This film documents \;the \;histor
y and traces \;the \;route of \;the \;Middlesex \;Cana
l \;today\, including Wilmington\, where numerous watered sections and
structures remain well \; \;after over 200 years. \;
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sp\;
While \;the \;Erie \;Canal \;has become well-kno
wn in \;the \;annals of American history\, \;the \;Middles
ex \;Canal\, built two decades earlier and a model for \;canal&nbs
p\;engineers throughout young America\, has only recently become recognize
d for its important achievements. Extending 27 miles northeast from Boston
harbor to \;the \;Merrimack River near present-day Lowell\, Massa
chusetts\, \;the \;Middlesex \;Canal \;provided low-cost a
nd efficient freight transport for almost five decades\, helping to establ
ish \;the \;canal \;in \;the \;U.S. as a viable means
of economic development.
The \;building of \;the \;Mid dlesex \;Canal \;also served as a proving ground for an American p ractice of civil engineering. Its construction\, for example\, saw one of& nbsp\;the \;first uses of telescopic leveling devices in America\,&nbs p\;the \;first innovations in cement-making\, \;the \;first ex periments in "puddling" \;canal \;banks to make \;them water-t ight\, and \;the \;first use of dump carts to speed excavation. Wh ile \;the \;canal \;never turned a profit for its private inve stors\, it nonetheless stimulated economic growth \;along \;its pa th\, establishing a foundation for one of America's first major industrial regions.
\nThe \;Canal \;project was supervised from by Col onel Loammi Baldwin\, a self-educated Revolutionary War veteran who relied on British engineer William Weston to help him survey and lay out \;t he \;canal's path. \;
\nhttps://wilmlibrary.libnet.info/event/1 7147736 URL;VALUE=URI:https://wilmlibrary.libnet.info/event/17147736 ATTACH:https://static.libnet.info/images/events/wilmlibrary/Middlesex_Cana l.jpg END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR