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49]
Historic leaves
Vol.
II. October, 1903. no. 3.
the Canals of the
Merrimac River had their day and active existence in the first half of the last century.
They have been referred to as the earliest step towards a solution of the problem of cheap transportation between
Boston and the northern country; but perhaps they may be more properly classed as the second step in that direction, the turnpikes having been in the field.
James Sullivan and his associates, the original projectors of the canal system, undoubtedly had in mind, not only to connect
Boston with the
Merrimac River country, but also to extend their canals from the
Merrimac to the
Connecticut River, and from the
Connecticut River to
Lake Champlain, and through its outlet to the
St. Lawrence, thus bringing
Boston into island water communication with
Montreal and the
lower Canada.
The project was too vast, and the physical obstacles too formidable to admit of full consummation, and their labors resulted only in uniting by navigable water the capitals of
Massachusetts and
New Hampshire, covering a distance of about eighty-five miles.
The
Middlesex Canal, twenty-seven miles long, from
Boston to the
Merrimac River at what is now known as Middlesex Village, about two miles above
Lowell, was the first constructed.
The work on this was commenced in 1794, and completed and opened for public use in 1803.
Following the construction of the
Middlesex Canal came the requisite work to render the
