Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1913-03-15
No One Else
Big Entd
Coincidence II,
man, Cap
Charge
GREAT AID I'd

talking about buildil
Falls OF the Ohio as
but It all ended in ia
McGillycuddy, an Iril
In Philadelphia, came
took a contract for 4
the present great
successfully finished
boat passing through
80. 1880. Mr.. McGillyd
first President Of the II
Portland Canal, which
under a charter granted
lucky Legislature. It nd
money for its owners.
year n dividend of IS I'D
. declared. Up to 1S47 tn
collected from boat
through the canal am
s1,795, 66S.90. This sho7
McGillycuddy was a wise
and willing to take risk
iect which he knew woule
be profitable. OF course
pay no tolls TO take boatd
the canal today, and tn
States Government owns tn
way and all Of its appurtend
The people OF the entire Y
many In the East, as far
river as Pittsburgh and
we're clamoring for a canal Il
In order to avoid the da
rapids of the Ohio at this poi
their appeals were in vain n
lrishman with the means came
and solved the problem, Just
Goethels has solved the P
canal problem.
But Mr.. McGillycuddy did ne
bring money with him. bur
brought men, They were me
Drawn and brain. illiterate pey
but not ignorant, and they n
mostly Irish. The facilities in, Il
days for canal building were
good as they are today BIAS
means. They had no "chann, \
b. cut through the solid stone
derricks to remove the dirt. va
shoveled It out with their st Q
arms. Laborious indeed was the Z
but this labor made It possible
the commerce Of the Ohio to b
placed on a stable and sure foundj
zion. After the completion of I'll
-'5fif crit A It FSFeefs pronounced, Ok great "A
cheering feat. In order to build
a dam was built at the head Of I'll
canal and this was removed whe
the water was let in for the firi
time.
The first canal was sixty-fou
feet to sixty-eight feet and tn
depth about three feet at extrem
low water. There were three con
bined lift locks, each with a lift {
about nine feet, a width OF fif'
feet and a length of 200 feet.
Mr.. McGillycuddy and his asst
ciates capitalized the canal {
100000, divided into shares {
800 each. The enterprise was {
such vast Importance to the peopI
living in the Ohio Valley and beyon
that the United States was forced I
recognize the great value of 4
early completion. and by act of Col
gress In 1926 the Secretary Of IN
Treasury was authorized to sui
scribe for 1000 shares, and later f.
1885 shares. After many Weiss
tudes, the canal washing out {
times, the banks caving in, ETC., III
work proceeded very slowly. !
excavating the stone from the bed {
the canal the workmen found this
when this stone was exposed TO tn
sun or burned for a while
crumbled, and when mixed with san
made a very fine article of cement
and this cement was used in buildin
the original canal walls. From thI
discovery the manufacture of CO
ment on the Falls begun, and mill
Ions OF tons have been made SIND
1880, and millions OF money for IN
owners OF the cement mills, Wild
have now gone into disuse on al
count OF the discovery and generI
use of Portland cement.
Work has never ceased on II
canal since 1880, and probably new
will. The canal was widened
ninety feet in 1850 and new loo
we're put in. The United States a
sumed charge Of the work OF
largement and the building of a da
at the head of the waterway
1868, and in July, 1880, tolls wer|
entirely abolished. The canal now
al its mouth, is 325 feet wide, 81
feet wide to a point 725 feetlaOt -
the Fourteenth-street bridge, an
being widened 10 its terminatkwh
the Ohio'under contracts whieel
for an outlay OF nearly $2,00ed
New locks arr included in thi'
innate. Il will take until 1915
do the work which Is now
progress. The land for the enl
ment was condemned by the
States two years ago, and Dal
Murphy was one OF the appn
the landowners receiving
100000 for their property
work OF widening the canal Is
sarily slow, as is the building
new and larger locks.
II is a coincidence that Irish
Quilt the. canal and that an
American has charge OF II today,
John H. Casey, Assistant Eng
and a very capable man for the
ion. The powerful dredgeboat
s named after a kinsman OF
Casey, who was one Of the chi
,ineers IN the improvement Of
anal years ago.
Some Irish still worl
anal, as they aid IN the
md II Is 10 be hoped that
whose grandfathe
n Ireland, viii give theI
o continue and 70 inc
orce.