Ray (webmaster on 11/20/2010 8:33:31 AM:
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
by Cody Calamaio, Gazette
Potomac, Md. — You won't find wireless internet, or even running water, but for those looking to experience a day in the life of the bygone era of the C&O Canal, there are no better digs than a historic canal lockhouse.
In its first year, the Canal Quarters program has had more than 1,200 guests from 31 states stay in one of three historic lockhouses, far exceeding organizers' expectations, said Matt Logan, president of the C&O Canal Trust, a nonprofit that operates the program.
"It was really a risk, because nothing like it has been done in a national park system," Logan said.
Conceived of as a way to provide visitors of the C&O Canal with a unique and educational experience, there are now three historic lockhouses in Bethesda, Potomac and Clear Spring that can house guests overnight. The first year was so successful that plans are in the works to open three more lockhouses in 2011.
Built in the 1820s, each of the lockhouses was once occupied by lock tenders who operated the locks that moved boats up and down the C&O Canal, Logan said. The locks ceased operation in 1924, but some houses remained occupied until the 1970s.
All of the park's 26 lockhouses are on the National Register of Historic Places and are just some of the park's 1,300 historic structures, said Sam Tamburro, the park's cultural resource program manager for the National Park Service.
Not only are the two-story buildings historic, complete with either stone....
Full article at http://www.canaltrust.org/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=179&cntnt01returnid=109