THE CUMBERLAND AND OXFORD CANAL

This picture of part of the Cumberland and Oxford Canal was taken on March 12, 2008 on Stroudwater Street in Westbrook.The canal is on the right heading toward Portland from Westbrook before the bridge passing over the Maine Turnpike.

OBSERVATIONS: I took this picture in an area where a “No Trespassing” sign was posted. This is a great site that shows how the canal may have looked like, minus the overgrowth, during its original use. I don’t understand why people wouldn’t be allowed to view this great piece of Maine history.

The North - East portion of Massachusetts known as Maine began as a back woods enterprise in the form of fishing, trapping, lumber production, and farming. The original settlers of Maine were trouble-making veterans from the Revolutionary War. These veterans were promised land for their roles during the War. The state of Massachusetts was tired of these troublesome men, so the state granted them land in Maine to get them out of their hair. These new citizens of Maine quickly produced a high volume of goods, but were having difficulties trading their goods because of lack of transportation. At the time, their only way of getting to the market and selling their commodities was by foot, horse, or wagon. This trek over narrow dirt roads from the Lakes Region area of Cumberland and Oxford counties would literally take them days, if not a week. They had to come up with a better way to get to Portland.

An idea to move lumber from the Sebago Lake Region to the mills of Saccarrappa was devised. What the area needed most was a successful canal system. So in 1791, a commission for a canal from Sebago Lake to the Presumpscot River was put before the Massachusetts General Court. Maine, still being part of Massachusetts, had to ask for the state’s permission to begin such a large project. Unfortunately, Massachusetts said no. They had watched these once annoying people become a strong power that they didn’t want to compete against. This idea of building canals to transport people and items over water instead of land was not a new one. All over America, canals were being built for just that purpose. A canal connecting Boston with the Merrimac River was built between 1793 and 1803. This canal was the largest in the country and was the foundation for many later canals. It cost $528,000 to construct. It was 27 1/4 miles long, 3 feet deep, 30 feet wide, and littered with 19 locks. It was a gem of a canal and had to be duplicated in Maine as best and as quickly as possible. Maine’s only way of building such a canal would be to secede from Massachusetts and become their own state. A number of attempts were made to breakaway in 1791, 1785, and 1786, but indifferences kept Maine from becoming independent.
The War of 1812 was particularly harsh to the economy of Maine. Combined with the drop in population and the supplies Maine had to surrender to Massachusetts for the War effort, Maine quickly became an insignificant parcel of land plagued with depression. In 1820, Maine, after numerous futile attempts of stubborn debates, always ending in stalemates, between men who could only agree to disagree, finally achieved its statehood. Now Maine would not have to ask another’s permission to construct the desperately needed canal system. The creation of the new Cumberland and Oxford Canal began in 1825. It took 5 years to build with a final price tag of $206,000. Once completed, the canal began in Harrison, twisted through a series of lakes and ponds, and after utilizing 28 locks, ended near Clark Street in the West End of Portland.

For ships to successfully navigate the canal and conclude their 3-day journey in Portland, crews faced a numerous amount of obstacles that only a fresh water sailor could overcome. Ships were loaded in Harrison, sailed through Long Pond into Naples, through Brandy Pond and into the Songo River. The crew would then have to thrust themselves through the Songo River, using long wooden poles, and finally ending up in Sebago Lake where they could rest easy after raising their sails once more to steer toward the Sebago Lake Basin at White’s Bridge. Once at the basin, the crew would lower their sails and again pole themselves through it before finally arriving at the mouth of the newly built Cumberland and Oxford Canal. Upon reaching the canal, the tow horses would pull the boats at a mind boggling 4 miles per hour down the tow paths through Standish, Windham, Gorham, Saccarappa, and into Portland. The tow horses that made much of the voyage possible were worked to death and eventually made into meals for canal boat crews and lock attendants. A poem, which was frequently heard on the canal, was as follows: “From Saccarappa to Portland Pier I’ve carted boards for many a year Till killed by blows, and sore abuse They salt me down for sailor’s use They cut off my meat and pick my bones And turn me over to Davy Jones.” (Carter 1950, 62) These ongoing passages through the canal system lasted for many years while bringing 150 boats to its banks and commerce down them. But the canal could not live on forever. A huge steel monster with Satan’s breath as fuel was coming to town and no one would be able to stop it. The steam engine would bring the canal to its knees and change the way of transporting commerce forever. In 1842, the first railroad was built from Portland to Kittery. At first, the railroad did not hurt the canal but actually helped it by getting its cargo to Southern Maine. But the new and faster trains would not be limited to just Southern Maine. In 1846 The Grand Trunk Railroad laid its tracks through Oxford County and onward to Quebec. And later the York and Cumberland Railroad would be built to pass through Westbrook, Gorham, and Buxton thus crippling the usefulness of the canal. As years passed, the canal saw less and less use until its final demise when it was officially closed in 1872. “…it was now that the disadvantages of a system of transportation that depended on the good will of Mother Nature… …became only too apparent.”(Carter 1950, 66). And so, the canal era of Maine ended. The Cumberland and Oxford Canal saw 42 years of service and helped make Maine the state it is today. Unfortunately or fortunately, new and faster modes of transportation grabbed the reigns of technology and propelled this back woods state into the 21st century. BIBLIOGRAPHY Barnes, Diane and Jack. 1996. The Sebago Lake Region. Arcadia Publishing. Carter, Harland Hall. 1950. The History Of The Cumberland and Oxford Canal. Division of Graduate Study. University of Maine, Orono. Dingley, Robert Jordan. No Date Apparent. Boating….. In The Switzerland Of America. No Publisher Apparent. Knight, Ernest H. 1976. A Guide To The Cumberland & Oxford Canal. Cumberland & Oxford Canal Association.