The end of the canal that would have cleaved Florida in two | Column
50 years ago, environmentalists persuaded Nixon to halt construction of the Cross Florida Barge Canal.
Â
Published Jan. 15
In January 1971, a forward artillery observer serving with American forces in Cambodia exulted in good news from back home in Florida. âI was excited for my mom,â he remembered in an interview years later. âBut nobody in my unit had any idea why I was so happy. I had to explain to them about the Cross Florida Barge Canal.â That observer was Stephen Carr, whose enthusiastic response was fueled by the reports that President Richard Nixon issued an executive order 50 years ago â on Jan. 19, 1971 â mandating that construction on the canal be halted.