Middlesex Canal

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Map of the channel of 1801 before its extension to Medford

The Middlesex Canal was a shipping canal in the state of Massachusetts in the United States, which connected the Merrimack River with the port of Boston. During its operating time, he had a width of about nine feet and a depth of about one meter. In its course there were 20 locks, each of which was 24 m long and 3 to 3.5 m wide, and eight aqueducts.

History

On June 22, 1793 granted Governor John Hancock with his signature the contract to build the 44 km long canal to serve the hinterland of New England for trade. Between 1795 and 1803 the canal was built under the leadership of Loammi Baldwin. On April 22, 1802 already took the first boat.

The opening of the canal was also the end of the economic operation of the port of Newburyport at the mouth of the Merrimack River, as all trade from the Merrimack Valley in New Hampshire could now be processed through the channel to Boston and the ships no longer about the - sometimes difficult had to drive flow - to be navigated.

The channel leading from Chelmsford, Lowell later, through several cities in Middlesex County. At first, his end was in Medford. He later was extended to Charlestown. Furthermore, it was created a branch to the Mystic River near Medford. More channels allowed the freight transport to Concord, New Hampshire. The water source of the Concord River in Billerica served. This was also the highest point of the channel and is now the site of the Middlesex Canal Association 's museum.

A barge required 18 hours from Boston to Lowell and 12 hours in the opposite direction. Passenger boats were a little faster and required about 12 hours and 8 hours in the one in the other direction.

The canal was until the introduction of the railroad one of the most important traffic routes in New England. For the construction of the Boston and Lowell Railroad, the original reports of the preliminary studies for the sewer construction were used. Parts of the route ran close to the canal and on the channel, the building materials were transported to the track.

After the channel contention had received by the railroad, he was no longer economically viable and the operating company went bankrupt in 1851. The Middlesex Turnpike also contributed its part to the decline of the channel. The owners proposed to convert the channel into a transport channel for drinking water supply of Boston, but had no success. In the 20th century parts of the canal were built over by roads. Although large sections of the canal are still visible, large parts of the expanding cities are always covered. The Middlesex Canal Association has therefore erected markers along the old path of the channel.

The Middlesex Canal was taken in 1967 by the American Society of Civil Engineers in the List of National Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks.