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64-727: He also worked as the Director of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal , as well as a state director for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad . He was also an editor for several newspapers, such as the Frederick Examiner , the Federal Gazette and the Baltimore Chronicle , for which he was also the proprietor. Neilson was a cousin of the poet, Edgar Allan Poe . His wife, Josephine E. Clemm was

128-421: A punt as the waters of Venice are too deep. Until the early 20th century, as many photographs attest, gondolas were often fitted with a "felze", a small cabin, to protect the passengers from the weather or from onlookers. Its windows could be closed with louvered shutters—the original " Venetian blinds ". After the elimination of the traditional felze—possibly in response to tourists' complaining that it blocked

192-665: A Maryland politician is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Chesapeake and Ohio Canal The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal , abbreviated as the C&;O Canal and occasionally called the Grand Old Ditch , operated from 1831 until 1924 along the Potomac River between Washington, D.C. , and Cumberland, Maryland . It replaced the Potomac Canal , which shut down completely in 1828, and could operate during months in which

256-442: A day, vegetables, and a "reasonable allowance of whiskey", $ 8 to $ 12 per month, $ 20 for masons. Still, many were dissatisfied with the slave-like conditions. Friction between the largest groups, from Ireland and Germany, meant they had to be kept in different crews. The width of the canal prism above Harpers Ferry was reduced to 50 feet (15 m), which saved money and was also appropriate from an engineering standpoint. In 1832,

320-530: A falling down of the bottom of the Canal into limestone caverns that are lower than, and extend out under the bed of the river: — in consequence of which the water from the Canal is at first conducted down below the canal bottom perhaps twenty or thirty feet and thence out along under the bed of the river ... It has been a matter of surprise to me that our Canal thus far has suffered so little from limesinks. We may yet however have much trouble from this source near and above

384-416: A forward stroke, followed by a compensating backward stroke. The oar rests in an elaborately carved wooden rest ( forcola ) shaped to project from the side of the craft so as to allow the slight drag of each return stroke to pull the bow back to its forward course. Because of the vessel's flat bottom it may also be "drifted" sideways when required. Contrary to popular belief, the gondola is never poled like

448-471: A half-sister of the poet's wife, Virginia Eliza Clemm Poe . In a letter to mutual acquaintance Joseph Snodgrass, Edgar referred to his cousin Neilson: "I believe him to be the bitterest enemy I have in the world. He is the more despicable in this, since he makes loud professions of friendship." On October 3, 1849, Edgar Allan Poe was found semiconscious at Ryan's Inn and Tavern. Neilson attempted to visit Edgar in

512-411: A light boat was 62 hours, set by Raleigh Bender from Sharpsburg. Dent Shupp made it from Cumberland to Williamsport in 35 hours with 128 tons of coal. Following the disastrous flood of 1889, the canal company entered receivership with court-appointed trustees. The trustees were given the right to repair and operate the canal under continued court oversight. The trustees represented the majority owners of

576-463: A widely publicized icon of Venice, in the times of the Republic of Venice it was by far not the only means of transportation; on the map of Venice created by Jacopo de' Barbari in 1500, only a fraction of the boats are gondolas, the majority of boats are batellas, caorlinas, galleys, and other boats. Now, only a handful of batellas survive, and caorlinas are used for racing only. The historical gondola

640-473: Is a traditional, flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat , well suited to the conditions of the Venetian lagoon . It is typically propelled by a gondolier, who uses a rowing oar , which is not fastened to the hull , in a sculling manner, and also acts as the rudder . The uniqueness of the gondola includes its being asymmetrical along the length, making the single-oar propulsion more efficient. For centuries,

704-606: Is now protected by the Institution for the Protection and Conservation of Gondolas and Gondoliers, headquartered in the historical center of Venice. The profession of gondolier is controlled by a guild, which issues a limited number of licenses (approximately 400), granted after periods of training (400 hours over six months) and apprenticeship, and a major comprehensive exam which tests knowledge of Venetian history and landmarks, foreign language skills, and practical skills in handling

