Cecil County Citizens Kayak & Canoe Club recently established an open Facebook group for those interested in the area’s five rivers. Once the social media page launched, views of the Upper Elk River (the Kayaker’s perspective) caught my attention, prompting me to dig through old research files in search of detailed 19th-century charts of the river.
I had been involved in research that sought to document how access to water for communities at the head of navigable rivers changed over the centuries. That decade-old question took me to the Philadelphia Branch of the National Archives to examine long-unseen, original records of Major William Price Craighill, the head of the engineering office of the Army Corps of Engineers in this region from 1870 to 1895. (He retired as a general, serving in the highest post in his branch.)
With over 25 years at this station, he superintended the dredging of many of the Chesapeake’s rivers. His products, including the original notebooks, sketches, hand-drawn maps, letters, and official reports, are safely stored away at the Philadelphia branch. As he supervised engineering on the Upper Chesapeake, his men were involved in mapping the Elk River. They also continued dredging, removing shoals, and building dikes, making the waterway navigable for sailing and steam vessels.
These manuscripts helped answer many of our questions at the time, and the recent posts by the Facebook group piqued my interest in those highly detailed maps drawn so long ago. His work contained detailed information — both reports and maps — on many of the rivers in this area and would be helpful for anyone doing a study of the waterways.
The rivers in our corner of Maryland have a fascinating narrative waiting to be shared, going back to the prehistoric period. Thank you, Cecil County Citizens Kayak & Canoe Club, for working to promote this heritage and natural beauty.
And thank you Col. Craghill for mapping the Elk River.
For more on the Elk River, see Steamboating Days on the River