Seneca Aqueduct — or Aqueduct No. 1 — is a

naviduct A naviduct is a special class of navigable aqueduct, in which the waterway also includes a lock. One example of a naviduct has been built at Enkhuizen on the Houtribdijk in the Netherlands on the instructions of the Rijkswaterstaat. This cost ove ...

that carries the

Chesapeake and Ohio Canal The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, abbreviated as the C&O Canal and occasionally called the "Grand Old Ditch," operated from 1831 until 1924 along the Potomac River between Washington, D.C. and Cumberland, Maryland. It replaced the Potomac Canal, wh ...

(C&O) over Seneca Creek in

Montgomery County, Maryland Montgomery County is the most populous county in the state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 1,062,061, increasing by 9.3% from 2010. The county seat and largest municipality is Rockville, although the census-design ...

. The C&O built eleven aqueducts along its length. Seneca Aqueduct is a unique structure, not only being the first built, but also the only red

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

aqueduct on the C&O−and the only aqueduct that is also a

lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

(Lock 24, or

Riley's Lock Riley's Lock (Lock 24) and lock house are part of the 184.5-mile (296.9 km) Chesapeake and Ohio Canal (a.k.a. C&O Canal) that operated in the United States along the Potomac River from the 1830s through 1923. They are located at towpat ...

). It is located at the end of Riley's Lock Road in

Seneca, Maryland Seneca is an unincorporated community in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is located near the intersection of River Road and Seneca Creek, not far from the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal (C&O Canal) and Potomac River. Its history goes ba ...

History

Seneca Aqueduct was built from 1829 to 1832 with three red sandstone arches quarried in the nearby

Seneca Quarry Seneca Quarry is a historic site located at Seneca, Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located along the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal on the north bank of the Potomac River, just west of Seneca Creek. The quarry was the source of stone for two ...

, just a few hundred feet to the west. The initial stretch of the C&O Canal opened in 1830 up to Lock 23 and Inlet Lock 2, one lock downstream from the Seneca Aqueduct. The segment from Seneca Aqueduct to

Harpers Ferry Harpers Ferry is a historic town in Jefferson County, West Virginia. It is located in the lower Shenandoah Valley. The population was 285 at the 2020 census. Situated at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers, where the U.S. stat ...

opened in 1833. This included a sizable

turning basin A turning basin, winding basin or swinging basin is a wider body of water, either located at the end of a ship canal or in a port to allow cargo ships to turn and reverse their direction of travel, or to enable long narrow barges in a canal to tur ...

, just west of the aqueduct, where canal boats could anchor or turn around. Next to the aqueduct and lock is the lock keeper's house, also made from Seneca red sandstone. Because of the canal, the nearby quarry operations, and additional mills on Seneca Creek, the town of Seneca was an active working class community. In 1897, the steam

packet boat Packet boats were medium-sized boats designed for domestic mail, passenger, and freight transportation in European countries and in North American rivers and canals, some of them steam driven. They were used extensively during the 18th and 19th ...

''Anna Wilson'' leaving the aqueduct, collided with a freight boat loaded with watermelons, and sank. There were no injuries to the passengers. Local residents had "a ball" fishing out the watermelons floating in the basin. The canal closed in 1924 after ninety-six years in operation. A major flood in September 1971 took out the westernmost of the three arches. The

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

has since shored up the aqueduct with steel beams. Seneca Aqueduct is part of the C&O Canal National Historic Park and is administered by the National Park Service. The aqueduct is included in the Seneca Historic District in Montgomery County, Maryland.

References

* Sheir, Rebecca (2012-03-30)
"From Stone to Bright Red Structure: A Tour of the Seneca Quarry."
WAMU FM Radio (Washington, D.C.)

External links

*, including photo in 1997, at Maryland Historical Trust website * {{National Register of Historic Places Buildings and structures in Montgomery County, Maryland Transportation buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Maryland Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Navigable aqueducts in the United States Water transportation in Maryland 1832 establishments in Maryland National Register of Historic Places in Montgomery County, Maryland Historic district contributing properties in Maryland Aqueducts on the National Register of Historic Places Bridges in Maryland