Star Spangled Stories: The creation of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal

The Chesapeake and Delaware Canal in Maryland was created for Baltimore merchants in need of a shortcut between the Chesapeake Bay and the Delaware River. Irish immigrants used shovels and picks to dig the 14-mile canal mostly by hand. It opened on Oct. 17, 1829, and became known as the sailors' highway. Nearly 200 years later, the canal is responsible for about 40% of Baltimore’s shipping traffic.