1/3/2024 0 Comments Paw paw tunnelEach campsite features a picnic table, grill and fire ring. The campground, just a short distance from the tunnel, boasts 10 single campsites. Camping near Paw Paw, WV at the C&O Canal It isn’t open for tours but is still an interesting structure to check out from the outside. But there is a white building standing near the campground that used to be occupied by the Superintendent of this section of the canal. While there are beautiful sights to see, be forewarned it is a very strenuous and steep two mile trek with narrow trails and loose rock. It is actually part of the access road workers would use to housing and work camps near the top of the mountain. While you’re there, another great thing to check out is “Tunnel Hill Trail” which goes up and over the tunnel itself. The stand-off lasted for several days until other workers upstream started a fire to smoke them out! The Paw Paw Tunnel, with its fascinating history, isn’t the only attraction you can find at this particular part of the Canal, though. Once, though, neither boat would give the right of way. It became understood that boats going downstream would yield and back out of the tunnel. They began lighting a red lantern on the stern and a white lantern on the bow so that other boats would know when someone was coming or going. Because of the narrowness inside of the tunnel, it was impossible for boats to pass by each other. But once the tunnel was open for boat traffic, there was often backups in the tunnel. There have even been some paranormal investigators who have visited and report hearing and recording “unembodied whispers” and “unexplained shadows”. It is said his spirit still roams throughout the tunnel. The next morning, the charred remains of the poor lockkeeper were found inside. One night, a particularly rowdy bunch of workers ended up burning down the lockhouse at mile 64 2/3. One of the most famous stories, however, is about the lockkeeper of lock 64 2/3.ĭuring the construction of the tunnel there was much frustration that led to quarrels and even some riots. Over the years, locals as well as visitors have claimed to have seen many a daunting figure or some other unexplained, possibly paranormal happenings while visiting the Paw Paw Tunnel. Lee Montgomery, a Methodist minister and contractor led Irish and English workers who attacked each other and German workers at a work camp downstream. One of the biggest delays in the construction of the tunnel was fighting and rioting between the workers. The Paw Paw Tunnel is located at milepost 155.2 of the C&O Canal. It is lined with close to 6 Million bricks and is almost 6/10 of a mile long! The tunnel stands 24 feet high and is the largest manmade structure on the C&O Canal. The Paw Paw Tunnel was proclaimed by American promoters as a “Wonder of the World”. The resulting tunnel eliminated 6 miles of river bends (known as the Paw Paw Bends) and steep mountainous terrain. It was originally expected to take about 2 years and cost $33,500 but because of the extreme difficulty of the work and fights amongst the workers, it took them 14 years using primitive hand tools and black powder charges to carve the 3118-foot tunnel through the mountain of stratified shale of what is known as Sorrell Ridge. In 1836, the C&O Canal began construction on the Paw Paw Tunnel. Though surpassed by many tunnels today, it remains one of the world's longest canal tunnels and one of the greatest engineering feats of its day.The Paw Paw Tunnel is located a mile north of town and it’s actually in Maryland. The lengthy construction and high cost meant that the C&O halted construction in Cumberland in 1850, rather than continuing on to Pittsburgh. The tunnel was finally completed but nearly bankrupted the C&O Canal. Violence frequently broke out between various gangs of immigrant laborers of different ethnicities, and wages were often unpaid due to the company's financial problems. The construction company seriously underestimated the difficulty of the job. Originally planned to be completed in two years, there were many difficulties in the process of construction. The tunnel was opened for traffic (and essentially completed) in 1850, but the brick liner was not finished until after the tunnel was opened. Due to problems, there was no work done from 1841 to 1847. The town, the bends, and the tunnel take their name from the pawpaw trees that grow prolifically along nearby ridges.Ĭonstruction on the tunnel began in 1836. The Paw Paw Tunnel is a 3,118-foot (950 m) long canal tunnel on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal in Allegany County, Maryland.Located near Paw Paw, West Virginia, it was built to bypass the Paw Paw Bends, a six-mile stretch of the Potomac River containing five horseshoe bends.
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