Abstract:
Leutze discusses the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway from colonial times to the present. Unnamed in earlier times, the waters were simply a pathway used by colonists, sailors, fishermen, and commercial interests. An influential 1808 report, “Public Roads and Canals,†by Albert Gallatin, Secretary of the Treasury, called for a series of internal improvements to link states in the young nation together. In 1859, the first barge passed along the waterway. In 1913, Congress purchased land and began planning for a waterway from Norfolk, Virginia, to Beaufort, North Carolina. By 1936, the route was complete to the South Carolina line. Leutze concludes by describing towns and scenery along the route today.