Tidewater Canal, Wrightsville. April 2021
A discovery
This photo was taken after high water (almost flood) on the Susquehanna. The old tidewater canal and lock in Wrightsville near the Intercounty Bridge was an oft-visited place for me in my high school years. Fishing spot, lovely viewpoint, and most importantly with my Pentax K-1000 camera, a place where I learned I could actually take good photos!! One of my first "very good" shots was of this section of the Tidewater Canal which spurred me on to continue taking photos! It is a shame I can't find that original photo. It probably wasn't even all that good, but to 17 year old me - it was just fabulous.
The Susquehanna and Tide Water Canal now just exists in bits and pieces between Columbia/Wrightsville and Havre de Grace, MD.
Before any dam was constructed on the Susquehanna, the lower end of the river was rocky and quite shallow in most areas, rendering it virtually unnavigable. For the river to be widely utilized for industry and trade in the growing 19th century, the 233-foot drop from Columbia to the bay had to be overcome. In the 1830s, merchants in Baltimore campaigned for the funding of a canal.
Authorization for the construction of a canal along the Susquehanna River from Columbia/Wrightsville, Pennsylvania, to the Maryland-Pennsylvania line was provided by an act of Pennsylvania legislature, April 15, 1835. Maryland had already chartered a canal, under the incorporated name of the Tidewater Canal Company, to run from the Pennsylvania line to Havre de Grace, Maryland. The two canals were united under the name of the Susquehanna Canal Company or, more commonly, the Susquehanna-Tidewater Canal Company.
www.bluerockheritage.org/the-canal
By 1894 the canal was abandoned. It had a very short lifespan. I remain fascinated with the "wild and undammed" Susquehanna pre-dam. In my imagination it must have been spectacular.
These days, by the way, Wrightsville is putting a little money into the riverfront park (which is very underused considering what a lovely spot it is). The depth of the canal remnant there varies from mucky swamp to nearly full as in the above photo. It is a perfect spot for birding and I often saw turtles sunning on fallen limbs. People do use this waterside park, but mostly you will find solitude and a great view over the river to Columbia. A favorite spot for me (and others I believe) in all my life. When I post photos from there, many people make comments (not on the photos, but the location!)
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