Florida’s Big Dig

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

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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

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  • First Board of Commissioners of the Florida Inland Navigation District (“FIND”) (1928)

    Under the 1927 federal legislation authorizing the Corps of Engineers to take control of the Florida East Coast Canal for conversion into the larger Intracoastal Waterway, Congress required Florida to designate a local sponsor. That local sponsor designated by the Florida Legislature was FIND, a special taxing district made up of eleven east coast counties…

  • Matanzas Inlet – South St Johns County

    Originally posted on Florida’s Big Dig: Matanzas Inlet -South St. Johns County In 1881, the private St. Augustine-based Florida canal company agreed to dredge an inland waterway from Miami, Fla., to St. Augustine, Fla., and later to Jacksonville, Fla., a distance of approximately 400 miles. For every mile of waterway dredged, state legislators agreed…

  • Flagler railroad v. Florida Canal Company: the Fight for Control of Transportation and Land

    In 1881, the Florida canal company asked for and received a state land grant of 3,840 acres for every mile of waterway dredged. Henry Flagler asked for the same land grant for every mile of railway track laid. But Flagler was years late in making application because the Legislature had reserved for granting more east…

  • Lake Mabel (Port Everglades) Named by Surveyor for Son’s Girlfriend (1870)

    In his 1870 Government Map of this section, Surveyor General Marcellus Williams named this feature Lake Mabel after Mabel, fiancee’ of James White. White and Mabel accompanied the surveying party along with Williams’s son, Arthur T. Williams. The Intracoastal Waterway runs through the middle of the Lake, paralleling the east coast of Florida from what…

  • Jupiter Inlet — Live Webcam

    http://video-monitoring.com/beachcams/jupiter/slideshow.htm?station=Panorama# A number of universities and independent scholars have been studying the effects of wind and wave action upon our shorelines. In 1924, a number scholars and politicians formed the American Society of Shoreline and Beach Protection. Even before the incorporation of this Association, the Army Corps of Engineers had been studying the effects of…

  • 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…

  • 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…