Children of the Canal

A child's story: Life on the Canal

Take a step back in time to learn what it was like for children who lived along the C&O Canal! Although this story is historical fiction, it is a great example of the daily lives of the children of the Canal.

Historical photo of child riding mule along the C&O Canal during early operation with yellow stars on either side and red books on a shelf to the left of image.
NPS Photo / Kelly Savannah

Life on a canal boat in the 1870's is hard but fun. My day starts at 4:30am when the rooster at a nearby farm crows its morning greeting. This announces to my family that a new day has begun on the C&O Canal.

After eating our breakfast of biscuits, jam and fruit, my sister and I feed our four mules their morning hay. When they finish, we carefully check their legs and hooves to make sure they are well and ready for the day ahead of them.

NPS Illustration of the mules, Lock & Key.
NPS Image

The first mule team is led up a ramp from their stable and onto the towpath. They are harnessed and attached to the boat using a long rope called a tow line. I am responsible for making sure the mules keep a steady pace on the towpath.

A brown piece of meat on a bone & some light brown bread.

At midday, we eat dinner (lunch), usually dried meat and bread. We rest a little while and stop at one of the locks to play, catch up on news along the Canal, and to switch our hardworking mule teams.

A person asleep in bed, with a light blue shadow over them and the moon and stars shine a bight yellow glow above them.

As the sun sets, the boat is tied up for the night. The mules are brought into their stable at the front of the boat. We settle into our family cabin at the back of the boat for a supper of cooked fish caught by my dad that day. We all fall asleep listening to the peaceful night sounds of the Canal.

A divider of a brown mule shoe and yellow & black stars.

Historical Facts

Children of boatmen were often born and raised on canal boats.
By the age of six, most children were given chores on the boat, including caring for the mule team.
Parents could not afford to buy children shoes very often, so kids frequently walked the towpath barefoot.
Children did not have their own bedroom, instead, they had to share one small room with all their family.
Children had to sleep on a mattress of hay or on the floor.
Children spent most of the year traveling the canal with their families, therefore they were not able to visit other family members or friends outside of those they passed along the canal.
Children were not able to attend school most of the year and had few friends their own age because they were on the canal boat with their family.
Parents would teach the children to read and write if they knew how.
One woman interviewed in the book, Home on the Canal, said she always regretted not getting a good education.