“C” is for Columbia Canal. Completed in 1824, the Columbia canal originally extended three miles below the city of Columbia off Laurel St. It was one of several canals constructed by the state of South Carolina in the 1820s to improve transportation links between the upstate and Charleston. The construction of railroads ,however, supplanted the need for canals. While its usefulness as a transportation source declined, the canal had excellent prospects for power generation. In 1891 the canal was sold to the Columbia Water Power Company, which in 1894 built a powerhouse on the canal. Into the twenty-first century, the Columbia Canal hydroelectric electric plant still produced 50,000 megawatts of electricity per year. During the Great Flood of 2015 the Columbia Canal was breached --and although repairs have been promised they have yet to begin.
“C” is for Columbia Canal
