I love connecting the Lowcountry’s past to the present day. And what better resource to do so than the diary of my great-great-grandfather, Samuel Thorne, who, as a twelve-year-old boy in 1848, came to the Lowcountry with his father? Life moved at a much slower pace back then, and folks took their time to look around.
During his Lowcountry sojourn, Samuel spent several days in Savannah, taking in the sights. Here’s an excerpt (unedited for punctuation and spelling) from his diary written on Sunday, April 9, 1848:
…After church we took a walk to the railroad depot near which is a canal which runs from this city to the Ogeechee river. Although it has been made for 15 years it has not been used therefore it is filled with rubish (sic). They are however cleaning it out so that it may be used probably to carry rice and timber…
Apparently, the canal he saw, known today as the Savannah Ogeechee Canal, has had a checkered past for quite some time. It was originally chartered in 1824 and completed in 1830 using the labor of enslaved Africans and newly arriving Irish immigrants. The purpose of the 16.5-mile canal was to create a transportation link between the plantations along the Ogeechee River and the port of Savannah. This was to facilitate inland farms and timber plantations to bring their crops and lumber to the city.
As an interesting historical note, in 1825, the original sponsor of the canal, Ebenezer Jenckes, traveled to New York seeking the wisdom of then governor, DeWitt Clinton. Clinton had been an instrumental champion of the Erie Canal and was considered the canal maven of America.
Jenckes and Clinton came to an agreement, and they decided Clinton’s son, Dewitt Clinton Jr., would oversee implementation of the Savannah project. Thus, there is a direct and historic connection between the Savannah Ogeechee and the Erie canals. Another one of those tidbits to make you a rock star at trivia night.
By the time young Samuel visited Savannah in 1848, the canal had fallen into disrepair and was quite a mess. However, by 1850, the canal had been re-chartered, re-capitalized by new owners, re-opened, and was in full swing as an economic engine for the burgeoning Savannah markets.
The Civil War slowed things down because of the North’s blockade of Southern ports. But within a few years after the war, the canal was back in business until 1872, when heavy rains caused extensive damage to the embankments. Concurrently, in the mid-1870’s, there was an outbreak of yellow fever in Savannah, resulting in over a thousand deaths. The canal’s seemingly stagnant water was blamed for the outbreak, and the canal fell back into disuse.
By the 1890s, a railroad company had pretty much taken over inland transportation and had acquired most of the canal company’s shares. Much of the canal right-of-way was subsequently used for warehouses and depots. By the mid-1890s, the canal was effectively shut down.
Throughout most of the twentieth century, the canal was a controversial political hot potato and the source of periodic squabbles and outcry until, in 1992, a group of concerned citizens formed the Savannah Ogeechee Canal Society. The Society began a beautification and clean-up campaign which is ongoing. Nowadays, the Society actively coordinates with the city and Chatham County authorities to maintain nature walks, a museum, and a nature center. You can read all about the canal as it is today and its interesting history on the Society’s comprehensive website here. The Society will even take your money if you want to donate.
So, back in 1848, my forebear, young Samuel, was in on the early days of the Savannah Ogeechee Canal, and he felt compelled to note it in his diary…likely because it smelled bad and wasn’t very pretty. However, today, almost two centuries after Samuel wrinkled his nose, the Savannah Ogeechee Canal is a tucked away treasure of the Lowcountry. It might even be a fun place to visit if you haven’t already seen enough alligators where you live.
