Florida’s Big Dig

The story of the Intracoastal and other thoughts on water, waterways, land, and ecology

recent posts

about

I am Bill Crawford. I was born and raised in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., bisected by the Intracoastal. I graduated from the University of Virginia with a bachelor’s degree in commerce, with distinction, concentrating in finance. I obtained my juris doctor degree from Stetson University College of Law. I have practiced law for more than 43 years. I am a professional historian and author of the award-winning book, “Florida’s Big Dig,” (2008) the story of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. I have practiced law in Florida since 1975. Along the way, I developed a keen interest in researching and writing history, publishing numerous scholarly journal articles and one award-winning book, “Florida’s Big Dig,” the story of Florida’s Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, using my legal pbackground to understand legal transactions, deeds, wmortgages, bonds, preferred stock, and legal descriptions of land and water. In recent years, I have maintained a limited practice consulting with other professionals on various historical land and water issues, including sovereign, riparian, and submerged land rights, focusing on the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway and Florida inland waterways. I maintain a broad regular website here at www.floridasbigdig.me and a website solely on how the book was researched as well as some of the major themes explored. The website on the book itself is at www.floridasbigdig.com. The website on contacts for professional services is at www.floridasbigdiglawyer.com?. A fifteen-page outline of my book

Month: January 2015

  • Cape Canaveral Light

    Cape Canaveral Lighthouse.

  • “No man is an island.” The Lighthouses of the United States

    The development of the lighthouse in the United States, particularly in the New England states is a lesson in the doctrine of federalism, a lesson in the history of early colonial America. In the beginning, America was a confederation of separate colonies. Each had its own coinage, import and export policies, and separate obligations to…

  • Jupiter Inlet and Lighthouse

    Built in the 1860’s, the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse is a natural entry point onto the Jupiter River and the Intracoastal Waterway at Jupiter, Florida, in Palm Beach County. Each year, hundreds of recreational and commercial vessels transit through the Inlet to a leisurely cruise along the coast or to the Caribbean Sea for serious deep…

  • Ponce Inlet Lighthouse

    The Ponce Inlet Lighthouse is approximately 20 miles south of St. Augustine. Well-hidden behind a curved inlet and lush vegetation, the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse, formerly known as the Mosquito Inlet Light, is the tallest lighthouse in the State of Florida. Constructed in 1836 but only first lit in 1887, this lighthouse composed of brick in…

  • Lake Boca Raton with the Boca Raton Hotel & Club (background, west)

    The 1889 Corthell survey of the Florida East Coast Canal showed the Lake at 5′ – 9′ deep with a forty foot bluff along the near, east (Atlantic Ocean) side of the Lake.  While four feet would have satisfied state specifications in 1881 (3′ then), by 1889 that depth would not have been navigable for…

  • Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse (built 1903)

    This photo shows the lighthouse on the north side of the inlet, Intracoastal continues north between Town of Hillsboro Beach to the right and the City of Lighthouse Point to the left of the ICW.

  • Ronquieres (Belgian) Inclined Plane Lift

    [Push box link above with force several times to unload the entire Wikipedia article] After six years of construction, this inclined plane boat lift eliminated 14 canal locks when it opened in 1968. The system uses two large caissons (299 feet long and 39 feet wide) filled with water and mounted on rails along with…

  • Cross-Florida Barge Canal

    As early as 1822, before Florida had even attained statehood in 1845, the Army Corps of Engineers had reported to Washington the desirability of building a cross-Florida barge canal, cutting off as much as a thousand miles in transporting men and material at time of war. For decades lobbyists for and against such a large…

  • Col. Gilbert A. Youngberg, Florida chief of the Corps of Engineers

    1922 became a key turning point in the history of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway in Florida. First, Charles F. Burgman became the president of the Association of East Coast Chambers of Commerce. By 1922, nearly every local chamber of commerce or board of trade had launched a campaign calling upon the Federal Government to take…

  • F.I.N.D. Dredge Spoil Management Area in Volusia County

    Acquiring and perpetually maintaining spoil areas for the deposit of “spoil” from the dredging of the Intracoastal Waterway was one of the principal statutory tasks imposed upon the Florida Inland Navigation (FIND) when the Federal Government accepted the old Florida East Coast Canal, now the Intracoastal Waterway, in 1929. This aerial photo shows the progress…