SHIP CANAL

SHIP CANAL. During the winter of 1863 a canal convention was called at Des Moines. The idea met with great interest in the states along the Upper MISSISSIPPI RIVER. The McGregor News stated that "a ship canal is absolutely necessary to develop the resources of Iowa and Minnesota." (1)

The legislatures of Iowa and Wisconsin endorsed the project of a canal around the upper and lower rapids on the Mississippi. (2) It was suggested that the development of the land west of the Mississippi would develop more quickly if transportation of materials and products could be improved. The canal was characterized as "pushing Lake Michigan up to the front of Iowa by which transportation to the lakes would be reduced one-third. The canal would, it was argued, break down monopolies for conveying products, have the potential to double the price of all agricultural land west of the Mississippi, add ten-fold to the value of all city property on the Mississippi, double the value of all east and west lines of railroad west of the Mississippi, and make Iowa and Minnesota first class manufacturing and commercial and well as agricultural centers. (3)

In a later editorial, the editorial page of the Herald suggested that farmland in Illinois and Wisconsin was 100% higher than in Iowa because these states bordered on the Great Lakes. This, the editorial continued, left them free from freight blockages and railroad monopolies. The paper suggested that if land values in Minnesota and Iowa only increased $2.50 per acre it would mean $200,000,000 to the two states. A report of a Mr. June, engineer of the Fox and Wisconsin River Improvement, provided an estimate that improvement of those rivers with canals and locks would cost $1,250,000. Improvements on the Upper Mississippi River would "lead to cities rivaling Cincinnati and Louisville on the Upper Mississipi." (4)

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Source:

1. "The Ship Canal Convention," Dubuque Democratic Herald, April 22, 1864, p. 4, Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=A36e8EsbUSoC&dat=18640422&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

2. "The Ship Canal," Dubuque Democratic Herald, April 24, 1864, p. 4, Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=A36e8EsbUSoC&dat=18640424&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

3. Ibid.

4. "The Ship Canal--Its Need and Advantages," Dubuque Democratic Herald, April 26, 1864, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=A36e8EsbUSoC&dat=18640426&printsec=frontpage&hl=en