The first canal built in the US, the Santee Canal, is outside of Charleston South Carolina. Construction started in 1793 and it opened in 1800. It’s huge, about 22 miles, and even today I don’t think it would be easy to create.
The Stoney Landing Plantation is along side parts of it.
I am such a great photographer that I took no pictures of the canal. Not one. In fairness it looked like a small river with trees. I did get the house above and a really great old buggy sitting on the back porch.
The buggy was nice and I think this shot made up for the lack of canal photos (I did get to walk in another swamp though).