Almost from the time that explorers first surveyed the area a canal to cross the Delmarva Peninsula between the Delaware River and the Chesapeake Bay was a topic of consideration. Augustine Herman was the first to proposed to a canal in the later half of the 17th Century. Herman was a mapmaker and developed one of the first maps of the upper Delmarva for the Calvert’s of Maryland.
It wasn’t until the late 18th century that surveys of possible water routes were made. Benjamin Franklin was part of a group that looked into the possibility.
In 1802 the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal Company was incorporated. Construction began in 1814, but a lack of funds forced the project to be stopped in 1816. In 1822 the canal company reorganized and received monetary support from Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and the Federal Government. Work began commenced again in April 1824 with the canal opening in 1829. The total cost was nearly 2.5 million dollars.
The canal of 1829 was much different than it is today. When it opened it was 14 miles long, 10 feet deep, 66 feet wide at the water line and 36 feet at the bottom. Locks existed at Delaware City and St. Georges, Delaware as well as two at Chesapeake City, Maryland.
In 1919, the Federal Government purchased the canal. From 1921 to 1927 the Army Corps of Engineers converted it to a sea-level canal by widening it, and removing all of the locks.
Today the canal is 450 feet wide with a depth of 35 feet. The canal is a modern sea-level commercial waterway that carries about 40 percent of the ship traffic to the Port of Baltimore.
At Chesapeake City looking East.
At Chesapeake City looking West
The inlet at Chesapeake City
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