C&O Canal National Historical Park
To Move Headquarters

The C&O Canal National Historical Park has selected a location in Hagerstown, MD for its new headquarters operation. The park has maintained its headquarters along the Potomac River at the Ferry Hill Plantation between Sharpsburg and Shepherdstown since 1980. The new location will be in the Crystal (IBM) Building, 1850 Dual Highway, Hagerstown, Maryland.

Superintendent Doug Faris stated that, “The new location will provide a modern and efficient office location adjacent to Interstate 70, easily accessible to visitors and those needing to undertake business with the park staff.” The new facility provides state-of-the-art office features, is handicapped accessible, and will have sufficient space for future park needs over the next two decades. Also, the Crystal Building provides the capability to provide adequate computer and telecommunications features.

The current headquarters complex at Ferry Hill will be transitioned into an educational and interpretive complex. Ferry Hill is a primary historic site along the canal and the public has a strong interest in having the site open for visitor use. John Blackford constructed the main plantation house about 1810. In 1816, John Blackford acquired the ferry franchise on the Potomac River from which the house and 700 acre plantation acquired its name. The C&O Canal arrived in 1833 providing the opportunity to ship goods downstream to Georgetown and Washington DC.

In 1848 the Reverend Robert Douglas purchased Ferry Hill, and the Douglas family raised three children at Ferry Hill, the oldest being Henry Kyd Douglas. In 1861 with the advent of the Civil War, Henry Kyd, a recently graduated lawyer, soon became the youngest member of the staff of General T.J. (Stonewall) Jackson. Henry Kyd kept a diary that would be published 80 years later as a book titled, I Rode with Stonewall. Ferry Hill was involved with the Battle of Antietam or Sharpsburg. The grounds and house were occupied by both Confederate and Union armies. The park has recently completed a historic resource study and cultural landscape management report for Ferry Hill that will guide future management and interpretive programs.

The new headquarters facility in Hagerstown will provide an efficient contemporary office location with sufficient space for current and future operational needs. The new site will have office and support space for up to 40 staff. The Ferry Hill facilities provided no opportunity for expansion, and were inadequate to appropriately serve the needs of the headquarters staff.

The new location will include space for training, conferences, a geographic information system lab, elevator access to all floors, emergency fire protection, a library and research facility, an environmentally controlled space for historic photo and map collections, and a multi-park communication and dispatch center.

The C&O Canal headquarters staff will move to the new location in January 2002 following completion of modifications to the Crystal Building. The facility will include a public information feature for providing visitor information regarding the C&O Canal National Historical Park and other National Park Service facilities in the region.

Related Links:
CandOCanal.com - New discussion board for visitors to the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park.