Happy Birthday, George Washington! Our first President’s birthday occurs each year on February 22, and it was deemed a federal holiday in 1879. In 1968, the US government decided to recognize George Washington’s birthday on the third February of each month as a part of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act to give federal employees a three-day weekend.
President George Washington played a critical role in the construction of the C&O Canal, though he was not actually present when construction began. George Washington was amongst the first group of people to see the value in creating a canal on the Potomac.
Early on, Washington became a major proponent of the Potomac River as a navigation route to move western agricultural goods like wheat, corn, and flour to the eastern ports of Georgetown, MD and Alexandria, VA.
In 1784, George Washington began writing letters to Thomas Jefferson about his idea to use the Potomac River as a waterway to transport goods and materials. It wasn’t until 1785 that the Potowmack Company was formed by George Washington. The Potowmack Company first set out to create skirting canals along Great Falls (Virginia side) being as it was one of the more turbulent areas.
In 1789, Washington was forced to abandon his role as President of the Patowmack Society for his new role as President of the United States. During his presidency from 1789-1797, Washington kept an eye on the project. Unfortunately, George Washington died (1799) before the Patowmack Company finally opened the Potomac River for boat navigation, and ultimately, the project was not successful.
In 1828, when the Patowmack Company was bought out by the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company, the C&O Canal began construction – which proved to be a more successful project, and later (as we know) became the C&O Canal National Historical Park!
Thanks to George Washington’s innovative idea – which proved to be one of the many catalysts in the creation of the canal – we are now able to enjoy the park we know and love today!
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Photos courtesy of the NPS
