A Railroad Bridge crosses the Former Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Bed at Harpers Ferry
An operating RR bridge crosses the bed of what used to be the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Canal at Harpers Ferry. Canal Lock #33 is in the foreground on the left side of the image. The grassy area under the bridge is the floor of the old canal. Here the forces of nature created a natural corridor for commerce back in the early days of America. The Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers carved a notch in the mountains, providing passage west. Communities grew up on both sides of the river and later a turnpike, railroad and canal came through this notch. The Lock #33 Area once supported a bustling, small community. The railroad and canal competed constantly until the railroad gained dominance. Because of the devastation of the civil War and decreasing dependence on waterpower the area declined in importance. Today the confluence of two national historical parks (Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and Harpers Ferry) offer glimpses on an enterprising past. The HARPERS FERRY NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK is located across the Potomac at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers in the 3-states area of West Virginia, Virginia, and Maryland. The story of Harpers Ferry is more than one event, one date, or one individual. It involves a diverse number of people and events that influenced the course of our nation's history. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Meriwether Lewis, John Brown, "Stonewall" Jackson, and Frederick Douglass are just a few of the prominent individuals who left their mark on this place. Harpers Ferry witnessed the first successful application of interchangeable manufacture, the arrival of the first successful American railroad, John Brown's attack on slavery, the largest surrender of Federal troops during the Civil War, and the education of former slaves in one of the earliest integrated schools in the United States.
Size: 5081px × 3387px
Location: Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, USA, North America
Photo credit: © Jim Kidd / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: &, abolishes, abolitionism, abolitionist, abolitionists, boating, bridges, canals, hill, hills, hilly, horizontal, mountainous, mountains, outdoors, railroads, roads, rr, settlements, tourism, trains, transportation, usa, va, wv
