Smyrna times., 1922-05-10
SIX CANALS WILL SHORTEN
MISPILuON MILFORD TO BAY
CIRCUITOUS STREAM, 18 MILES
IN LENGTH TO BE SHORTENED
Blower Will Be Used to Cover Waste
Marsh Land and Convert 1t, Where
Possible, Into Tllable Ground

Possible, Into Tillable Ground
The most gratifying news that the
the growers and shippers of produce
in the lower part of the county have |
received in a long time was the an
nouncement Wednesday that the right |
of way had been secured for the can
ais which will straighten the Mispil- |
lion river and make that stream nav
igable for passenger and freight
steamers. Several attempts hav been
made in the past to run freight and
passenger steamers from Milford TO
Wilmington, Chester and Philadelphia
but they were failures, owing to the
| fact that so much time was consumed
in getting out of the Mispillion river,
which runs from Milford to Delaware
bay. The river itself has plenty of
depth of water, but the time was lost
in turning the bends. 1t is seven
miles in a straight line from Milford
to the rivers mouth, but the stream
is about Is miles long, due to the cir
cuitous route it takes. Surveys were
made by the Federal government and
an appropriation obtained to dig can
ais across the bends that would short
en- the distance to the mouth, but there
has been much opposition from farm
ers and land owners whose property
would be affected by the cuts and the
project has been "tied up" with litiga-
tions for many months.
A committee was appointed by the
Governor as a last effort to secure
the right of way in some manner
without resorting, if possible, to con-
demnation proceedings. The COM
mittee is composed of Captain Will
son N. Vinyard, chairman, president
of Town Council; Sheriff Frank W..
Reedy and Lowder N. Hearn, all of
Milford
In making the six cuts, or canals,
necessary to straighten the stream,
the lands of Mrs. Henrietta Holmes,
Frank Potter, Willard Potter and
Medford Jones are involved. In
many instances it will separate
from the main farm, large stretches
of marsh and grazing ground which
will be inaccessible and surrounded
by water after the cuts are made.
1t was first intended to remove dirt
with a clam she'll dredge and this
would have piled high banks on each
side of the cuts thus isolating the
lands with high walls. The commit
tee appointed, prevailed upon the en-
gineering department of the Federal
government to use blowers instead OF
the clam she'll shovels as these would
spread the rich earth from the bot
tom of the river over many acres OF
marsh land, making much OF the
former waste ground tillable and OF
value to the land owners. This was
largely responsible for the owners
withdrawing their opposition to the
project.
Monday of last week, Mrs. Holmes
Frank and Willard Potter and Med
ford Jones signed the deeds thai
\ makes the proposed improvement pos
\ sible. According to the Government
h engineer digging will begin the middle
Y of July. The length of time requir
\ ed for the completion of the six canal:
h is unknown, but work will be pushed
4 rapidly.
n Already several promoters are lay
4 ing their plans for forming steamship
Y lines between this section and vii
y mington, Chester and Philadelphia
H and lower Delaware will now be as
Y sured of a passenger steamer in thu
y course of a year.
H After the canals are completed
y steamer leaving Milford will be abl'
Y to make the Delaware bay in one It'd
Il which has been impossible in the past
Y thus getting produce and perishabl
y fruits into the city markets in goo'
x condition