By David Healey

What do I love most about living along the canal? For me, it’s the fog horns. I’ve been living along the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal in Chesapeake City for decades and that forlorn wail still sends a shiver down my spine on a foggy autumn morning. On the list of the canal’s charms, fog horns are closely followed by the lights on the water at night and the way the setting sun makes the Route 213 bridge glow. The canal remains an endless source of wonder.

The next time that you are digging a hole to plant a shrub or bury another Mason jar filled with silver coins, contemplate how hard it was to dig the canal. Imagine the backbreaking work of digging a ditch 10 feet deep and 60 feet wide from Delaware City to Chesapeake City. That’s about how big the canal was back then. Records show it was mostly African-Americans and Irish immigrants doing the work, so it’s likely that one of my distant Irish cousins was among those wielding a shovel for $2 a week.

My house has an interesting history. It was built about 1913 and for many years was home to Captain Charles Cooling and his family. He was the town mayor and also a buy boat captain. I used the house as inspiration for my mystery novel, “The House that Went Down with the Ship.” Years ago when I first bought the house, my parents would come over to help paint or steam off the old wallpaper. Whenever a ship or tugboat came by, they scrambled off the ladder or set aside their paint brushes to rush out into the backyard and watch the boat go by. That was 30 years ago and they are both gone now, but I’ll still drop everything and watch a passing ship, so it’s like they’re still here watching the boats with me.

Chesapeake City, known as Canal Town, grew up around the canal locks in the late 1800s and early 1900s. I never get tired of walking past the old houses and saying hello to the kind people who live here.

You don’t have to live on the canal to enjoy it. The canal belongs to everyone. Go have a crabcake at Schaefer’s Canal House or sit on the porch at Café on the Bay and sip a coffee. An ice cream isn’t a bad idea, either. Drive down to the waterfront and park for a while, just enjoying the view.

At the website www.marinetraffic.com you can see what ships are coming and plan accordingly. For some great canal history, be sure to watch the recent Maryland Public Television documentary “The C&D Canal: Gateway to the World.”

Finally, there’s also the C&D Canal trail where you can stroll or rent a bike. Whatever you do in Chesapeake City, relax. Soak in the canal sights. Remember those who came before. Let your thoughts drift with the tide.

Chesapeake City resident David Healey is the author of 30 books, including Great Storms of the Chesapeake and Delmarva Legends & Lore. https://davidhealeyauthor.com