In this beautifully done ETV Classics, we learn about how canals were once as important as superhighways are today and how the Santee Canal in South Carolina would be the inspiration for all that followed! Host Mason Adams guides us through history by way of narrative, archival photographs, and period re-enactment to learn about the construction of the Santee Canal.
Even before the American Revolution, canals were suggested to get products, whether crops or goods, from the coast to the Upcountry and back. The South Carolina Commons House of Assembly supported a survey in 1770 to determine the most favorable routes for a canal to connect the Santee River with the Cooper River, which would provide a direct outlet to Charleston Harbor. In 1773, Henry Mouzon was commissioned to survey routes for the inland waterway. His five suggested routes were later abandoned by Colonel Johann Christian Senf who charted a new path for the canal.
After a charter was given for the project, construction began in 1793, and the Santee and Cooper Rivers were joined by means of a twenty-two mile canal which took as many as a thousand workers and seven years to complete. The canal, built under the direction of Colonel John Christian Senf, was fraught with difficulties including financial overrun, war, sickness, death, and difficulty retaining enough laborers, particularly skilled laborers, to complete the task.
Upon its completion in 1880, the canal operated for fifty years, when an unanticipated drought interrupted the operation. Thereafter, no boats were able to use the canal unless in times of seasonal rain. This South Carolina ETV production documents the arrival of steamboats and trains, which spelled the end for the canal when its waters were finally drawn down. Eventually, Santee Cooper would flood most of the areas occupied by the canal, creating lakes Moultrie and Marion. We learn how, in years later, they would reclaim the remnants of the canal and incorporate them into the Old Santee Canal State Park.
Side Notes
- Old Santee State Park - Explore the out of doors! Serving Berkeley County and the Lowcountry for over 30 years, Old Santee Canal Park remains a valuable community asset and a true gem for outdoor enthusiasts. Our park plays a valuable role in education and conservation of natural resources and local history. We are proud to have the support of our visitors as we continue to preserve this beautiful place.
- The South had several canals, particularly in South Carolina, used for transportation and commerce. Notable examples include the Columbia Canal, Saluda Canal, and the Santee Canal, which connected Charleston to Columbia. Additionally, Cape Coral, Florida, is known for its extensive canal system.
- U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration - The Packet Boat - In America, canal building began in the 1790s to connect the 16 States to the lands west for commerce, as well as for taking passengers and families wanting to relocate further west. Unknown to the colonists were the Hohokam's canals in a land they never dreamed of visiting. The 363-mile Erie Canal was built in 1825. The smaller packet boats, or later known as canal boats, were used to carry mail, cargo, and passengers using the canals and rivers. A packet boat was usually 14 feet wide to fit the narrow width of the canals, but could be anywhere from 70 to 90 feet long. The boat could carry up to 60 passengers much more comfortably, faster, and safer than a stagecoach, and it had sleeping berths for overnight travel. Packet boats were often pulled through the canals by a team of horses or mules who walked slowly along the bank. Passengers could cut their travel time in half by canal boat.
- Santee Canal | South Carolina Encyclopedia. History of canal recounted, noting that in 1989 the state of South Carolina converted the surviving portion of the canal into Old Santee Canal Park. Management of the park was transferred to Santee Cooper in 1999.
- The Superhighways of the Industrial Revolution Were Canals.
- John Rutledge - September 17, 1739 – June 21, 1800. American Founding Father, politician, and jurist who served as one of the original associate justices of the Supreme Court and the second chief justice of the United States. Additionally, he served as the first president of South Carolina and later as its first governor after the Declaration of Independence was signed.
- South Carolina Commons House of Assembly - (1670–1776). The dominant political institution in colonial South Carolina was the Commons House of Assembly (changed simply to “the Assembly” in 1744). It served as the lower house of the provincial legislature and was the only popularly elected branch of government in the colony. The chief theme in the early history of the Commons House was its transformation from an impotent institution to an imperious political body that jealously guarded its immense authority.
- Henry Mouzon Plat Book, 1769-1819.
- Colonel John Christian Senf's Account of the Santee Canal. The South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine, Vol. 28, No. 1 (Jan., 1927), pp. 8-21 (14 pages).
- Santee Cooper South Carolina Public Service Authority - The Santee Cooper Public Service Authority (Santee Cooper PSA) is responsible for the operation and management of Lake Marion and Lake Moultrie in South Carolina. These lakes, created in the 1930s and 1940s as part of a hydroelectric project, are a significant source of both electricity and recreation for the state.
- George Washington Potomack Canal - The origins of navigation along the Potomac began with two of the young nation’s most important leaders. Thomas Jefferson and George Washington both believed the Potomac was the best way to reach the Ohio Valley, but it wasn’t until Washington toured the area in 1784 that he became excited about developing the route. In 1785 Washington chartered The Patowmack Company with the purpose of clearing a river channel and building skirting canals around the river’s more turbulent sections. But the country had other plans for Washington. After chairing the Constitutional Convention, Washington was elected as the first president of the United States in 1789.
