In Search Of the Cumberland and Oxford Canal

Origins
Route
Sites
Operations
Boats
Stories
Credits
Epitaph

 

Origins

In 1795, General Court of Massachusetts, of which Maine was still a province, granted a charter to Woodbury Storer, Joseph Noyes and others to build a canal from Sebago Lake to the Saccarappa Falls in what is now Westbrook. This canal was to move the products of the hinterland, timber, lumber and produce to Westbrook, where it could be moved by wagon to Portland and waiting ships for export. At the time, overland transportation was slow and difficult. Most produce would spoil in the 5 or 6 it took it to be hauled to Portland.River travel was not an option, as the Presumpscot River was dotted with falls and rapids for most of its run. Also, the Presumpscot turned north at Saccarappa and met the tidal waters several miles above Portland. In the end, The Falmouth Canal, as it was called, was never built. Primarily due to a lack of funding.

By the 1820's, it was becoming more and more critical to find a quick and economical way to move goods to and from the coast. Portlands export market was booming. In 1826, the tonnage of vessels hailing from Portland entering the port of Havana exceeded that of Boston, Philadelphia and New York. This gave impetus to a new effort to build a canal from Portland to Sebago Lake.
In 1821, a group of merchants from Portland received a chrater to build a canal from Waterford, in Oxford County, through Sebago Lake to Portland. In 1823, a Committee reported that a canal could be built for the sum of $130,805 plus a 5% contingency.

This figure was derived from a survey conducted in that year by Holmes Hutchinson, who had learned canal engineering while working on the Erie Canal and had recently surveyed the route for what was to become the Blackstone canal from Worcester Massachustetts to Providence Rhode Island. The figure would turn out to be far too low. The charter provided for a stock offering of 2,000 shares at a maximum of $50.00 per share. This would give a total of $100,000. An initial assesment of $1.00 per share was set, with other assessments provided as needed. In 1823, with the survey and feasability study complete, the company decided to go ahead with a lottery, which was provided for in the charter.

The lottery was a complex affair, with a board  of overseers appointed by the governer combined with a convoluted pricing and prize structureIt would turn out to be a poor method of financing. The Canal realized about $10,000 on ticket sales of $100,000.
The failure of the lottery depressed the market for stock in the canal, therefore the organizers had to look elsewhere for financing. In 1825, the Legislature chartered the Canal Bank of Portland. Established with an initial capital of $300,000, the charter stipulated that no more than one quarter of the capital be invested in the canal. This infusion of money allowed the Corporation to begin construction in 1828. With further sales and assessments of stock and loans, the canal was completed in 1830. The final cost was $220,800