The C&D Canal – circa 1907 – 1949: Ariel of Lift Bridge and Back Creek

This is a circa 1932 west view of the lowered lift bridge and Back Creek. At bottom right are the Corps of Engineers’ buildings at what was once the Causeway. In the distance at top left is the Chesapeake Boat Company and just above that is the Marine Construction wharf (now Capt. Dan’s and the site of the Delaware Responder). At left is what is now Pell Gardens and behind the right bridge tower is the old Schaefer’s restaurant.

Timber men on the log rafts

The C&D Canal – circa 1907 – 1949: Timber men on the white pine rafts

 

These are timber men balanced on rafts in the swampy area just south west of the Chesapeake City lock, circa 1912. Posing for the picture here are Elmer Watson, Mallory Toy, Harry Vance, James Watson, and Ed Reynolds. The men would break down these large, white pine rafts into smaller ones, making them narrow enough to fit through the lock. Mallory Toy was a colorful businessman who lived on Canal Street. I’ve been told that he built what is now the Shipwatch Inn.

Aerial of the Lift Bridge and City Dock

Canal bridges in the Chesapeake City area – circa 1907 – 1949: aerial of the Lift Bridge and City Dock

Here’s a terrific 1929 aerial view of parts of north and south Chesapeake City and the lift bridge. This bridge was opened for traffic in 1926, seven years after the Corps of Engineers bought the canal from the Canal Company in 1919. At left is what was left of Long Bridge, which was removed in the early thirties. You can see the Rio Theater in the distance towards the middle left and in the foreground what is left of the lock that had serviced the canal for many years. At right are Lock Street and the old Schaefer’s store, along with the large Ericsson Line building owned then by Roger Woolyhan. The swampy area just above the lift bridge was where my grandfather, Harper Hazel, worked as a timber man to break down the white pine rafts so the logs could fit through the three canal locks on their way to the Delaware River.

Rees' Wharf, circa 1915

Canal bridges in the Chesapeake City area – circa 1907 – 1949: Long Bridge, part 5

Here’s a view of South Chesapeake City’s Rees’ wharf in about 1915. Notice Long Bridge at left, Franklin Hall, the Apartments, the Cropper House, Rees’ granary, and the Bayard House. At about that time Albert Beiswanger had an ice cream parlor on the left just after you crossed the bridge. When I was a boy he had moved his store to George Street. The schooner (grain boat), Cara Dora, was owned by Walter Cooling’s grandfather, Capt. Zack Cooling.

Canal bridges in the Chesapeake City area – circa 1907 – 1949: Long Bridge, part 4

 

Here we see a southwest view of South Chesapeake City, with, at left, Long Bridge spanning across Back Creek. Notice the grain building just to the right of it. This building in this old picture was replaced by a newer one that I used to go under in the late forties and early fifties. In the distance is Franklin Hall, the Ohrel Building (once a tailor shop and existing now as one of the smallest bed and breakfasts in the country), and the Bayard House at right. The boys in town around that time (John Sager, Walter Cooling, Dick Titter and others) used to dive off Long Bridge and swim in this area of Back Creek. John Sager told me that Rube Hevalow operated this center pivot bridge by turning an iron crank, which took a good bit of energy. The boys would sometimes help him turn it when a vessel had to get through. John told me that one time Rube got mad at the boys for some reason and chased them away. Well, the boys came back later to get even and went under the bridge and put a rock in the gears to keep Rube from operating the bridge.