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768-465: Is to carry tourists on rides at fixed rates. There are approximately 400 licensed gondoliers in Venice and a similar number of boats, down from the thousands that travelled the canals centuries ago. However, they are now elegantly crafted, as opposed to the various types of homemade boats of the past. The gondola is propelled by a person (the gondolier) who stands on the stern facing the bow and rows with

832-706: The Charles River in Boston, Stillwater (Minnesota), New York's Central Park , and the Providence River in Rhode Island, as well as several in California. The annual U.S. Gondola Nationals competitions have been held since 2011, and feature American Gondoliers competing in sprints and slalom races, Mark Twain visited Venice in the summer of 1867. He dedicated much of The Innocents Abroad , chapter 23, to describing

896-694: The Lehigh Canal for their full year of business in 1820. Yet in 1850, the B&;O Railroad had already been operating in Cumberland for eight years, and the Canal suffered financially. Debt-ridden, the company dropped its plan to continue construction of the next 180 miles (290 km) of the canal into the Ohio Valley. The company long realized (especially with the experience at the Paw Paw tunnel) that construction over

960-794: The Ohio River , which flows into the Mississippi River and ultimately to the Gulf of Mexico at New Orleans . In 1785, Washington founded the Potowmack Company to improve the navigability of the Potomac River. His company built five skirting canals around the major falls: Little Falls (later incorporated in the C&;O Canal), Great Falls in Virginia , Seneca Falls (opposite Violette's lock), Payne's Falls of

1024-607: The Washington City Canal , which extended through the future National Mall to the foot of the United States Capitol . A lock keeper's house at the eastern end of this Washington Branch of the C&O Canal remains at the southwest corner of Constitution Avenue and 17th Street, N.W., at the edge of the National Mall. In 1834, the section to Harper's Ferry opened and the canal reached Williamsport. In 1836,

1088-711: The Youghiogheny River ; and the western section from there to Pittsburgh. The total estimated price tag, more than $ 22 million, dampened the enthusiasm of many supporters, who were expecting an estimate in the $ 4 million to $ 5 million range. At a convention in December 1826, they attempted to discredit the engineers' report, and offered lower estimates: Georgetown to Cumberland, $ 5,273,283; Georgetown to Pittsburgh, $ 13,768,152. Geddes and Roberts were hired to make another report, which they gave in 1828: $ 4,479,346.93 for Georgetown to Cumberland. With those numbers to encourage them,

1152-425: The 11th century, being first mentioned by name in 1094. It is estimated that there were eight to ten thousand gondolas during the 17th and 18th century, but there are only around four hundred in active service today, with virtually all of them used for hire by tourists. Those few that are in private ownership are either hired out to Venetians for weddings or used for racing. Even though the gondola, by now, has become

1216-473: The 1500s an estimated 10,000 gondolas of all types were in Venice; in 1878 an estimated 4000 and now approximately 400. The origin of the word "gondola" has never been satisfactorily established, despite many theories. Today's gondola is up to 11 m long and 1.6 m wide, with a mass of 350 kg. They are made of 280 hand-made pieces using eight types of wood (lime, oak, mahogany, walnut, cherry, fir, larch and elm). The process takes about two months; in 2013,

1280-595: The 3,118 ft (950 m) Paw Paw Tunnel . A planned section to the Ohio River at Pittsburgh was never built. The canal is now maintained as the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park , with a trail that follows the old towpath. After the American Revolutionary War , George Washington was the chief advocate of using waterways to connect the Eastern Seaboard to the Great Lakes and

1344-405: The 4-mile marker. Building the last 50-mile (80 km) segment proved difficult and expensive. Allen Bowie Davis took on the role of management. In Cumberland, Dam No. 8 and Guard Lock No. 8 had begun construction in 1837 and the final locks (70–75) to Cumberland were completed around 1840. That left an 18.5-mile (29.8 km) segment in the middle, which would eventually require building

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1408-561: The B&O from trying to sell it. In 1936, the B&O attempted to sell part of the canal from Point of Rocks to the District line. This was blocked by the courts which had continued to oversee the C&O trustees with the court saying "It is of course well known that the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company is not the owner of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal." At that time, the court also stated that

