Business along the canal

The Cushwa Warehouse was constructed circa 1800. By the late 1830s, the warehouse's main commodity was coal which was sold in the local economy and for transport down to Georgetown where there was a huge demand. The building has seen multiple floods, recessions and even Civil War battles during its time on the side of the canal.

In this photograph the coal is being lifted by a steam loader from the boat into waiting horse-drawn wagons, presumably for local use. DeFrehns chair factory is possibly the building across the basin.

This photograph is near the Steffey & Findlay Coal Company Wharf and pictures a couple of men and a boy sitting on a loaded canal boat. In the background is a building that had been burned and could have been a warehouse associated with the Steffey & Findlay Company. Behind the burned building and large coal pile is River View Cemetery which holds the gravesite of founder of Williamsport, Otho Williams, a Revolutionary War Veteran.

The Darby Grain Mill was established some time during the 1870’s. The earliest record of its existence is the 1877 map of Williamsport. The mill was called Darby and Rice Mill on the map but eventually it would become only Darby Mill when it burned down in 1904. The mill dealt in grain, flour and feed and was one of many mills, warehouses and stores that sprang up around the canal. This photograph is probably from the 1890’s and shows the rail line that lead to the Cushwa Warehouse and an interesting freight boat.

The Cumberland Valley Railroad had a transfer point at Powell's Bend on the Canal. There was a location on the West Virginia side of the Potomac called Powell's Bend, and this canal location across the river used the same name. This photograph was taken looking west around 1910. It shows the Canal and the wharf, and the bridge of Cumberland Valley Railroad on the line from Hagerstown to Martinsburg.

The PDF shows the location of the wharf in relation to the Cushwa Warehouse, and coal shipments on the C&O.

Here and there along the canal wharfs and sometimes small basins were built on the berm side of the canal so that local cargo could be transferred to or from canal boats.

The Snyder Coal and Grain warehouse, a mere 1.7 miles from downtown Sharpsburg, served customers in Sharpsburg and the surrounding area. The warehouse was washed away in the 1936 flood.

The wharf here was known as Sharpsburg Landing before it took on the name Snyders Landing. The footbridge was the first structure to be built here to allow Sharpsburg residents and canallers access to both sides of the canal. It was built high enough to allow boats to pass underneath.

Snyders Landing is near Sharpsburg and was the site of the Snyder Coal and Grain Warehouse which can be seen in the right hand side of the photograph. A footbridge was constructed to allow access to the Snyders Landing Road running parallel to the canal. This would allow access for residents from Sharpsburg and the surrounding farm land to the canal for shipping transactions. The footbridge can be seen in the right hand side leading to the warehouse.

Valuable Farm at Private Sale.

The undersigned having determined to go west, will offer at private sale, A VALUABLE LIMESTONE FARM,
CONTAINING 175 1-2 ACRES,

M. P. KEHOE, PRESIDENT. LOUIS F PLACK, VICE PRESIDENT H. C. HESS, TREASURER C. B. SANGER, SECRETARY, E. R. COOPER, GEN’L M’GR
ADDRESS ALL COMMUNICATIONS TO NEW YORK OFFICE
POTOMAC REFINING COMPANY


EXECUTIVE OFFICES NEW YORK 66 West 35TH ST.
GENERAL OFFICES BALTIMORE,MD. 213 COURTLAND ST.
BRANCH OFFICES GOVANS,MD. SUBURBAN BANK BLDG.
CABLE ADDRESS “PORECO” NEW YORK

QUARRYING AND REFINING
MARBLE, IRON, MANGANESE
LIME AND TRIPOLI
FLUXING, OCHRE
STONE, LIME

The Potomac Refining Company advertised a refinery and ore deposits four miles north east of Harper's Ferry, W.V. on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. The first discovery was of manganese, "that rare and necessary mineral which is used in large quantities in arts and industry." The company also planned to process limestone, marble and iron ore.