A Primary Source Search and Cultural Resource Reconnaissance of the Casey-Kayton Canal System, Chatham County, Georgia

This executive summary concerns the results of an archival search and cultural resource reconnaissance for the Casey-Kayton Canal System. The objective of this study was to apply National Register Criteria to the Casey Canal, a property which will be adversely impacted by the project. Four of the criteria contained in 36 CFR 800.3 (a)(b) were found to apply to the proposed modification of the Casey Canal System:

(l) Destruction or alteration of all or part of a property;

(2) Isolation from or alteration of its surrounding environment;

(3) Introduction of visual, audible or atmospheric elements that are out of character with the property or alter its setting;

(4) Neglect of property resulting in its deterioration or destruction.

Specifically, the Casey Canal will be relocated from Eisenhower Drive to a point approximately 548 . 6 meters north of Victory Drive. The Canal will be relocated to follow the western edge of the proposed Harry S. Truman Parkway. ·The existing canal will be filled with approximately 280,900 cubic meters of soil resulting from new canal construction. The area to be filled is approximately 3.2 hectares. Further, the present greenspace, interrupting a developed urban environment, derives from the Casey Canal. This greenspace adds to the aesthetic quality of ~he canal vicinity and must be considered under the criteria of adverse impacts. The construction of the parkway will result in the elimination of a significant portion of the present standing vegetation within the Casey Canal corridor. The remaining portion's value will be diminished by the proximity of the proposed parkway. The area of the study was that of the Casey Canal system from the Kayton Canal at President Street southward to Victory Drive and beyond this point to Haneys Creek at Montgomery Crossroad. The study area is within the boundaries of the city of Savannah, Chatham County, Georgia.

A primary source literature search was conducted together with oral interviews in an effort to document the origin and subsequent history of the canal. The history of the canal and any subsequent modifications of its original design integrity has a great bearing on its being considered under National Register criteria outlined in 36 CFR Part 1202. The prime criterium under which such a structure as the Casey Canal could be considered is: 

11 (a) That embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or that represent the work of a master, or that of high artistic values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction."

The area and route of the canal system was examined by a field reconnaissance after the primary source study was completed. The results of this study indicate that the Casey Canal had its origin in 1880 as a result of action by the Committee on Sewerage and Drainage, created by resolution of the Board of Health May 2nd, 1866. Its purpose was to provide drainage of the Cuyler Watershed located south and east of Savannah. The original drainage area formed the head of the Vernon River. This original canal was termed 11 0ld Casey Canal , 11 and was completed after seven years of work. Faulty location and construction of the canal prompted the construction of a new canal, 11 New Casey Canal, .. through Cuyler Swamp in the spring of 1892. A report by the Savannah Morning News (1897) indicated the new canal was not well maintained or even complete for the final 2 miles above Sackville.

The principal reason for construction of this canal was to provide drainage of the Cuyler Swamp which was a breeding ground for mos~uitoes that carried Yellow Fever. The city of Savannah was devastated by epidemics of this disease in 1740, 1804, 1820, 1854 and 1876. After the city started obtaining its drinking water from artesian wells in 1891, the Casey Canal was modified to alter its southernly flow to Dale Avenue (Victory Drive) so that it would flow northward to the Savannah River. These recommendations were made in 1911. Further modifications of the Casey south of Dale Avenue (Victory Drive) occurred in the l920-l930 1 s with relocation of .a major portion of the canal, eastward, between Montgomery Crossroad to Intermediate Road (Eisenhower Drive). Further work on the Canal from Pennsylvania Avenue to Montgomery Crossroad was carried out after 1954. Inspection of the Canal route confirms the modification of the system over the years. Dredge spoil along the canal reflects maintenance as well as clear cutting activities. No evidence of the 11 old Casey Canal .. was found on the ground and the realignment of the l930 1 s was not detected. Clear evidence of continual modification of the canal, as Savannah grew, is seen in the modern period conduit from Hillcrest Cemetary to just north of Victory Drive. The Kayton Canal replaced the original route of the Casey in this latter area in the last two decades. In summary, primary source research and field reconnaissance of the Casey Canal indicate a 19th century drainage construction that has been subsequently and repeatedly modified over the last ninety-three years of its existence. Applying criterium (c) of the National Register Criteria for Evaluation contained in 36 CFR Part 1202.0, the canal has been so modified as to no longer have its original design integrity or reflect its original purpose. Under criterium (a), 11 that associated with events that have made significant contributions to the broad patterns of our history", it is the opinion of this researcher that it is likewise ineligible. While the construction of a drainage canal to control endemic disease improved the quality of life in Savannah it does not merit consideration as contributing 11 to the broad patterns of our history."