Big Pool

McCoys Ferry across the Potomac River is first mentioned around 1835 by the canal company as a place for a warehouse to be built to receive cement for the construction of the locks. On October 10, 1862 Confederate General J.E.B Stuart used this crossing, and the large road culvert that was built under the canal, to travel up toward Chambersburg and gather provisions while causing havoc along the countryside. In 1890, company records still list a warehouse being operated by Frank Winter just above McCoys Ferry.

The ferry ran across the Potomac River in the vicinity of Big Pool and Cherry Run.
C. C. French was the ferry operator

The bridge that connected the Western Maryland Railway to the B&O Railroad at Cherry Run, WV.

United States Postal Card

To Mr. Franklin S. Grove
Sharpsburg, Washington County Maryland

March 18th, 1875

Mr. F.S. Grove
My wood is green if that will suit you I can have a load ready on the canal bank by the first of April.
Respectfully
Lancelot Shank

P.S. let me here from you.

Originally this had been a low-lying area beside the river. When the canal was built, the towpath berm was built quite high but no effort was made to build a berm for the land side of the canal. Instead the low area between the towpath berm and the higher ground on the right was allowed to fill with water when the canal was filled. That created the long, narrow lake known as Big Pool.

Men and mules were used to repair the canal at Big Pool during the late 19th and early 20th century. The mules are dragging a sled full of dirt.

Men and mules used to level and move dirt during the repairs at Big Pool. In the background you can see the footbridge that spans over the canal prism. Underneath the foot bridge would have been a pivot bridge and stop gate. A stop gate was used when there was a break in a portion of the canal that threatened the loss of water throughout a level. The stop gate would be used to stop the loss of water on a canal level that was exceedingly long or in the case of Big Pool, large.

Big Pool was created by the C&O Canal Company as a way to cut costs in digging out the canal bed. The natural geography of the area allowed the canal to fill it with water creating a large lake with stop gates at either end to protect the entire wide water area from draining completely in case of a break in the prism up of downstream.

The downstream Big Pool stop gate with pedestrian footbridge and pivot bridge for the use of other types of traffic. Stop gates were used to close off sections of the canal prism to safeguard from full drainage of large quantities of water. Stop gates were used on either end of Big Pool to prevent the loss of water if the canal prism should fail on either end.