1472-576: The C&O Canal Company bonds issued in 1844. While the B&O owned the majority of the 1878 bonds, the B&O did not own a majority of the 1844 bonds as of 1890. However, by 1903, the B&O had acquired sufficient bonds to become "a majority holder", the reported reason being "to secure for the Wabash [railroad] system a foothold on the Atlantic seaboard" which had only been incorporated in February 1903. Over

1536-487: The C&O Canal and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) began fighting for sole use of the narrow strip of available land along the Potomac River from Point of Rocks to Harpers Ferry . After a Maryland state court battle that involved Daniel Webster and Roger B. Taney , the companies agreed to share the right-of-way . In August 1829, the canal company began importing indentured laborers to Alexandria and Georgetown. These workers were promised meat three times

1600-477: The Company; many of them had become entirely unfit for use and were becoming worthless, rendering it absolutely essential to the requirements of the Company to have them repaired." Still, some improvements were made in the late 1860s, such as replacing Dams No. 4 and 5. The early 1870s, which Unrau calls the "Golden Years", were particularly profitable. The company repaid some of its bonds. It made many improvements to

1664-602: The Patowmack Little Falls Skirting Canal) was sufficient since that literally fulfilled the charter's condition of reaching the tidewater, but people in Washington wanted it to end in Washington, connecting to the Tiber Creek and Anacostia river. For that reason, the canal originally opened from Little Falls to Seneca, and the next year, was extended down to Georgetown. The Little Falls skirting canal, which

1728-407: The Paw Paw tunnel, digging the deep cut at Oldtown, and building 17 locks. Near Paw Paw, the engineers had no good solutions. If they followed the river, they would have to cross over to West Virginia to avoid the cliffs, and an agreement with the B&O Railroad specified that the canal would avoid the south side of the river, unless it was a place where the railroad would not need it. So they took

1792-799: The Shenandoah, and House's Falls near Harpers Ferry . These canals allowed an easy downstream float; upstream journeys, propelled by pole, were harder. Several kinds of watercraft were used on the Patowmack Canal and in the Potomac River . Gondolas were 60 by 10 ft (18 by 3 m) log rafts, usually sold at journey's end for their wood by their owners, who returned upstream on foot. Sharpers were flat-bottomed boats, 60 by 7 ft (18 by 2 m), usable only on high-water days, about 45 days per year. The Erie Canal , built between 1817 and 1825, threatened traders south of New York City, who began to seek their own transportation infrastructure to link

1856-400: The board to change their plans, routing the canal through the center of town. The canal was opened for trade to Cumberland on Thursday, October 10, 1850. On the first day, five canal boats, Southampton, Elizabeth, Ohio, Delaware and Freeman Rawdon loaded with a total of 491 tons of coal, came down from Cumberland. In one day, the C&O carried more coal in the first day of business than

1920-506: The boats extra cargo not listed on the waybills to avoid tolls. In 1873, for instance, one boat got from Georgetown to Harpers Ferry with 225 hidden sacks of salt before the company found out. The items transported on the canal varied. In 1845, for instance, before the canal's completion, the shipments were as follows: Gondola The gondola ( English: / ˈ ɡ ɒ n d ə l ə / , Italian: [ˈɡondola] ; Venetian : góndoła , Venetian: [ˈɡoŋdoɰa] )

1984-473: The breach at Lock No. 37. For about a mile, there is scarcely a hundred feet in length of the canal in which there are not several small lime sink holes...". He recommended costly but necessary repairs, which were done by 1840. Since it was difficult to obtain stone for the locks, engineers built composite locks , sometimes of kyanized wood. In 1843, the Potomac Aqueduct Bridge was built near

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2048-525: The burgeoning areas west of the Appalachian Mountains to mid-Atlantic markets and ports. As early as 1820, plans were being laid for a canal to link the Ohio River and Chesapeake Bay. In early March 1825, President James Monroe signed the bill chartering the construction of the C&O Canal as one of the last acts of his presidency. The plan was to build it in two sections, the eastern section from

