy Aqueduct is the largest of the eleven aqueducts erected along the C&O Canal. These aqueducts carried the canal across the major river tributaries that drain into the Potomac River along the canal's route. Ten of the eleven aqueducts remain.

Author

Mark Summerfield

Publisher Name

Mark Summerfield

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