{"id":{"repo_id":"wvu","oai_identifier":"oai:researchrepository.wvu.edu:etd-1811"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/wvu/oai:researchrepository.wvu.edu:etd-1811","repository":{"repo_id":"wvu","name":"West Virginia University","base_url":"https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/do/oai/"},"display":{"title":"From Canal Boats to Canoes: The Transformation of the C&O Canal, 1938--1942","abstract":"I have come to understand the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal as two different entities, both of which occupy the same geographic space. The first is a nineteenth century transportation system that impacted thousands of people in the Potomac River Valley. The second is the reincarnation of the first as a National Historical Park. The first is a busy, messy, and noisy landscape. The second serves as a refuge for the urban masses, and only faintly resembles its predecessor. This thesis seeks to understand how one evolved into the other.;Upon further inspection, one discovers that C&O Canal National Historical Park balances a precarious equilibrium of three competing efforts: historic preservation, natural preservation, and recreational development. The challenge is to understand how these visions emerged, transformed the landscape, and reflect changing social, political, and cultural forces.;The transformation of the C&O Canal did not occur overnight, but over the course of several decades. I focus on the period 1938 to 1942, when the federal government initially purchased the canal and New Deal relief workers focused on rewatering the first 22 miles of the canal. I approach the preservation of the canal as mode of cultural production to gain a deeper understanding of how the park looks and functions today.;During the New Deal era, the federal government became involved in the historic preservation field and emerged as its leader under the auspices of the National Park Service. The C&O Canal offers a useful case study for early federal historic preservation efforts, and shows how social, cultural, and political movements of the time transformed the canal into a park.","abstract_html":"I have come to understand the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal as two different entities, both of which occupy the same geographic space. The first is a nineteenth century transportation system that impacted thousands of people in the Potomac River Valley. The second is the reincarnation of the first as a National Historical Park. The first is a busy, messy, and noisy landscape. The second serves as a refuge for the urban masses, and only faintly resembles its predecessor. This thesis seeks to understand how one evolved into the other.;Upon further inspection, one discovers that C&O Canal National Historical Park balances a precarious equilibrium of three competing efforts: historic preservation, natural preservation, and recreational development. The challenge is to understand how these visions emerged, transformed the landscape, and reflect changing social, political, and cultural forces.;The transformation of the C&O Canal did not occur overnight, but over the course of several decades. I focus on the period 1938 to 1942, when the federal government initially purchased the canal and New Deal relief workers focused on rewatering the first 22 miles of the canal. I approach the preservation of the canal as mode of cultural production to gain a deeper understanding of how the park looks and functions today.;During the New Deal era, the federal government became involved in the historic preservation field and emerged as its leader under the auspices of the National Park Service. The C&O Canal offers a useful case study for early federal historic preservation efforts, and shows how social, cultural, and political movements of the time transformed the canal into a park.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Sirna, Angela"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"MA","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"History","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Melissa Bingmann.","Ken Fones-Wolf","Larry Sypolt"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2011,"date_issued":"2011-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2011-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T06:14:53Z","subjects":["American history"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/808"],"render_values":[{"text":"https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/808","href":"https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/808","code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://doi.org/10.33915/etd.808","outbound_label":"DOI","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Melissa Bingmann.","Ken Fones-Wolf","Larry Sypolt"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Sirna, Angela"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2019-01-17T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["History"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["MA"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["American history"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://doi.org/10.33915/etd.808","https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/808"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["I have come to understand the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal as two different entities, both of which occupy the same geographic space. The first is a nineteenth century transportation system that impacted thousands of people in the Potomac River Valley. The second is the reincarnation of the first as a National Historical Park. The first is a busy, messy, and noisy landscape. The second serves as a refuge for the urban masses, and only faintly resembles its predecessor. This thesis seeks to understand how one evolved into the other.;Upon further inspection, one discovers that C&O Canal National Historical Park balances a precarious equilibrium of three competing efforts: historic preservation, natural preservation, and recreational development. The challenge is to understand how these visions emerged, transformed the landscape, and reflect changing social, political, and cultural forces.;The transformation of the C&O Canal did not occur overnight, but over the course of several decades. I focus on the period 1938 to 1942, when the federal government initially purchased the canal and New Deal relief workers focused on rewatering the first 22 miles of the canal. I approach the preservation of the canal as mode of cultural production to gain a deeper understanding of how the park looks and functions today.;During the New Deal era, the federal government became involved in the historic preservation field and emerged as its leader under the auspices of the National Park Service. The C&O Canal offers a useful case study for early federal historic preservation efforts, and shows how social, cultural, and political movements of the time transformed the canal into a park."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["From Canal Boats to Canoes: The Transformation of the C&O Canal, 1938--1942"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Melissa Bingmann.","Ken Fones-Wolf","Larry Sypolt"],"dc:creator":["Sirna, Angela"],"dc:date.available":["2019-01-17T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["I have come to understand the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal as two different entities, both of which occupy the same geographic space. The first is a nineteenth century transportation system that impacted thousands of people in the Potomac River Valley. The second is the reincarnation of the first as a National Historical Park. The first is a busy, messy, and noisy landscape. The second serves as a refuge for the urban masses, and only faintly resembles its predecessor. This thesis seeks to understand how one evolved into the other.;Upon further inspection, one discovers that C&O Canal National Historical Park balances a precarious equilibrium of three competing efforts: historic preservation, natural preservation, and recreational development. The challenge is to understand how these visions emerged, transformed the landscape, and reflect changing social, political, and cultural forces.;The transformation of the C&O Canal did not occur overnight, but over the course of several decades. I focus on the period 1938 to 1942, when the federal government initially purchased the canal and New Deal relief workers focused on rewatering the first 22 miles of the canal. I approach the preservation of the canal as mode of cultural production to gain a deeper understanding of how the park looks and functions today.;During the New Deal era, the federal government became involved in the historic preservation field and emerged as its leader under the auspices of the National Park Service. The C&O Canal offers a useful case study for early federal historic preservation efforts, and shows how social, cultural, and political movements of the time transformed the canal into a park."],"dc:identifier":["https://doi.org/10.33915/etd.808","https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/808"],"dc:subject":["American history"],"dc:title":["From Canal Boats to Canoes: The Transformation of the C&O Canal, 1938--1942"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["History"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["MA"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T06:14:53Z"}