Image: Middlesex Canal Plaque in Medford Massachusetts

Description: Plaque describing the Middlesex Canal in Medford, Massachusetts. Erected by the Middlesex Canal Commission in 1987. The plaque reads: MIDDLESEX CANAL 1793-1853 At this location canal boats pulled by horses carried freight and passengers between Boston and the Merrimack River at Lowell before the days of railroads. The canal ran from Charlestown through what are now Somerville, Medford, Winchester, Woburn, Wilmington, Billerica, and CHelmsford to Lowell. The canal was just over 27 miles long. It was 20 ft. wide at the bottom, 30 1/2 ft. wide at the surface, and 3 1/2 ft. deep. There were 20 locks, 8 aqueducts, and 50 bridges. Here Gilson's Lock, west of the aqueduct over the Mystic River, provided the final drop in canal level before reaching Charlestown. Erected by Middlesex Canal Commission 1987. "Route of Old Middlesex Canal Through Medford." [with a black and white line drawing of a boat named "General Sullivan", and a map of the canal.]
Title: Middlesex Canal Plaque in Medford Massachusetts
Credit: Own work
Author: Decreasing volume
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Zero, Public Domain Dedication
License: CC0
License Link: http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en
Attribution Required?: No