Landsford Canal State Park Field Trip

Transcription

1 Landsford Canal State Park -- Lesson Title: Canals- Internal Improvement Projects of early 1800's 0 Pacing Suggestions: Three Days Enduring Understandings and Essential Questions: Identify groups and individuals involved in the canal movement and construction. How did Poinsett, Blanding, Mills, Davie, Leckie, and Irish laborers contribute to the canal movement and/or Landsford Canal? Analyze the reasons for the construction of canals in the early 1800's. What were the problems with other modes of transportation that spurred interest in canal constructions? How were canals expected to improve the economy of our state? What developments brought about the sudden abandonment of the canal systems? Standards Correlation: Describe the revolutions in energy, manufacturing, and transportation and their spatial distributions Compare and contrast the Northern industrial system with the Southern agrarian society. Materials: Park Information: Landsford Canal State Park Route #1, Box 423 Catawba, SC (803) Park Hours: Thursday-Monday, 9-6 Office Hours: Daily, 11:OO-noon Teacher's Guide to the Canal Trail (historical information, canal site information, scavenger hunt) Landsford Canal Chart Reflection Essay Guide

2 '< Landsford Canal State Park a Procedures: 1. Explain the origin of the name- Land's Ford. Explain the use of the ford by Europeans and Catawbas. Explain the use of the ford by soldiers during Revolutionary and Civil Wars. Explain the increased interest in internal improvements, i.e. canals, during the early 1800's. Identify Landsford namesake, Thomas Land; architect, Robert Mills; engineer, Robert Leckie; mill-owner, William Richardson Davie. 3. Divide class into eight groups. Students visit eight stations in the room, each devoted to one site on the Canal Trail. Students have four minutes to study each station and complete the Canal Chart. 4. Visit Landsford Canal. Students complete Scavenger Hunt. Assessments: 1. Student completion of the Canal Chart prior to a field trip. Student completion of Scavenger Hunt during site visit. 3. Student reflection essay. Extension Activites: 1. Study primary documents from the 1970's- Landsford Canal Map (topographic) and Canal Index document from American Canal Society. Research and report on Robert Mills or William Richardson Davie. 3. Discuss the Catawbas and Catawba Pottery.

3 Landsford Canal State Park Reflection Essay Assignment: Choose a historical figure involved with Landsford Canal from the list below. Consider his/her/its contribution to the canal. Write a one-pagejournal entry from the point-ofview of the figure you have chosen. Describe the events of one day for that individual. Would the individual be proud, tired, frustrated, sad, etc? Describe the events of one day and their effects on the contributor. Robert Mills Robert Leckie William Richardson Davie Irish workers Mule or donkey.pulling boats

4 0 Landsford Canal State Park Interpretive Sign Fast Facts #1 Diversion Dam l. #2 Guard Lock l. #3 Footbridge l. #4 Culvert l. #5 The Construction of Landsford l. Canal #6 Mill Complex l. #7 Lifting Locks l.

5 Landsford Canal State Park 0 Of interest to both historians and scientists, Landsford Canal State Park declares the dogged detennination of both man and nature to thrive. Our early agrarian forbears feared the instability of an economy that did not use its own natural resources for profit. An effort to construct canals throughout the South Carolina rivers to allow the shipment of goods through our own markets and ports occurred in the early 1800's. Rivers were not navigable prior to this effort due to rapids created by the fall line through the state. Likewise, the abundant flora and fauna of the Catawba River exhibits a stubbornness to flourish. From the countless species of birds overhead to the ever-famous endangered Spider Lilies persisting in the rocky waters below, Landsford Canal State Park communicates the beauty of the labor of man and beast. From the native Catawbas and early European explorers to Revolutionary and Civil War soldiers making crossing at Land's Ford, Landsford Canal State Park whispers secrets and hints of those who went before. The Catawba River has witnessed human development at its banks for over 10,000 years. Early immigrants from the Low Country and the North used the ford and upon crossing met the inhabitants of the river. In the mid-1700's, a merchant named Thomas Land (thus the name, Land's Ford) utilized the popular crossing as a center for trading and selling. Leaving his sick and wounded men at a nearby mill, Lord Cornwallis traversed these waters as well. The canal itself, however, keeps few secrets- as it remains largely visible and intact. For students, the canal provides the main focus of historical study. One of many

6 0 Landsford Canal State Park canals built in South Carolina during the internal improvement projects of the 1800's, Landsford was the uppermost of four canal projects on the Catawba-Wateree River. System.! Robert Mills, architect of the Washington Monument and other famous sites, designed the canal. Robert Leckie engineered the building of the canal. William Jefferson Davie, "Father of the University of North Carolina", owned a mill on the canal. Irish Americans excavated and constructed the canal using mainly man and animal power. Explosives were the only aide, providing a way to cut through rock during the digging of the canal. The elements of the canal- the diversion dam, the guard lock, the footbridge, the culvert, the former mill complex, and the lifting locks, support the notion of man's ingenuity, skill, and capacity for enduring hard labors. Students will identify the function of the various aspects of the canal in stations before the field visit and through interpretive signs posted throughout the trail during the visit. To increase student interest in the site, a focus on the human element of the structure would be helpful. Students can imagine a long, narrow boat carrying bales of cotton pulling into the guard lock and moving into the canal. Students might visualize the mules pulling the boats through the canal. Also, picture the mill on the site humming with activity. A story of most interest to students, however, might be the "feud" between engineer Robert Leckie and Superintendant of the Catawba River projects, John Couty. Couty, according to Leckie, had questionable competence for his job and aso had questionable morals. Couty supposedly tried to bribe Leckie into allowing his brother to have the job of the guard lock construction. Leckie

7 Landsford Canal State Park refused the offer of additional pay in exhange for giving the job to Couty's brother. The time of the building of the canal was undoubtedly a difficult one for Leckie. The tragic deaths of his wife and children along with the ongoing disagreements with Couty bore heavily on him.2 Students should be familiar with South Carolinian Robert Mills. Architect of the Landsford Canal, Mills is famous for having designed many public buildings in Washington D.C. He built many of the prominent structures in South Carolina, and wrote a book entitled, Internal Improvement of South Carolina, 182 English-born William Richardson Davie, a historical figure of interest in relation to the Landsford Canal, "retired" to South Carolina after having made a case for himself as a lawyer and a patriot. Davie attended the Constitutional Convention, urged its ratification, and acted as an ambassador in securing a treaty with France. Davie operated a mill on the Landsford Canal. The components and construction of the Landsford Canal are of such interest to me! The contributors to the canal's construction are important to our state history as well as our sense of identity with this land we call home. Hopefully my enthusiasm for the history hidden back in the beautiful wooded banks of the Catawba will be contagious! The place and the people of Lands ford show us the history of transportation in South Carolina, and the economic needs of the region at this time. Standards and deal with the revolutions in transportation and the characteristics of the Southern agrarian society.

8 ,. c Landsford Canal State Park Bibliography 1. Richardson, L.W. "American Canal Society: Canal Index." New York: Canal Index Comittee, page. South Carolina Parks. "Landsford Canal State Park, Teacher's Guide to the Canal Trail." 15 pages 3. James; AI. "Where Nature and History Blend." -copy of an article. No information known.