Waterway to History and Culture: The History of Interpretation of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal

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Primary Baer_umbc_0434M_13020.pdf (16.68 MB)

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http://hdl.handle.net/11603/40289

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UMBC Theses and Dissertations
UMBC Graduate School
UMBC History Department
UMBC Student Collection

Author/Creator

Author/Creator ORCID

Date

2025-01-01

Type of Work

thesis
Text
application:pdf

Department

History

Program

Historical Studies

Citation of Original Publication

Rights

This item may be protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. It is made available by UMBC for non-commercial research and education. For permission to publish or reproduce, please see http://aok.lib.umbc.edu/specoll/repro.php or contact Special Collections at speccoll(at)umbc.edu
Distribution Rights granted to UMBC by the author.

Subjects

Abstract

This thesis explores the evolution of interpretation at the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park, using primary sources to examine the decisions made by park leadership between 1971 and 2019. The park expanded interpretive visitor centers and interpretive programs slowly. But, when a loss of staff due to budgetary constraints in the 2010s occurred, it had a direct impact on their ability to interpret the canal. Examining the decisions and outside forces which led to these problems reveal the difficulties in managing a 184 mile long park. I argue that a fixation on expansion caused a disregard for evolving the programs already in place, which meant that once issues arose there was no way to adapt quickly. This thesis contributes a detailed history of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park with suggestions to ensure a smooth recovery to the interpretive program.