New Non-profit, Georgetown Heritage, Seeks to Replace Canal Boat

Since being decommissioned in 2011, the C&O Canal barge, the Georgetown, has sat atop cement blocks in the canal between 33rd and Thomas Jefferson Streets. Due to cuts in the National Park Service budget, the C&O Canal National Park was unable to afford repairs for the mule-pulled barge that once took visitors along the canal. The walls, locks, and towpath are also in need of constant upkeep.

Georgetown Heritage is being set up as a nonprofit group of citizens and businesses dedicated to promoting and presenting the history of Georgetown. In an effort to preserve the history of this neighborhood, the group’s first priority is to preserve the one-mile stretch of the C&O Canal that runs through Georgetown.

The non-profit will seek to help raise funds to repair the deterioration of the canal and to purchase a new canal boat to replace the old canal boat that has rotted beyond repair. One of the group’s first sponsors will be the Georgetown Business Improvement District, which shares the group’s goals for the canal and new barge.

The group says it will also work with the park service to create an operational plan to preserve the canal and towpath for years to come. Its website is Georgetown Heritage.org, and It is still in the planning stage. More information will be available in late November.