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Cumberland and Oxford Canal

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Coordinates:43°44′0″N70°25′30″W/ 43.73333°N 70.42500°W/43.73333; -70.42500
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Cumberland and Oxford Canal
A canal section in Windham
Cumberland and Oxford Canal is located in Maine
Cumberland and Oxford Canal
Cumberland and Oxford Canal is located in the United States
Cumberland and Oxford Canal
LocationCumberland County,Maine
Coordinates43°44′0″N70°25′30″W/ 43.73333°N 70.42500°W/43.73333; -70.42500
Area1,475 acres (597 ha)
Built1832
NRHP referenceNo.74000317[1]
Added to NRHPNovember 1, 1974[1]
Map of canal with inset showing Long Lake, Songo Lock, and Sebago Lake

TheCumberland and Oxford Canalwas opened in 1832 to connect the largest lakes of southernMainewith the seaport ofPortland, Maine.Thecanalfollowed thePresumpscot RiverfromSebago Lakethrough the towns ofStandish,Windham,Gorham,andWestbrook.The Canal diverged from the river at Westbrook to reach the navigableFore Riverestuary and Portland Harbor. The canal required 27locksto reach Sebago Lake at an elevation of 267 feet (81 m) above sea level. One additional lock was constructed in theSongo Riverto provide 5 feet (1.5 m) of additional elevation to reachLong Lakefrom Sebago Lake. Total navigable distance was approximately 38 miles (61 km) fromPortlandtoHarrisonat the north end of Long Lake. A proposed extension from Harrison to Bear Pond and Tom Pond inWaterfordwould have required three more locks on the Bear River, but they were never built.[2]

A state lottery was authorized to help raise $50,000 for the project, and the Canal Bank of Portland was chartered in 1825. The canal was completed in 1830 at a cost of $206,000.[3]The excavated portions of the canal had a surface width of 30 feet (9.1 m) with a 10 feet (3.0 m) wide channel 3.5 feet (1.1 m) deep. The locks were 10 feet (3.0 m) wide and 80 feet (24 m) long. Lock walls were made ofgranitemasonrywith wooden gates at either end. A lock keeper was stationed at each lock to move the lock gates with heavy timber balance beams, manipulate iron valves to adjust water levels within the lock, and collect a 6 cent fee for use of the lock.[4]

Canal boats[edit]

The flat-bottomed canal boats had bluntbows,squaresterns,and a loaded draft of 3 feet (0.91 m). A tow path adjacent to the excavated portions of the canal enabledhorsesto tow the canal boats while the boatmen steered, or the boats could be moved by poles when the need arose; usually while passing through the Songo lock. Canal boats using the lakes had a hinged centerboardkeeland two hingedmastscapable of supporting gaff riggedsailswhich would be folded down for passage under bridges through the excavated canal. Cargos includedlumber,masts, barrel hoops and staves, boxmaking shook, and firewood from the interior to Portland.Appleswere an important agricultural product of the area; andOriental Powder Companymills adjacent to the canal in Windham manufactured nearly 25% of the Uniongunpowdersupply for theAmerican Civil War.[5]Canal boat passengers were charged one-half cent per mile. A wide variety of manufactured goods moved inland through the canal from Portland. The south end of Long Lake is locally known asBrandy Pondbecause a barrel ofbrandywas lost from a canal boat during passage through that part of the waterway.[6]

Railroads and Steamboats[edit]

A steamboat of the type using the canal between Sebago Lake and Long Lake about 1910

Freight to and fromOxford Countybegan moving over theAtlantic & St Lawrence Railroad(laterGrand Trunk Railwayand thenCanadian National RailwayBerlinSubdivision) in the 1850s and the 18-mile (29 km) longPresumpscot Riverportion of the canal fell into disuse when thePortland and Ogdensburg Railroad(laterMaine Central Railroad Mountain Division) reachedSebago Lake Stationin 1870. Some of the Presumpscot River lock facilities were converted to dams for theS. D. Warren Paper Mill.Steamboats continued to useSongo Lockto provide transportation from Sebago Lake Station to the lakeside communities ofBridgton,Harrison,Naples,Sebago,Casco,RaymondandNorth Windham.TheBridgton and Saco River RailroadreachedBridgtonin 1883 andHarrisonin 1898. The Sebago Lake, Songo River, and Bay of Naples Steamboat Company continued to offer summer passenger service to tourists until the last steamboatGoodrichburned at its Naples dock in 1932. Songo Lock remains in service for pleasure boats.

Relicensing of the dams was the subject of the 2006Supreme CourtcaseS. D. Warren Co. v. Maine Board of Environmental Protection.

See also[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toCumberland and Oxford Canal.

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ab"National Register Information System".National Register of Historic Places.National Park Service.July 9, 2010.
  2. ^Ward, Ernest E.My First Sixty Years in Harrison, MaineCardinal Printing 1967 p.7
  3. ^Ward, Ernest E.My First Sixty Years in Harrison, MaineCardinal Printing 1967 p.8
  4. ^Ward, Ernest E.My First Sixty Years in Harrison, MaineCardinal Printing 1967 p.9
  5. ^"Historic Interpretive Signs about the Oriental Powder Mills Installed"(PDF).Presumpscot Regional Land Trust. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2011-07-27.Retrieved2010-07-30.
  6. ^Ward, Ernest E.My First Sixty Years in Harrison, MaineCardinal Printing 1967 p.10

References[edit]

  • Johnson, Ron (n.d.).Maine Central R.R. Mountain Division.470 Railroad Club.
  • Jones, Robert C. (1993).Two Feet to the Lakes, The Bridgton & Saco River Railroad.Pacific Fast Mail.
  • Moody, Linwood W. (1959).The Maine Two-Footers.Howell-North.
  • Meade, Edgar T. Jr. (1968).Busted and Still Running.The Stephen Greene Press.
  • Ward, Ernest E. (1967).My First Sixty Years in Harrison, Maine.Cardinal Printing.
  • Knight, Ernest H. (1975).A Guide to the Cumberland and Oxford Canal.Cumberland and Oxford Canal Association.
  • "National Register of Historical Places - MAINE (ME), Cumberland County".Retrieved2007-12-15.
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