Lock 38 during 1924 flood

This picture most likely records the 1924 flood that resulted in the closure of the C&O Canal. The building on the right was a store that sold feed and likely also other supplies, while the lockhouse that stood between the towpath and the river is on the left. That lockhouse often flooded, but survived until finally being destroyed by the 1936 flood.

When the engineers designed the line of the canal they attempted to keep it as high and as far from the river as possible. Largely because of the adjacent high land, the canal along this part of the river follows the river bank for nearly twelve miles to Dam 4, making it highly vulnerable to floods.