Early Years
As early as the 17th century, settlers to the New World realized the nation's growth through industry and commerce would depend upon economical transportation of goods across both land and water. In the mid‑17th century Augustine Herman, a mapmaker and Prague native who had served as an envoy for the Dutch, observed that two great bodies of water, the Delaware River and Chesapeake Bay, were separated only by a narrow strip of land. Herman proposed that a waterway be built to connect the two. The canal would reduce, by nearly 300 miles (500 km), the water routes between Philadelphia and Baltimore.
More than a century passed, however, before any action was taken. In 1764 a survey of possible water routes across the Delmarva Peninsula was made. One such water route was proposed by Thomas Gilpin, Sr., a Quaker from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1764 Gilpin purchased 39 acres of land, much of which is located in and around present day Millington, Maryland. Millington was then known as Head of Chester considering the head of the Chester River is located in the Town. As a member of the American Philosophical Society, Gilpin was involved with planning a possible waterway that would be a shortcut for shipping from the Chesapeake Bay to the City of Philadelphia. He proposed that a canal be built across the Delmarva Peninsula to connect the Chester River at what is now Millington, Maryland to the Delaware River. However, the canal would not become a reality for decades.
The issue of constructing the waterway was raised again in 1788 by regional business leaders, including noted Philadelphians Benjamin Franklin and Benjamin Rush. In 1802, following actions by the legislatures of Maryland, Delaware and Pennsylvania, the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal Company was incorporated. More surveys followed, and in 1804 construction of the canal began including 14 locks to connect the Christina River in Delaware with the Elk River at Welch Point, Maryland, but the project was halted two years later for lack of funds.
Read more about this topic: Chesapeake And Delaware Canal
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