The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1878-01-12
Historical Researches that Quilp Made
as Bohemian.
CHAPTER XIV

DELAWARE CANAL.
We are sorry to say that our article, pub
lished last week, contained an erroneous
statement of the location of the race course
where the riot commenced; that race course
was in the field on the Gilpin farm, north
of Elkton and a short distance from the
southwest end of the bridge across Big
/ Elk creek, Immediately above Gllpin's ford
ing. The other race course, west of the
Plank road, was more modern one, and
was not used for some time after The riot
/ The gentleman who kindly called our atten
ton to the error, for which he has oul
thanks, informed us that he obtained his
information from old citizens of the town
who were we'll acquainted with the loca
tion of both the race courses.
/ About 1903 or 4, work was discontinued
upon the old feeder, and the enterprise
was allowed to slumber till 1912. The
probability OF a war with England appears
to have been the great incentive that i'm
PEELED the Legislature of Maryland to pass
supplementary act to the original charter
of the canal. for al the session Of the Gen
eral Assembly, neld at Annap polls, in the
Y Winter of 1928, the following supple
ment to the act of Incorporation of 1893
was passed:
"Whereas, During the time of war against
the United States of America, the compile
ton of the work of the Chesapeake &
Delaware Canal would be beneficial TO the
United States, by forming the great link OF
an inland navigation of six or seven hun
dred miles, and thereby establish per-
fectly safe, easy and rapid transportation
of our armies and the munitions of wal
through the interior of the country. and
which would ever tend to operate as IA
cement to the union between the States:
And, whereas, the prosperity and the agri-
cultural interest of the State of Maryland
the Delaware State, are more deeply inter
ested than their sister States in the useful
work of opening communication between
the Chesapeake Bay and river Delaware,
ware Canal: therefore, in order to enable
the president and directors of the said
canal to prosecute and finish the important
work of the said Chesapeake & Delaware
Canal, Be it enacted by the General AS
sembly of Maryland, That if the United
States shall subscribe 80 shares, the Com
monwealth of Pennsylvania 315 shares, the
State of Delaware 100 shares, in the CheS
apeake & Delaware Canal Co., in such
case the treasurer of the western shore be
and he is hereby authorized and directed
to subscribe in behalf of this State $50
shares in said company, and the money
necessary to be paid in consequences of such
subscription shall be paid by this State,
and the treasurer of the western shore, for
the time being, shall have the right to vote
for president and directors of said com
pany, according to such number of shares
in person or by proxy appointed by him.
and the said treasurer shall receive upon
the said stock the proportion of the tolls
which shall from time to time be due to
Section 2. And be it enacted, that this
act shall not take effect, unless the Leg isla-
ture of Pennsylvania shall pass or shall
have passed a law declaring that, in con.
Maryland incorporating said canal com
pany, the river Susquehanna from Colum
bia to the Maryland line shall forever here
after be a highway, and that individuals or
bodies corporate may at all times remove
distractions therein"
The war that the Legislature apprehended
took place, and nothing more was done
toward the completion of the work SO long
contemplated till about 1928, when the
projected work was again revived. There
appears to have been much diversity of
opinion in regard to the supply of water
to be obtained from the Big Elk creek, and
various estimates were made of the guam
tity. In 1904, Mr.. Latrobe estimated it as
equal to one hundred and ninety locks full
per day. In 1928 John Randel, Jr., civil
engineer of Albany, New York, then in the
employ of the company and under whose
superintendent the route for the canal had
been surveyed, estimated it equal to sew
enty- nine locks full per day on an average of
a whole year, but as only equal to thirty locks
full per day in the months of July, August.
September and October, which only allowed
the passage of six vessels per day throu. h
the canal. The project Infringing the water
of White Clay creek to the canal appears TO
and the sufficient supply of water to be oh
tanned from the Elk led to the choice of Il e
present location for the canal. Randel was
accused of Understanding the quantity
having the canal located further down the
peninsula, where it now is, so that he could
have an opportunity of obtaining IA lucrative
contract for its construction. The people
of Wilmington were apprehensive that if
the canal was located SO as to reach the
Delaware river without using the Chris
tiana creek for that purpose, its use would
injure the trade of their city and as was
Guilty of constructing it very complaisantly,
and the newspaper press Of that city con
tinually prophecied its ultimate failure.
Mr.. Randel, the engineer, upon whose
surveys and estimates the work was under
taken, recommended the cutting of the
canal so deep that the supply of water
could be obtained for its use from the Della
ware river at high tide, by means of tide
locks at either end of the canal, so con
structed as to prevent a current in it, and
also to admit the water of the Delaware
river to enter it at high tide. This was a
grand scheme and worthy of the ingenious
and scientific man that originated it. He
contemplated using the Atlantic Ocean as
the reservoir from which the canal was to
be supplied with water. This plan, had it
been adhered to, would have saved the ex-
pense of the steam pump which now has
to be used to supply the canal with water;
but probably owing to the great cost Of