Some time ago we became members of the C&O Canal Association.  It was initially a gift from one of our dear regular customers of Beans in the Belfry.  Thank you again Karlen!

As members you can sign up to ‘level walk’ to help keep the towpath clean, go on guided walks with a naturalist, join canoe or kayak trips and dinners. It’s been very rewarding.

Just recently their newsletter suggested reading books about the C&O Canal and the people who made it work.  It’s the perfect thing to do on a damp day and you’ll get more out of your next walk or bike ride on the towpath.  Here are some suggestions from their January newsletter:

The Geology and Engineering Structures of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, written by William E. Davies, is an invaluable reference for students of the C&O Canal. The 636-page book is a 1989 draft of a lifetime work by Davies, a noted geologist and expert on flooding. Although published after his death and unfinished, this work is a mile-by-mile description of structures and formations along the 184-mile length of the canal. Even though the document is a combination of typewritten pages and hand-written notes, online readers can use the search features of their software to locate relevant material.

The Story of The Potomac Refining Company, written by Andrew Clemens, chronicles the history of a company incorporated in 1908 to extract manganese and other minerals from a site along the canal near Dargan Bend at mile 65. Widely advertised to small investors, the company saw its officers indicted for fraud in 1912. The officers were acquitted, but the company entered bankruptcy in 1913.

Contact Andrew Clemens at andrew.clemens@yahoo.com if you have any questions or comments.

When you are out and about on the towpath near mile marker 55, no towpath trip is complete unless you stop in the little railroad town of Brunswick, right across the railroad tracks.  You’ll find a charming historic main street and that’s where we are, Beans in the Belfry Meeting Place and Cafe, on 122 West Potomac Street in a century old brick church building.

Have a feel-good meal, espresso drink, refreshing iced or blended drink and a cozy chair or couch to enjoy it all.   Let us know if you have found us and how your visit was.