Early History
The idea of constructing such a canal was first considered by Miles Standish of the Plymouth Colony in 1623, and Pilgrims scouted the low-lying stretch of land between the Manomet and the Scusset rivers for potential routes. William Bradford established the trading post of Aptuxcet in 1627 at the portage between the rivers. Trade with the Native Americans of Narragansett Bay and the Dutch of New Netherlands prospered and was a major factor enabling the Pilgrims to pay off their indebtedness. In 1697 the General Court of Massachusetts considered the first formal proposal to build the canal, but apparently took no action. In 1717, an early version of the canal called Jeremiah's Gutter was created in Orleans, although it only remained active until the late 1800s. More energetic planning with surveys took place repeatedly in 1776 (by George Washington), 1791, 1803, 1818, 1824–1830, and 1860. None of these efforts came to fruition. The first attempts at actually building a canal did not take place until the late 19th century; earlier planners either ran out of money or were overwhelmed by the project's size.
The engineers finally decided which route through the hillsides to take by connecting and widening the Manomet and Scusset Rivers.
Read more about this topic: Cape Cod Canal
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