Archeology at C & O Canal in Paw Paw Tunnel and Brickworks

Paw Paw Tunnel Worker's Camp and Brickwork

From 1836 until 1850, the serene picnic area before you was a bustling work site. Here, as many as 400 immigrant workers, mainly Irish, labored to complete the 3,118-foot Paw Paw Tunnel.

The construction of the C&O Canal was troubled by labor strife. Workers whose pay was often late protested to demand their wages, including a violent riot here in 1838. They formed primitive labor unions based on Irish secret societies and fought for their jobs, believing that every man had the right to work and to earn enough to survive.

C&O Canal Company and "Canallers"

Archeologists uncovering the remains of a C&O Canal Company office and storehouse.

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Foundation of the Company Office and Storehouse.

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Canal repairs, showing the tools used by the canal builders. The "canallers" worked long hours under harsh conditions, and they lived in temporary shanty towns where living conditions were primitive.

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Bricklamp

Excavating a brick clamp, one of those used to produce the millions of bricks needed for the tunnel

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Remains of a brick clamp. The dark streak is ash left by the fire that baked the bricks.

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Historic photo of a brick clamp.

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