The History of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal
The History of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal
The Chesapeake and Delaware Canal has been in operation since 1829.
It has seen its share of success and failure. It has been a shaky private enterprise, a successful venture and a government-run operation, but through all the changes it has been an important factor in the growth of the United States. The removal of the three-hundred-mile trip around the tip of the Delmarva Peninsula improved the economics of shipping in the early days of this country and made both Philadelphia and Baltimore vital ports. It has been an important part of our national security and saved dozens of ships from being sunk by enemy submarines during World War II. It has become an important tourist destination both for land cruisers and boaters. While neither major town, Delaware City or Chesapeake City, ever reached the size and scope originally visualized, the canal has helped to sustain them as viable communities for close to two hundred years.
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By David Berry
Imagine what it was like here before the Canal. What would the landscape have looked like? What would it have been like to travel from Wilmington to Baltimore via water?