2112-412: The canal company prohibited liquor in a bid to improve the speed of construction, but soon repealed its ban. In August or September 1832, an epidemic of cholera swept through the construction camps, killing many workers and leading others to throw down their tools and flee. By 1833, the canal's Georgetown end was extended 1.5 miles (2.4 km) eastward to Tiber Creek , near the western terminus of

2176-400: The canal could not be sold in pieces but only in its entirety. In 1938, new trustees were appointed by the court to handle the sale under the court's continued oversight. Tolls were charged for cargo on the canal. In 1851, for instance, the toll rates on the Canal were set as follows: Tolls varied greatly, and frequently the board adopted new toll rates. Some boatmen would try to ship in

2240-472: The canal was used by canal packets as a Star Route to carry mail from Georgetown to Shepherdstown . The contract was held by Albert Humrickhouse at $ 1,000 per annum for a daily service of 72 book miles. The canal approached Hancock, Maryland , by 1839. In March 1837, three surveys were made for a possible link to the northeast to Baltimore: via Westminster, via Monocacy -Linganore, and via Seneca, but they were all deemed impractical due to lack of water at

2304-480: The canal, including the installation of a telephone system. Yet there were still floods and other problems. By 1872, so many vessels were unfit for navigation that the company required boats to undergo annual inspections and registration. In July 1876, the crew of the Lezan Ragan stayed afloat while loading in Cumberland only by her crew's pumping. She hit some abutments of the locks near Great Falls, and finally sank at

2368-476: The cost of a gondola was about 38,000 euros. The oar or rèmo is held in an oarlock known as a fórcola . The forcola is of a complicated shape, allowing several positions of the oar for slow forward rowing, powerful forward rowing, turning, slowing down, rowing backwards, and stopping. The ornament on the front of the boat is called the fèrro (meaning iron) and can be made from brass, stainless steel, or aluminium. It serves as decoration and as counterweight for

2432-458: The cross section of the canal prism in difficult terrain. This reduced maintenance expenditures but increased construction costs. In the end, two slackwaters (Big Slackwater above Dam No. 4, and Little Slackwater above Dam No. 5) and multiple composite locks (Locks 58–71) were built. At first, the canal company planned to use steamboats in the slackwaters, since without mules, the canal boats had to use oars to move upstream. After much discussion of

2496-475: The dangers of early steamboats, the company provided a towpath so that the mules could pull the boats through the slackwaters. From Lock 5 at Little Falls to Cumberland (as mentioned above, the canal started at Little Falls, and was later extended down to Georgetown), the canal was divided into three divisions (of about 60 miles (100 km) apiece), each of which was further divided into 120 sections of about 0.5 miles (800 m). A separate construction contract

2560-511: The gondola was a major means of transportation and the most common watercraft within Venice . In modern times, the boats still do have a role in public transport in the city, serving as traghetti (small ferries ) over the Grand Canal operated by two oarsmen. Various types of gondola boats are also used in special regattas (rowing races) held amongst gondoliers. Their primary role today, however,

2624-536: The gondola. Such skills are necessary in the tight spaces of Venetian canals. Gondoliers dress in a blue or red striped top, red neckerchief, wide-brimmed straw hat and dark pants. A gondolier can earn the equivalent of up to US$ 150,000 per year. In August 2010, Giorgia Boscolo became Venice's first fully licensed female gondolier. There are about a half dozen cities in the United States where gondolas are operated as tourist attractions, including New Orleans ,

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2688-515: The gondolier standing near the stern. According to a popular urban legend with no factual basis, every detail of the gondola has its own symbolism. The iron prow-head of the gondola, called "fero da prorà" or "dolfin", is needed to balance the weight of the gondolier at the stern and has an " Ƨ " shape symbolic of the twists in the Canal Grande. Under the main blade there is a kind of comb with six teeth or prongs ("rebbi") pointing forward standing for

2752-514: The hospital and subsequently wrote several letters containing information about his cousin's death. Soon afterwards Edgar died. Edgar's hearse and headstone of white Italian marble were paid for by Neilson. He was the father of John P. Poe, Sr. , the Attorney General of Maryland from 1891 until 1895. His grandsons consisted of the six Poe brothers , who played American football for Princeton between 1882 and 1901. This article about

