Title: [left side] Map of the country between Washington & Pittsburg referring to the contemplated Chesapeake & Ohio Canal and its General Route And Profile October 1826 Reduced from the General Map  annexed to the Report upon the  Contemplated Canal.

Drawn by: Lieut Farley, USA

Etched by: Wm. Harrison Georgetown DC

Lettered by: D R Harrison.

Scale: Bar scale indicates 8 miles; vertical scale indicates 300 feet.

Dimensions: Sheet 50 x 68 cm.; image 45.3 x 64 cm. Engraving.

Map of the Country Between Washington & Pittsburg, 1826

As early as the 18th century, individuals living in the tidewater Potomac area recognized the river's potential in interior development and trade. To meet these ends, the Potowmack Company was formed (1784) to explore and develop the navigability of the Potomac. Several canals were constructed to circumnavigate the falls of the Potomac but, by 1820, the Company was out of funds and had yet to comply with the terms of its charter: in 1824 that charter was canceled. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company was formed immediately thereafter and the first surveys of routes west were conducted in 1823/ 24. President Monroe appointed the surveyors: this is the first instance of the use of Federal employees for an internal improvements project.

In the summer of 1823, James Shriver worked on his own in the area of Little Back Bone Mountain, "to satisfy himself and a few friends of the practicability of the project  (James Shriver, An Account of Surueys, cited in no.22.) The resulting map (no.22) is a combination of the several surveys with Shriver's own. Of particular interest is Shriver's attention to the summit level of the canal and its water supply, depicted in the inset: it was of concern to the Company to keep the canal watered in the summer months. Also included is the National Road. Shriver's uncle, David Shriver, was the engineer in charge of the National Road for the section between Cumberland and Wheeling. Not only might the Road have been included as a reference, but James Shriver may have been honoring a family member's
national contribution. According to Mathews, writing in 1898, "although out of date, the location of immovable features compares favorably with any of the maps existing prior to the recent work of the Federal surveyors" (Mathews, pp. 415-416).

The report of the survey of 1824 suggested a construction cost of $1,500,00. In 1826 a second survey was conducted. The resulting map depicts the entire system from Georgetown to Pittsburgh. The map sheet includes a much larger profile than that in the 1824 survey, as well as a cross section of the canal. Surprisingly, the draftsmanship of the map appears to be rudimentary, if not crude, in style. With the report of the 1826 survey came a revised estimate: $8,085,000 for the eastern half, that of Georgetown to the Savage River. The Federal government determined that the project was too expensive and withdrew its support, leaving funding to Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. Although both maps show preliminary plans, the information gained from the surveys added to existing knowledge of the territory along the Potomac.

When the Canal finally reached Cumberland in 1850, the railroad was already in Wheeling, proving that rail transportation was the way of the future. Several devastating floods in the late 19th century compounded financial difficulties already experienced by the canal company; the last barges ran in the 1920s.

References:
E. Mathews, 1898 pp. 415-416.

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