Lapidum was one of nine locks in Harford County’s stretch of the canal.
Section of Map and Profile of the Canal From Columbia to Tide E.F.Gay (c.1836) showing the Maryland Portion of the Tide Water Canal
Several months after the flood in the Susquehanna River from the Ice Gorge during the winter of 1872-1873 repairs to the buildings in Port Deposit were still being made. Across the river at Lapidum, where the Tidewater canal operated damages were also being repaired. From the 5 July 1873 edition of the Cecil Whig:
“Much has been said about the damage done by the “lce Gorge” to the “Tide Water Canal,” but no one can fully comprehend the extent of it until he has visited the ruins. Perhaps about one mile out of the five mile level from Lapidum to Havre de Grace remains uninjured, while in some places for hundreds of yards the hank has been entirely washed away below water level. The remaining portion has more or less washed from the top, leaving a rocky, ragged surface impassible for the teams until repaired. Above Lapidum the damages have been repaired, but below there must yet be a large amount of money expended in completing it.”
“We understand the boatmen who were bound for Philadelphia and detained for several weeks on account of the canal not being repaired, as represented by the Company, have instituted suit against the Canal Company for damages caused by the delay, the boatmen claiming they could have gone through the Union Canal, which connects the Susquehanna and Schuylkill Canal and reached Philadelphia nearly as soon as by this route, had they suffered no delay, and would have done so had the Tide Water Canal Company not assured them the repairs had been completed to Lapidum, thus enabling them to lock out there and proceed on their course.”
Access to the digital newspaper collection of the Cecil County Historical Society is free to members and is included in the $5 library fee for non-members. We are currently open, please visit www.cecilhistory.org for news and updates.
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