Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
November 5, 1896 The Cascade Locks and Canal, which were built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, officially opened on the Columbia River between Oregon and Washington. The key reason for the navigation project was the need for more efficient and uninterrupted transportation along the Columbia River to help further develop the economic well-being of... Continue Reading →
October 26, 1825 The Erie Canal was fully opened to boat traffic. The 363-mile (584-kilometer) inland waterway, connecting Lake Erie to New York City via the Hudson River, was built to provide a faster and more direct means of transportation between the Eastern seaboard and the vast areas of land west of the Appalachian Mountains. Prior... Continue Reading →
August 6, 1885 Queen Victoria of England gave her royal assent to a bill passed by both houses of parliament authorizing the creation of a canal to link the city of Manchester to the Irish Sea. The Queen's formal approval was the final legislative hurdle that had to be overcome to make the Manchester Ship Canal... Continue Reading →
June 26, 1967 Civil engineer John G. Claybourn, who made significant contributions to river and harbor improvement projects in a number of countries, died Ann Arbor, Michigan, at the age of 81. He had been born in Albert Lea, Minnesota, in 1886. His uncle Ephraim S. Claybourn was an engineer who played a prominent role... Continue Reading →
Albert Gallatin, secretary of the Treasury under President Thomas Jefferson, submitted to the U.S. Senate a far-reaching report on the young nation’s critical transportation needs. Over a year earlier, the Senate passed a resolution calling upon the U.S. Treasury Department to prepare and submit “a plan for the application of such means are within the... Continue Reading →
Pioneering canal engineer Engebret Soot was born in the municipality of Aurskog (now part of Aurskog-Høland) in southeastern Norway. At the time of Soot’s birth, the Kingdom of Norway was united with the Kingdom of Denmark as a state known as Denmark-Norway; this integrated state remained in existence until 1814, when Norway established itself as... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 