Canal Dredges

Dredging is the excavation of waterways to make them more navigable, usably by removing sediments to make the waterways deeper and/or wider. The dredges used to dig Florida canals typically were boats or barges that had long crane arms with scoop or grabbers to excavate the bottom of the waterways. Usually, the excavated sediment was deposited along the banks of the waterway or transported to another location for deposit. When Sydney O. Chase and Wallace R. Moses climbed the Jupiter Inlet lighthouse they saw the smoke of the Florida Coast Line Canal & Transportation Company's dredge in the direction of Juno. The texts also mention the expectation that the canal between Jupiter and Lake Worth will be completed before the next season, and then the company intended to connect Lake Worth and Biscayne Bay by dredging a canal from the south end of Lake Worth. They also noted the effects of the dredging on the banks of Indian River.

Credits:

• Photo, Dredge for the Everglades drainage project, circa 1910s, State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory

Sources:

• "The Papers of Albert Sawyer and the Development of the Florida East Coast, 1892 to 1912," by William G. Crawford, Jr., Tequesta, 2002
• A History of Florida's East Coast Canal: The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway from Jacksonville to Miami," by William G. Crawford, Jr., Broward Legacy, 1997

References in the Texts:

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• April 15, Friday
• April 16, Saturday

For other topics referenced in the Expedition texts, please refer to the Index to Subjects and Names.
1892 Everglades Exploration Expedition : Three Digital Texts, 2015