2816-593: The mid-1870s that improved technology, specifically with larger locomotives and air brakes , allowed the railroad to set rates lower than the canal, and thus seal its fate. Sometime after the canal opened in 1850, a commemorative obelisk was erected near its Georgetown terminus. The canal deteriorated during the Civil War. In 1869, the company's annual report said, "During the last ten years little or nothing had been done toward repairing and improving lock-houses, culverts, aqueducts, locks, lock-gates and waste weirs of

2880-406: The more expensive decision to build a tunnel through the mountain. The initial cost estimate of $ 33,500 proved far too low. The tunnel was completed for $ 616,478.65 Among the components of the project, a kiln was built to provide bricks to line the tunnel. Originally, the company intended to go around Cumberland, behind the town of Wills Creek, but complaints from the citizens and the city caused

2944-526: The mountains going to Pittsburgh was "wildly unrealistic". Occasionally there was talk of continuing the canal, e.g. in 1874, an 8.4-mile (13.5 km) long tunnel was proposed to go through the Allegheny Mountains. Nevertheless, there was a tunnel built to connect with the Pennsylvania canal. Even though the railroad beat the canal to Cumberland, the canal was not entirely obsolete. It wasn't until

3008-407: The next decade, and particularly after 1902, boats on the canal shifted from independent operators to company-owned craft. Boats with colorful names ( Bertha M. Young or Lezen Ragan ) gave way to numbered craft ("Canal Towage Company" with a number) run by a schedule. Despite the B&O's status as a majority bondholder, the B&O can not be said to have ever owned the C&O. This did not stop

3072-412: The opening Lock 15 (at the head of Widewater). For a brief period in the 1860s and 1870s, the company attempted to prevent boating on Sundays. But boatmen broke padlocks on the lock gates and turned to violence when confronted. The company gave up trying to enforce the rule. The trip from Cumberland to Georgetown generally took about seven days. The fastest known time from Georgetown to Cumberland for

3136-469: The present-day Francis Scott Key Bridge to connect the canal to the Alexandria Canal , which led to Alexandria, Virginia . In April 1843, floods damaged much of the finished portion of the canal between Georgetown and Harpers Ferry, including the Shenandoah river lock. One flood suspended navigation for 103 days. The company raised the embankments around Little Falls, and made a "tumbling waste" near

3200-554: The six districts or " sestieri " of Venice (however, this is contradicted by the fact that old photographs and paintings show gondolas with 4 or 5 teeth). A kind of tooth juts out backwards toward the centre of the gondola symbolises the island of Giudecca. The curved top signifies the Doge's cap. The semi-circular break between the curved top and the six teeth is said to represent the Rialto Bridge. Sometimes three friezes can be seen in-between

3264-540: The six prongs, indicating the three main islands of the city: Murano, Burano and Torcello. This symbolism is likely influenced by the need to explain the shape to tourists, rather than the shape being influenced by those symbols, as they are not mentioned in any writings about the gondola prior to the current evolution of the shape of the Fero. The gondola is also one of the vessels typically used in both ceremonial and competitive regattas, rowing races held amongst gondoliers using

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3328-451: The stockholders formally organized the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company in June 1828. In the end, the final construction cost to Cumberland in 1850 was $ 11,071,075.21. Compared to the original cost given by the engineers in 1826 of about $ 8 million, removing things not in the estimate such as land purchases, engineering expenses, incidental damages, salaries, and fencing provision, the cost overrun

3392-475: The summit level. The Canal reached Dam No. 6 (west of Hancock) in 1839. As the canal approached Hancock, more construction problems surfaced. Limestone sinkholes and caverns caused the canal bottom to cave in near Shepherdstown, near Two Locks above Dam No. 4, around Four Locks, Big pool, and Roundtop Hill near Dam No. 6. On 6 December 1839, Chief Engineer Fisk wrote, "These breaks have all evidently been occasioned by limestone sinks which exhibit themselves by

