{"nrhp_refnum":"97000814","name":"Savannah and Ogeechee Canal","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Roughly along I-95, between the Savannah and Ogeechee Rs.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Savannah","county":"Chatham County","state":"GA","lat":32.060093835500055,"lon":-81.2657764303772,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1997-08-11","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Transportation","Engineering"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 16.5-mile earthen barge canal between the Savannah and Ogeechee rivers in Savannah and Chatham County, Georgia, constructed in 1826-1830 and improved in the 1840s.","why_significant":"The canal carried lumber, cotton, rice and manufactured goods between interior Georgia and the port of Savannah, and supported industries on Savannah's west side. It was the scene of skirmishes during Sherman's March to the Sea in 1864. Railroad competition, floods and epidemic disease led to its decline, and in the 1930s it was folded into a regional drainage system with WPA labor.","narrative":"Built between 1826 and 1830, this 16.5-mile barge canal links the Savannah and Ogeechee rivers. When finished it was 48 feet wide at the top, 33 feet at the base and five feet deep, with six locks and five lock keeper's houses after 1840s improvements. Barges moved lumber, cotton and rice to Savannah's port and manufactured goods inland, and the canal supported brickyards, foundries and wharves on the city's west side, many dependent on enslaved labor. In December 1864 Union and Confederate soldiers skirmished along it during Sherman's March to the Sea; it was repaired by 1866. The Central of Georgia Railway, which bought stock in 1888, helped end its commercial role. In 1933 WPA workers drained portions and linked it to the Springfield Canal for drainage and flood control. Today sections of the earthen channel, remains of all six locks, a brick aqueduct and the Half Moon Lake dam survive, though highways, fill and development have interrupted the route.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Long stretches remain intact, while others are altered, overgrown, filled or blocked. Parts serve as a drainage system, with recreation and museum use also listed.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:42.927503-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_GA/97000814.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97000814/f9cde49391-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97000814/f9cde49391-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Ebyabe","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:GA_Savannah_Savannah%E2%80%93Ogeechee_Canal01.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Ebyabe</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:GA_Savannah_Savannah%E2%80%93Ogeechee_Canal01.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/93207341","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savannah%E2%80%93Ogeechee_Canal","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7427903"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/georgia/chatham-county/savannah-and-ogeechee-canal-97000814/"}