Old Lock Pump House, Chesapeake and Delaware Canal
Encyclopedia
The Old Lock Pump House on the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal
was one of the first National Historic Landmark
s to recognize an engineering achievement rather than an important building or a place associated with an historic event. The pump house, whose first element was built in 1837, preserves a feature of the old canal, which relied on locks and pumps to move vessels over the low divide of the Delmarva Peninsula
between Chesapeake Bay
and Delaware Bay
. Because there are no large rivers on the peninsula, water had to be pumped uphill to fill the upper canal and locks. When the canal was cut deeper in the twentieth century, such measures were no longer required, and the pump house is one of the last relics of the old canal.
. The buildings were built between 1837 and 1854 of fieldstone
, brick and clapboard.
The oldest and easternmost building is the Old Steam House (1837), which housed the original boiler and steam engine. The one-story fieldstone building has an asphalt shingle roof and is used for storage. The next oldest building, the westernmost, was built circa 1851 as the boiler house for the rest of the complex. It now functions as the home of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal Museum. Immediately to the east is the West Engine Building, also from 1851. The engine house contains one of the two Merrick single-cylinder steam engine
s. The interior of the structure is supported by cast iron
columns. From the outside this appears to be a two-story structure, but is a single space inside. The East Engine Building, opposite the Wheel House, is similar in nature, but was built in 1853 or 1854. In the center, the Wheel House (1851) contains a 39 feet (11.9 m) lift wheel, 10 feet (3 m) wide, made of cypress
, white oak
and iron. The wheel could move 20000 gallons (75,708.2 l) per minute at 1.5 rpm.
The building is now operated as the C&D Canal Museum, also known as the Chesapeake & Delaware Lock Canal Museum, by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Chesapeake and Delaware Canal
The Chesapeake and Delaware Canal is a 14-mile long, 450-foot wide and 40-foot deep ship canal that cuts across the states of Maryland and Delaware, in the United States. It connects the waters of the Delaware River with those of the Chesapeake Bay and the Port of Baltimore...
was one of the first National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
s to recognize an engineering achievement rather than an important building or a place associated with an historic event. The pump house, whose first element was built in 1837, preserves a feature of the old canal, which relied on locks and pumps to move vessels over the low divide of the Delmarva Peninsula
Delmarva Peninsula
The Delmarva Peninsula is a large peninsula on the East Coast of the United States, occupied by most of Delaware and portions of Maryland and Virginia...
between Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
and Delaware Bay
Delaware Bay
Delaware Bay is a major estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the Northeast seaboard of the United States whose fresh water mixes for many miles with the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. It is in area. The bay is bordered by the State of New Jersey and the State of Delaware...
. Because there are no large rivers on the peninsula, water had to be pumped uphill to fill the upper canal and locks. When the canal was cut deeper in the twentieth century, such measures were no longer required, and the pump house is one of the last relics of the old canal.
Description
The landmark district is part of a row of buildings at the Back Creek Mooring Basin on the south side of the basin in Chesapeake City, MarylandChesapeake City, Maryland
Chesapeake City is a town in Cecil County, Maryland, United States. The population was 787 at the 2000 census.The town was originally named by Bohemian colonist Augustine Herman the Village of Bohemia , but the name was changed in 1839 when the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal was built...
. The buildings were built between 1837 and 1854 of fieldstone
Fieldstone
Fieldstone is a building construction material. Strictly speaking, it is stone collected from the surface of fields where it occurs naturally...
, brick and clapboard.
The oldest and easternmost building is the Old Steam House (1837), which housed the original boiler and steam engine. The one-story fieldstone building has an asphalt shingle roof and is used for storage. The next oldest building, the westernmost, was built circa 1851 as the boiler house for the rest of the complex. It now functions as the home of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal Museum. Immediately to the east is the West Engine Building, also from 1851. The engine house contains one of the two Merrick single-cylinder steam engine
Steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
s. The interior of the structure is supported by cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
columns. From the outside this appears to be a two-story structure, but is a single space inside. The East Engine Building, opposite the Wheel House, is similar in nature, but was built in 1853 or 1854. In the center, the Wheel House (1851) contains a 39 feet (11.9 m) lift wheel, 10 feet (3 m) wide, made of cypress
Cypress
Cypress is the name applied to many plants in the cypress family Cupressaceae, which is a conifer of northern temperate regions. Most cypress species are trees, while a few are shrubs...
, white oak
White oak
Quercus alba, the white oak, is one of the pre-eminent hardwoods of eastern North America. It is a long-lived oak of the Fagaceae family, native to eastern North America and found from southern Quebec west to eastern Minnesota and south to northern Florida and eastern Texas. Specimens have been...
and iron. The wheel could move 20000 gallons (75,708.2 l) per minute at 1.5 rpm.
The building is now operated as the C&D Canal Museum, also known as the Chesapeake & Delaware Lock Canal Museum, by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
External links
- Chesapeake & Delaware Lock Canal Museum - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
- Old Lock Pump House, Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, Cecil County, including photo in 1995, at Maryland Historical Trust
- Chesapeake & Delaware Canal, Pump House, South side of Chesapeake & Delaware Canal, Chesapeake City, Cecil County, MD: 5 drawings, 22 data pages, at Historic American Building Survey