Old Lock Pump House, Chesapeake and Delaware Canal
United States historic place in Chesapeake City, Maryland. Added to the National Register in 1966, and a National Historic Landmark.
What it is
The Old Lock Pump House on the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal was one of the first National Historic Landmarks to recognize an engineering achievement rather than an important building or a place associated with an historic event. The pump house, whose first element was built in 1837, preserves a feature of the old canal, which relied on locks and pumps to move vessels over the low divide of the Delmarva Peninsula between Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Bay. Because there are no large rivers on the peninsula, water had to be pumped uphill to fill the upper canal and locks. When the canal was cut deeper in the twentieth century, such measures were no longer required, and the pump house is one of the last relics of the old canal.
Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
The record
| Property type | Building |
| Address | U.S. 213, Chesapeake City, MD |
| County | Cecil County |
| Listed | Oct 15, 1966 |
| Listed for | Engineering, Architecture |
| Level of significance | National |
| Also known as | Chesapeake and Delaware Canal Pump House |
| Reference number | 66000390 |
| Type of place | building |
| Designations | National Historic Landmark |
| Contributing resources | 5 buildings |
| Standing | Yes |
The nomination form, the document that argues why this place matters, is in the National Archives: Read the nomination ↗
Visiting
| Address | U.S. 213, Chesapeake City, MD |
| Coordinates | 39.5272° N, 75.8065° W · Directions ↗ |
| Nearest national park unit | First State National Historical Park · 25 miles · on Park Atlas |
Explore
Map
Nearby in Cecil County
Local history books for Cecil County
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Guidebooks to historic places in Maryland
Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.
Reference
Questions people ask
When was Old Lock Pump House, Chesapeake and Delaware Canal listed on the National Register?
Oct 15, 1966. It is also a National Historic Landmark, the higher of the two designations.
Source: National Park Service
Where is Old Lock Pump House, Chesapeake and Delaware Canal?
U.S. 213, Chesapeake City, Cecil County, Maryland. The nearest national park unit is First State National Historical Park, 25 miles away.
What does the Old Lock Pump House, Chesapeake and Delaware Canal listing include?
The listing counts 5 contributing resources. Those are 5 buildings. A contributing resource is a part of the listed property that carries its historic significance.
Source: National Park Service
Where is the nomination form for Old Lock Pump House, Chesapeake and Delaware Canal?
The National Archives holds the nomination form, the document that made the case for listing.
Source: National Archives
Is there cell service at Old Lock Pump House, Chesapeake and Delaware Canal?
FCC coverage maps show Verizon 5G, AT&T 5G, and T-Mobile 5G at the listed point. Coverage indoors and behind old masonry is another matter.
Source: FCC Broadband Map
Sources
Location, type and contributing counts come from the National Park Service's National Register spatial data. Listing dates come from the National Register office's spreadsheet where it carries the listing. Construction date, architect, style, photograph and encyclopedia link come from Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons, matched on reference number 66000390. Nothing here is transcribed by hand. The nomination form and photographs ↗ at NPGallery are the original nomination as filed with the National Park Service, and the form is often the best description of the place. The description under "What it is" is the opening of the Wikipedia article, CC BY-SA.