Near Spring Gap in Allegany County, Maryland — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Steam Pump
Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park
June 14, 2022
1. Steam Pump Marker
Inscription.
Steam Pump. Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park. The C&O Canal could be shut down by too much water...or too little. This steam pump maintained the water level during periods of drought. Foundation rubble is all that is left of the pump house that was built on this site in the 1870s. The original structure contained a brick boiler room and a wooden engine room. Steam from the boiler provided energy to run two pumps that pulled water from the Potomac River into a well. Water from the well spilled into a concrete flume that carried it across the towpath and into the canal.
The C&O Canal could be shut down by too much water...or too little. This steam pump maintained the water level during periods of drought. Foundation rubble is all that is left of the pump house that was built on this site in the 1870s. The original structure contained a brick boiler room and a wooden engine room. Steam from the boiler
provided energy to run two pumps that pulled water from the Potomac River into a well. Water from the well spilled into a concrete flume that carried it across the towpath and into the canal.
Erected by National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.
Location. 39° 34.333′ N, 78° 43.65′ W. Marker is near Spring Gap, Maryland, in Allegany County. Marker can be reached from Wheeler Road Southeast. Marker is on the C&O Canal Towpath. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Cumberland MD 21502, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Credits. This page was last revised on September 3, 2022. It was originally submitted on August 26, 2022, by E. Hoo of Ferndale, Michigan. This page has been viewed 289 times since then and 44 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on August 26, 2022. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
