Mystery Canal and Historic Ground Water Levels

[pinelandpaddler]

boydsmaps.com

boydsmaps.com

I've been trying to figure out the purpose of this ditch for a number of years now. I paid a visit to the location this past weekend and came to some conclusions:

The ditch predates the road going through it.
The ditch drained the giant Atsion Creek oxbow into the Batsto Creek.
The ditch was dug for purposes of logging the trees in the oxbow.

The problem is, there isn't nearly enough water today to even get into the ditch. The water level in the oxbow would have to have been at least 2 feet higher than today's average levels in order for the ditch to have been of any use.

I know @Spung-Man is keen to observe that the water table has lowered significantly since historic times. Could the water level in the oxbow have been 2 feet higher or more when the ditch was dug? If so, I imagine they were harvesting maples and not cedars, since the latter don't do well with that much water.

 

[Teegate]

They seem to be good conclusions. Do you think once they drained it they did not block the ditch again?

 

[pinelandpaddler]

It was left as is until the road went through.

 

[bobpbx]

It was left as is until the road went through.

Gabe, I'm curious to know what you are basing your assertion on that the ditch was prior to the road.

 

[pinelandpaddler]

Bob, I'm basing that conclusion on the fact that the berms on either side of the canal were cut through when they made the road.

 

[pinelandpaddler]

Bob, I'm glad you challenged me on that. I shouldn't be so sure about this one. In fact, the more I think about it, the more I think the road was probably there. The Van Sant shipyard dates back to pre-Revolution and may have been reached by way of that road.

 

[pinelandpaddler]

In either case, I stand by my other two conclusions.

 

[Oriental]

I wonder if that oxbow to the west is subject to flooding during exceptionally high tides. Might explain why a ditch was necessary.

 

[pinelandpaddler]

I wonder if that oxbow to the west is subject to flooding during exceptionally high tides. Might explain why a ditch was necessary.

That's a great thought. Maybe that was true in the past? It is not true now.

Edit: Tides are higher now than in the past, but perhaps flooding coupled with a higher water table made the ditch necessary?

 

[bobpbx]

Oddly, I was not really challenging you per se, it's just that I could not see it either way; sort of a chicken or the egg thing. So I was hoping you had a good answer to settle my mind.

 

[bobpbx]

What I find puzzling is this little extra bit of a scar into the watershed proper. It's like crazy larry stole his dad's dozer and was playing around to see if he could connect the two together. Maybe if you go to the X, you'll see it half sunk in the swamp.

I have a theory about the staightness. Once you commit yourself in one direction and you are in the ditch, it's impossible to turn in any direction.

"Once you start to plow a row, plow it straight and hard to the end of the line". Carl Vinson (Representative from Georgia, Father of the 2-ocean Navy).

 

[smoke_jumper]

What I find puzzling is this little extra bit of a scar into the watershed proper. It's like crazy larry stole his dad's dozer and was playing around to see if he could connect the two together. Maybe if you go to the X, you'll see it half sunk in the swamp.

I have a theory about the staightness. Once you commit yourself in one direction and you are in the ditch, it's impossible to turn in any direction.

"Once you start to plow a row, plow it straight and hard to the end of the line". Carl Vinson (Representative from Georgia, Father of the 2-ocean Navy).

View attachment 19612

Also it almost looks like it continues across to the other side of the river as well

 

[pinelandpaddler]

What I find puzzling is this little extra bit of a scar into the watershed proper. It's like crazy larry stole his dad's dozer and was playing around to see if he could connect the two together. Maybe if you go to the X, you'll see it half sunk in the swamp.

I have a theory about the staightness. Once you commit yourself in one direction and you are in the ditch, it's impossible to turn in any direction.

"Once you start to plow a row, plow it straight and hard to the end of the line". Carl Vinson (Representative from Georgia, Father of the 2-ocean Navy).

I think they didn't want to flood the swamps along the Batsto, perhaps for logging purposes.

 

[Teegate]

Gabe,

Did you walk all around the outer edges of the oxbow? Basically, did you visit the southern edge?

 

[pinelandpaddler]

Guy, I did. Why do you ask?

 

[Teegate]

There is minor disturbance there in 1931.

 

[pinelandpaddler]

Show us on the map where you are talking about?

 

[Teegate]

We visited the location today of the oxbow. We have to go back and explore more as we did not enter the oxbow.

Took this from the road.

We walked from 542 at Batsto all the way to the Mullica on the oxbow road.