UID:
almafu_9959243259002883
Umfang:
1 online resource (xii, 300 pages) :
,
illustrations, maps
ISBN:
9780822973928
,
0822973928
Serie:
University of Pittsburgh Digital Collections.
Inhalt:
The vision of a central waterway connecting tidewater Virginia with the Ohio River to rival the Erie Canal persisted for decades during the 19th century. The idea was at first fostered by the commonwealth of Virginia and then reincarnated as the Central Water Line, which was endorsed by the federal government. It was a grand vision, and though never implemented, the Great Kanawha Navigation nevertheless became a highly successful regionally controlled waterway that developed the rich resources of the Kanawha Valley. Emory Kemp has compiled a comprehensive history of navigation on the Great Kanawha River, detailing the industrial archaeology of this waterway from the early 19th century, and offering a detailed case study of a major 19th- and early 20th-century civil engineering project that would significantly advance the nation's industrial development.Using the early unsuccessful attempts to connect the James River and western waters as a background, The Great Kanawha Navigation emphasizes technological innovation and construction of navigational structures on the river. With the river men championing open navigation during favorable stages of the river, and at the same time clamoring for controls to ensure navigation during periods of low flow, the Corps of Engineers responded with the concept of the movable dam to provide a cost-effective means of moving bulk cargo, especially coal, salt, lumber, cement, and chemicals, along nearly 100 miles of the Great Kanawha River. The Great Kanawha Navigation employed a series of ten locks and dams and became a laboratory for the use of movable dams in the United States, using first the French Chanoine shutter wicket dam and then the German Roller Gate dam. The innovative technology of the ten dams, the volume of freight carried and the management of the system by the Corps of Engineers made this one of the most significant public works in the nation. Each of the two systems provided cost-effective and environmentally sound means to tap the rich mineral resources of the Kanawha Valley. By any measure, the Great Kanawha Navigation has been one of the more successful ventures of the Corps of Engineers; Kemp has provided extensive photographs, illustrations, diagrams, and maps to further emphasize the construction of the various hydraulic structures. The result is an interesting and significant blend of biographical, technical, political, geographical, and industrial history that will delight historians of technology and the region.
Anmerkung:
Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph
,
pt. 1. Chanoine wicket dams and locks. Introduction : an old and contrary river. Internal improvements movement in Virginia. A view from the western waters. Movable dams. Building the first Kanawha locks and dams. Operations for more than two decades -- pt. 2. Roller gated dams and locks. Introduction : the prelude to a new navigation system. Design of the locks and dams. The work at London and Marmet begins. Gallipolis and Winfield locks and dams. Labor and land. Hydroelectric power generation.
,
English
Weitere Ausg.:
ISBN 9780822941125
Weitere Ausg.:
ISBN 0822941120
Sprache:
Englisch
Schlagwort(e):
Electronic books.
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