Photographs of the Bridges
Monocacy Aqueduct, Dickerson, Maryland
The Monocacy Aqueduct crosses the mouth of the Monocacy River near Dickerson, Maryland. The aqueduct is more than 500 feet long, and crosses the river on seven stone arches held up by six stone piers and an abutment on each end. Although the National Park Service website refers to the stone as “granite” quarried from nearby Sugarloaf Mountain, locals know the stone at Sugarloaf Mountain is an attractive, white-colored, metamorphic quartzite.
The aqueduct is very decorative, using texturing of the surface of the stones and arch-rings to create a beautiful structure. In the middle of the aqueduct, on the northern parapet, the original completion plaque is presented. The ornate plaque is an engraved stone, approximately three feet by three feet in size, which displays the name, completion date, and names of the directors of the canal company and the contractors.
The aqueduct was completed in 1833, and carried millions of tons of coal from western Maryland, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania to fuel industry and heating in the growing city of Washington. After the Hurricane Agnes flood of 1972, the National Park Service embarked on a structural study, and enclosed the structure in an unattractive bracing system of steel bands and rods. In 2005, the National Park Service and community partners renovated the structure, removing the outer bracing, and restoring its original, visual appearance.
