The Georgetown Canal Incline

ca,' the operators of canal systems were forced to recognize that the railroad posed a serious threat to the success of their businesses. The earnest but unsuccessful attempts of one canal, the Chesapeake and Ohio, to compete with the railroad are interesting not only as a footnote to transportation history, but also as a means toward a better understanding of canal technology in the latter half of the 19th century. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, begun in 1828 but not completed until 1850, was the last of the great inland waterways to the west built during the 19th century. Although the canal had never reached its ultimate destination, the Ohio River, it had been able to compete successfully with its chief rival, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, for the western Maryland coal trade. Because it could offer significantly lower rates for the shipping of coal, the C & O had captured a large portion of the total tonnage of coal shipped from Cumberland, the western terminus of the canal, to the east. With coal as its base, the prosperity of the canal rose steadily in the 1870s, reaching a peak in 1875. During this year the total tonnage shipped on the canal reached 973,805, while revenue from tolls came close to half a million dollars.2 Despite the success of the canal during this period, the threat of the railroad was ever present. To meet this threat, a large and comprehensive plan for improving both the business policies and operating procedures of the canal was begun in 1870 when James C. Clarke assumed the presidency of the company and was continued by A. P. Gorman's administration from 1872 to 1881. This program included the effective regulation of tolls, a system of rebates to stimulate new areas of trade as well as to encourage high-volume shipping, and the close control of MR. SKRAMSTAD is a member of the Department of American Studies at the Smithsonian Institution

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