Description:

The Cape Cod Canal Centennial takes place this summer of 2014 and many activities are planned.

The history behind construction of the canal is fascinating and extends back as far as 1623. There were countless discussions, plans and attempts at creating a canal starting in the 1600’s and including a 1776 survey and plan by George Washington, but none of the efforts came to be until construction began in June 1909. The engineers faced all sorts of challenges with the canal, one of which was the existence of mammoth boulders that had been left behind by the retreat of ice age glaciers.

The canal opened on a limited basis in July 1914, and was finally completed in 1916. Interestingly enough, the trade route from New York City to Boston was reduced by 62 miles with use of the canal, but due to all sorts of issues and accidents the canal got a bad reputation and total revenues did not meet the private investors expectations. In 1928 the government purchased the canal for use as a free public waterway and invested in widening the canal and dredging it to make it deeper.