The Tonoloway Aqueduct, one of the eleven aqueducts along the canal, was built between 1835 and 1839 to carry the canal across Tonoloway Creek, and its remaining iron railings and graceful arch show why canal company officials regarded these structures as works of art. Time, floods, and years of carrying water and canal boats damaged the aqueduct’s sides and eventually caused it to collapse, while debris in flood waters damaged and washed away iron railings. By 1863 it was already suffering from maintenance problems, as leaking water washed away mortar and weakened the masonry. To protect what remained, the National Park Service built steel braces to support the arch and surviving walls.
