Canal tourism binds Md., W.Va. towns

Communities along the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal are continuing to work together on economic development.

For about two years, representatives from those municipalities have been meeting and talking about their common interests.


And, on Wednesday, they were back at it, gathering to share ideas and keep in touch.

The Canal Towns Partnership has eight members: Cumberland, Hancock, Williamsport, Sharpsburg, Brunswick and Point of Rocks in Maryland, and Harpers Ferry/Bolivar and Shepherdstown in West Virginia.

Walt Stull, the chairman of the partnership and a Brunswick councilman, said the group has forged partnerships with the C&O Canal National Historical Park and the Great Allegheny Passage.

Stull said the goal is to promote tourism — encouraging people who use the towpath to also visit the adjacent communities.

The partnership met Wednesday at Sharpsburg Town Hall, beginning the gathering with 90 minutes’ worth of news about what its members have been doing.

Williamsport just had a World War II Weekend.

Shepherdstown is working on a 250th anniversary celebration.

Brunswick, Md., is gearing up for a Veterans Day parade next month.

The group also heard about other projects, such as an attempt to find a place for a public bicycle rack in Sharpsburg, repainting bicycle lanes in Williamsport and the filming of a local documentary.

The partnership held an official launch celebration last month.

Steve Paradis, the partnership’s treasurer, who represents Harpers Ferry, has said that the local effort was modeled on the Trail Town Program that links communities along the 150-mile Great Allegheny Passage between Pittsburgh and Cumberland.

Bill Atkinson, a principal planner with the Maryland Department of Planning and coordinator of the Trail Town Program, said Wednesday that businesses in Trail Town communities are getting training and certification in speaking about the program to the public.

Members of the Canal Towns Partnership agreed to use their website, www.canaltowns.org, more often to promote events and to possibly create an email newsletter.

The next meeting is scheduled for Nov. 16 in Shepherdstown.