Florida’s Big Dig

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

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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

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  • The Haulover Canal from the Indian River (Lagoon) to the Mosquito Lagoon

    This seven-mile long canal connects the Indian River (Lagoon) to the Mosquito Lagoon. In 1852, the first chief of the Army Corps of Engineers, Lt. Horatio Governeur Wright, supervised the construction of a plank board-lined 10 foot wide by 2 feet deep waterway after Congress grudgingly approved the expenditure following decades of debates over Congress’s…

  • The Bridge of Lions over the Intracoastal Waterway, St. Augustine, Fla.

    Built in the 1920s, the Bridge of Lions, with its distinctive pride of lions placed at the four corners of the bridge, occasionally causes administrative headaches for the Florida Inland Navigation District (FIND), the state sponsor for the federally controlled Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway in Florida. The narrow opening and the minimal height limits the size…

  • City of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Wade-ins of the Summer of 1961

    On July 4, 2011, the City celebrated the 50th anniversary of the first wade-in by seven (7) African American residents wading in at the City’s segregated beaches. The celebration reenacted the the first wade-in. The wade-ins lasted for six (6) weeks. The City filed suit in the Broward County Courthouse to stop the wade-ins. A…

  • Dubai Boat Show — 2014

    The 2014 boat show held in Dubai displayed more than 400 yachts and super yachts, including one of the longest super yacht in the world at 290 feet, from 50 different countries. The event attracted 26,000 visitors from 120 different countries. The United Arab Emirates is thought to be the 6th richest country by Gross…

  • Canals: Crowded waters | The Economist

    Originally posted on The Geography Lady: Canals: Crowded waters | The Economist. Hewn out of the land during the Industrial Revolution, they were once Britain’s main arteries of trade. The rise of railways and roads made them redundant and many were left to moulder, alongside the old industrial areas of many cities. But, as those…

  • Cleaning Regent’s Canal

    Cleaning Regent’s Canal

    Regent’s Canal.  Located just north of central London, Regent’s Canal links the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal to the Limehouse Basin and the River Thames in east London. Here, a portion of the Canal is undergoing some long-needed cleaning.  Since the 1700’s, France and England led the world in Canal construction using substantially…

  • Amsterdam–a Vibrant City of Canals, Bicycles and Beer

    Originally posted on Libations, Victuals and Other Writing: ? I spent a most enjoyable week in this bicycle-mad city where the canals may be one of the main attractions but when walking you have to keep your eyes sharply peeled for cyclists of all ages in some kind of a bloody hurry. ? The Van…

  • Traveling America’s “Great Loop”

    http://www.greatloop.org/mod/ophoto/index.php?photoid=629. The link above leads you to the website for the extremely popular America’s Great Loop Cruisers’ Association. The Association is composed of a group of boaters fanatical about cruising America’s east coast, “including the Atlantic and Gulf Intracoastal Waterways, the Great Lakes, the Canadian Heritage Canals, and the inland rivers of America’s heartland.” Eva…

  • Drawbridge in Miami (Fla.) Damages Megayacht in the Intracoastal

    A double-bascule drawbridge closed down on a mega-yacht cruising down the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, causing extensive damage to the flybridge. Slated for the Miami Boat Show, the vessel sustained so much damage it is unlikely the yacht will appear for the show, which annually draws thousands to the international event.

  • Illinois & Michigan Canal, Built 1836-1848; Closed 1933

    Built during the latter part of the First Canal Era, this canal completed the link between the Mississippi River and Lake Michigan, running 96 miles from the Chicago River to the Illinois River. The link opened up the Midwest’s agriculture, and later its industry, to the Atlantic Ocean via the Great Lakes. At first, towpaths…