3456-495: The technique of Voga alla Veneta . During their heyday as a means of public transports, teams of four men would share ownership of a gondola – three oarsmen ( gondoliers ) and a fourth person, primarily shore-based and responsible for the booking and administration of the gondola ( Il Rosso Riserva ). However, as the gondolas became more of a tourist attraction than a mode of public transport all but one of these cooperatives and their offices have closed. The category

3520-472: The tidewater of Washington, D.C., to Cumberland, Maryland; and the western section over the Allegheny Mountains to the Ohio River or one of its tributaries. Free from taxation, the canal company was required to have 100 miles (160 km) in use in five years, and to complete the canal in 12 years. The canal was engineered to have a 2 miles per hour (3 km/h) water current, supplying the canal and assisting mules pulling boats downstream. The eastern section

3584-422: The view—there survived for some decades a kind of vestigial summer awning, known as the "tendalin" (these can be seen on gondolas as late as the mid-1950s, in the film Summertime (1955)). While in previous centuries gondolas could be many different colors, a sumptuary law of Venice required that gondolas should be painted black, and they are customarily so painted now. The gondola has existed in Venice since

3648-600: The water level was too low for the former canal. The canal's principal cargo was coal from the Allegheny Mountains . Construction began in 1828 on the 184.5-mile (296.9 km) canal and ended in 1850 with the completion of a 50-mile (80 km) stretch to Cumberland, although the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad had already reached Cumberland in 1842. The canal had an elevation change of 605 feet (184 meters) which required 74 canal locks , 11 aqueducts to cross major streams, more than 240 culverts to cross smaller streams, and

3712-529: Was about 19%, which can be justified by the inflation rate of the period. The cost overrun of the other proposal (Geddes and Roberts) was about 51% thus showing that the original engineer's estimate was good. In 1824, the holdings of the Patowmack Company were ceded to the Chesapeake and Ohio Company. (Rejected names for the canal included the "Potomac Canal" and "Union Canal". ) By 1825, the Canal Company

3776-620: Was authorized by an act of the General Assembly of Maryland in the amount of subscriptions of $ 500,000; this paved the way for future investments and loans. According to historians, those financial resources were expended until the State had prostrated itself on its own credit. The C&O's first chief engineer was Benjamin Wright , formerly chief engineer of the Erie Canal . A groundbreaking ceremony

3840-458: Was held on July 4, 1828, attended by U.S. president John Quincy Adams . The ceremony was held near Georgetown , at the canal's eventual 5.64 miles (9.08 km) mark near Lock 6, the upstream end of the Little Falls skirting canal, and Dam No. 1. At the groundbreaking, there was still argument over the eastern end of the canal. The directors thought that Little Falls (at the downstream end of

3904-475: Was issued for each section. Locks, culverts, dams, etc. were listed on the contracts by section number, not by mileage as is done today. For instance, Locks 5 and 6 are on Section No. 1, all the way to Guard Lock No. 8 on section 367. Sections A–H were in the Georgetown level below lock 5 In November 1830, the canal opened from Little Falls to Seneca. The Georgetown section opened the following year. In 1828,

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3968-516: Was part of the Patowmack Canal, was dredged to increase its depth from 4 to 6 feet (1.2 to 1.8 m), and became part of the C&O Canal. The first president of the canal, Charles F. Mercer , insisted on perfection since this was a work of national importance. This would cost the company more money to build the canal. During his term, he forbade the use of slackwaters for navigation, the use of composite locks (see section below), or reduction of

4032-500: Was quite different from its modern evolution; the paintings of Canaletto and others show a much lower prow, a higher "ferro", and usually two rowers. The banana-shaped modern gondola was developed only in the 19th century by the boat-builder Tramontin, whose heirs still run the Tramontin boatyard. The construction of the gondola continued to evolve until the mid-20th century, when the city government prohibited any further modifications. In

4096-594: Was the only part to be completed. On October 23, 1826, the engineers submitted the study, presenting the proposed canal route in three sections. The eastern section comprised Georgetown to Cumberland; the middle section, Cumberland (going up Wills Creek to Hyndman then across the Sand Patch Grade crossing the Eastern Continental Divide to Garrett ) to the confluence of the Casselman River and

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