The Justice Who Walked the Canal
A newspaper said pave it. A Supreme Court justice said come and walk it first.
Listen to this place’s story in Peplos.
How the story begins
A justice of the Supreme Court invited two newspaper editors to walk about a hundred and eighty-five miles with him, and they said yes. William O. Douglas was answering their paper. On January 3, 1954, the Washington Post had called this canal "no longer either a commercial or scenic asset," and it backed a scenic highway along the old route, beside the water or on top of it. Congress had approved the idea.
The rest is in the app. Peplos plays the full story when you reach the place. You can also listen ahead of time.
Visiting
C&O Canal towpath at Lock 4, below M Street in Georgetown. Public path. Water levels in this stretch change, and the canal can be drained, so check the park's conditions page if you want to see water.
Sources
- National Park Service: Associate Justice William O. Douglas
- National Park Service: Justice Douglas's Famous Hike
- National Parks Conservation Association: Walking the Walk
- The Patowmack Packet: Seventy Years Ago This Week, The Hike That Saved the C&O Canal
- Wikipedia: Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park
- National Park Service: C&O Canal current conditions
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