The Suwannee Canal (also seen as the Suwanee Canel) was an attempt to drain large portions of the
Okefenokee Swamp
The Okefenokee Swamp is a shallow, 438,000-acre (177,000 ha), peat-filled wetland straddling the Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia–Florida line in the United States. A majority of the swamp is protected by the Okefenokee National Wildlife Ref ...
in
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
via a
canal
Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface ...
. The spelling of the Suwannee River has changed over time. The single n variant was more common in the past, but the double n spelling is the standard today.
In 1889, the
Georgia General Assembly
The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Each of the General Assembly's 236 members serve two-year terms and are directl ...
authorized the
Governor
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
to sell the land containing the Okefenokee Swamp to the highest bidder.The Suwanee Canal Company in the Okefenokee Swamp - C.T. Trowell
The highest bidder was a group of
capitalist
Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...
s and former
Confederate
A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...
officers who offered 26.5 cents per acre for the property. The group was granted a charter as The Suwannee Canal Company in 1890. In January 1891, the new company paid $6,310,180 for . The company intended to drain the swamp in order to facilitate
logging
Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidder, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or trunk (botany), logs onto logging truck, trucksFederal Register Volume 70, No. 147 - Tuesday August 2, 2005
Work on the drainage ditch from the swamp to the St. Marys River began on September 20, 1891. Captain Henry Jackson, the president of the company, and his crews spent three years digging the Suwannee Canal into the swamp. Work was slow due to various problems. The sides of the drainage ditch collapsed because of poor engineering design and bad weather. Leased convict labor, large
steam shovel
A steam shovel is a large steam engine, steam-powered excavating machine designed for lifting and moving material such as Rock (geology), rock and soil. It is the earliest type of power shovel or excavator. Steam shovels played a major role in ...
s, and finally
gold miner
Gold mining is the extraction of gold by mining.
Historically, mining gold from Alluvium, alluvial deposits used manual separation processes, such as gold panning. The expansion of gold mining to ores that are not on the surface has led to mor ...
s from north Georgia using large water hoses were unable to dig the ditch deep enough through an area known as Trail Ridge to drain the swamp.
In 1894, the company built a large
sawmill
A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...
at Camp Cornelia and constructed a railroad from Folkston, Georgia to the mill. The company was one of the first cypress companies in the nation to use industrial logging equipment. A steamboat was used to haul rafts of cypress logs along the canal to the sawmill at Camp Cornelia. Over of lumber were produced and almost of canals were dredged.
The company had hoped to raise enough money from the lumber to continue the drainage project, but found it impossible to produce the lumber profitably. The market was flooded with lumber, and they could not sell the lumber that was produced at a high enough price. The high cost of freight for lumber that could not be sold began to drain the company's assets. The company borrowed money, but eventually exhausted their funds. The drainage effort was abandoned in October 1894.
On December 13, 1895, Captain Jackson died following an operation for
appendicitis
Appendicitis is inflammation of the Appendix (anatomy), appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, fever and anorexia (symptom), decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these t ...
. His father, General Henry R. Jackson, was elected president in December 1895. He loaned more money to the company. The company survived until 1897, when Jackson ceased lending money to the company.
The company was placed into receivership in June 1897. The receiver, Joel Hurt, also attempted to operate the company, but found the business to be as unprofitable as before.
Economic recessions led to the company's bankruptcy. In 1899, the property of The Suwannee Canal Company was sold to members of the Jackson family as part of the "Jackson Trust." In 1901, the property was sold by the Jackson Trust to Charles Hebard, a prominent lumberman of
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
and the Hebard Lumber Company of
Lowndes County, Georgia
Lowndes County () is a County (United States), county located in the south-central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 118,251. The county seat is Vald ...
.
Logging operations, focusing on cypress, began in 1909 after a railroad was constructed into the west edge of the swamp. Over of timber, much of it old-growth cypress, had been removed from the Okefenokee by 1927 when logging operations ceased.
The Suwannee Canal survives as a principal waterway into the swamp, and is enjoyed by thousands of visitors each year.
See also
*
List of canals in the United States
The following is a list of canals in the United States:
Transportation canals in operation
This list includes active canals and artificial waterways that are maintained for use by boats. Although some abandoned canals and drainage canals have s ...
*
Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge
The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is a 402,000‑acre (1,627 km2) National Wildlife Refuge located in Charlton, Ware, and Clinch Counties of Georgia, and Baker County in Florida, United States. The refuge is administered from offic ...
*
Okefenokee Swamp
The Okefenokee Swamp is a shallow, 438,000-acre (177,000 ha), peat-filled wetland straddling the Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia–Florida line in the United States. A majority of the swamp is protected by the Okefenokee National Wildlife Ref ...