Volunteering to help the park: A work crew installs a bench near Great Falls in 2016.
Supporting park projects: Catoctin Aqueduct after collapse in 1973
Supporting park projects: Catoctin Aqueduct after restoration effort in 2011
Exploring history and nature: Sideling Hill Creek Aqueduct as viewed from the Western Maryland Rail Trail.
Protecting the canal since 1954: The association opposes Georgetown University’s plan to build a large boathouse in the park
Protecting the canal since 1954: The association opposes Georgetown University’s plan to build a large boathouse in the park
Exploring history and nature: Hikers gather at Fifteen Mile Creek Aqueduct in 2018.
Protecting the canal since 1954: Justice Douglas and eight others pause during their famous hike, which publicized the canal in 1954
Exploring history and nature: Ranger provides interpretation for hikers at Seneca Stone Cutting Mill in 2020.
Exploring history and nature: Hikers marvel at a large specimen during a tree identification walk in 2012
Volunteering to help the park: Association volunteer attaches plaque to newly installed bench in 2018.
Exploring history and nature: Association members participate in the last day of the 2009 Thru Hike at Great Falls
Volunteering to help the park: Association member helps install an identification sign at Landers in 2011
Exploring history and nature: Hikers gather at Dam 5 in 2019.
Protecting the canal since 1954: Justice Douglas and others rally against replacing the canal with a highway.
Volunteering to help the park: Association members repaint picnic tables at Swains Lock
Volunteering to help the park: Association volunteers assemble picnic table in 2018.
Join Association member Jon Wolz at the Lovettsville Historical Society's 2026 Lecture Series:
The Monocacy Aqueduct – Past Stories and Fresh Findings
Sunday, October 11, at 2:00 p.m.
St. James United Church of Christ
10 East Broad Way, Lovettsville, VA
On Sunday, October 11, Chesapeake and Ohio Canal historian Jon Wolz will be lecturing for the first time at the Lovettsville Historical Society. His talk will provide some information not previously documented in writings about the Monocacy Aqueduct.
The Monocacy Aqueduct was a watered bridge over the Monocacy River during canal operating days. In 1828, the Canal Company purchased the land for the aqueduct from Dr. Charles Byrd and requested he cease his ferry operation at that location. The construction of the aqueduct began in 1829 and stones were quarried from Mrs. Nelson’s quarry that was located at the base of the Sugarloaf Mountain. In 1831 the stones were found to be defective and the work done to build the aqueduct with those stones was torn down. The stones used in its successful construction come from the Joseph Johnson quarries where both white and red quartzite stones were used.
Workers labored through the cholera epidemic of 1832 and the project was completed in 1833. You will learn of Father McElroy and his service to the men at the construction site and at the Johnson quarries.
The aqueduct is 516 feet long with seven arches that are 54 feet wide. The aqueduct carried canal boats over the Monocacy River from 1834 to 1924. The aqueduct was used by fleeing enslaved people and there were two attempts to blow up the aqueduct in 1862 by the Confederate Army.
Jon will discuss events and some of the history that occurred after the canal stopped operation up until the present time. The aqueduct is prominently featured today in the C&O Canal National Historical Park.
Upon his retirement from NASA in 2014 Jon Wolz became a prominent local historian, author, and dedicated volunteer in Poolesville, Maryland, widely recognized for his deep expertise on the C&O Canal National Historical Park. His involvement with the canal stretches back to his youth, notably testifying before a Senate subcommittee as an Eagle Scout in December 1970 to help secure its national historical park designation. He has authored over 100 historical articles for the Monocacy Monocle newspaper and has written articles for the publication Along The Towpath. He serves as the Poolesville representative for the Canal Towns Partnership. He is the President of the General William Smallwood Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution, in Montgomery County. He frequently partners with the Poolesville Seniors and the C&O Canal Association to lead educational history hikes, river crossings, and informational panels.
Admission to our lectures is free, but donations are welcome to defray expenses of the program and to support the activities of the Lovettsville Historical Society.
For more information, call 540-822-9194.
The C&O canal remains a wonderful painting subject. I have painted several plein air watercolors of this location, but decided to do a large studio oil of this scene in spring-time.
Yesterday 22 Association members celebrated our president’s day luncheon at Bender’s Public House and Eatery in Sharpsburg, then visited the town museum and other sites that reflect the town’s canal heritage. Bender’s was founded by former canal boat captain Raleigh Bender of Sharpsburg. The President’s lunch celebrates the service rendered to the Association by its current and past presidents.