ORIGIN & FUNCTIONS
Formed in 1993, the Canal Place Preservation and Development Authority is an instrumentality of the State and a public corporation. At its creation, the General Assembly recognized that the "Chesapeake and Ohio Canal is one of the great historic waterways of the United States extending 185 miles from Georgetown in the District of Columbia to its western terminus in Cumberland, Maryland" (Chapter 544, Acts of 1993; Code Financial Institutions Article, sec. 13-1002). At that time, the Canal Place Historic Preservation District was created. The District was redesignated as the Canal Place Heritage Area in 2001 (Chapter 556, Acts of 2001).
Canal Place Heritage Area, C&O Canal National Historical Park, 13 Canal St., Cumberland, Maryland, July 2006. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.
The Authority oversees the preservation, development, and management of the historic Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Heritage Area in Cumberland (Allegany County), Maryland. The Cumberland section of the Canal opened in 1850 and was a major transportation link to and from Western Maryland.
Canal Place Heritage Area, C&O Canal National Historical Park, 13 Canal St., Cumberland, Maryland, July 2006. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.
The Authority is made up of nine members. Six are appointed to four-year terms by the Governor with Senate advice and consent. Of the remaining three, one represents the Cumberland Mayor and City Council; one, the Maryland Historical Trust; and one, the U.S. Department of the Interior. The Governor names the chair. With the Governor's approval, the Authority appoints the Executive Director (Code Financial Institutions Article, secs. 13-1001 through 13-1031).
© Copyright September 29, 2015 Maryland State Archives