The Junior Historian, Volume 27, Number 4, January 1967 Page: 2
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THE JUNIOR HISTORIAN
to reduce their rates. Fuel costs would
also be reduced. The canal would also
provide a cheaper mode of transporta-
tion, connect the area served to larger
seaports, and boost the economy of all
the areas served by the canal.
- .
Barges loaded with shell ply the canal
The thought of such a canal germinated
in the mind of Clarence S. E. Holland, a
young banker from Victoria, Texas. In
1905, Holland was president of the
Victoria businessmen's association. He
was a man who was interested in the
future of his city, state, and nation. He
realized the potential of Victoria and of
the Gulf Coast. He also realized that
something must spur this great potential.
Holland's answer to the problem was a
method to transport the many goods of
the area to the rest of the nation and the
world. Since water was both readily at
hand and free, Holland dreamed of a
canal which would transport the goods.
Holland was a man of simple means;
he simply "issued a call" in the news-
papers of Louisiana and Texas. His call
was to all those interested in an im-
provement of their area's growth and
economy.
The skeptics scoffed at Holland and
those who thought they could dig a
ditch 700 miles long, five feet deep, and
forty feet wide. The idea did seem a bit
preposterous at the time, but Holland
and his followers were willing to believe
the dream would become a reality.
Despite the skeptics, all those interested
met in Victoria, which was then aslumbering hamlet of 3,000 inhabitants
and situated thirty miles inland from the
Gulf Coast of Texas. The date of the
meeting was August 8, 1905.
At the first meeting, only an informal
bill of fare was discussed. Holland
addressed the group, saying in part:
The object of this convention is for the pur-
pose of discussing the feasibility, plans and
final construction of an intercostal canal .
and for the especial purpose of organizing an
Intercoastal Canal League.
This canal will give all the section of coun-
try adjacent to same the advantage of direct
communication by water with all our deep
water ports, and in addition thereto will extend
the same advantages to the tributaries of the
canal [in Texas] . . and all the rivers and
bayous in Louisiana, and also the great Mis-
sissippi River and all its tributaries, which
spread over the country like a great hand laid
over the face of the United States.
It means cheap fuel and transportation. It
is a necessary adjunct to the rapid development
of the greatest country in the world.
Holland and the others present did
not, perhaps, realize the significance of
his plans, for in the beginning, the canal
was merely a vision of the leaders of the
Gulf Coast. Thirty years from its
beginning it was nothing more than
segments of a big ditch. These small
segments were of no great importance
because they just served one particular
area. For instance, if a segment between
Corpus Christi and Port Lavaca was com-
pleted, it would serve only that area,
nothing else. The maximum expected
tonnage was only 5,000,000 tons.
In 1966, the total tonnage exceeds
71,000,000 tons. It is interesting to note
that this maximum expected tonnage was
exceeded in the first year of operation.
The canal was to be dug through land
which was little more than a wilderness.
At that time, the total population of the
area along the Gulf Coast to be served by
the canal was only 250,000 persons. The
population has grown to several million
since.
Many persons thought the idea would
just flicker out. Instead, the canal as-
sociation grew well in its first year of
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Texas State Historical Association. The Junior Historian, Volume 27, Number 4, January 1967, periodical, January 1967; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth391281/m1/4/: accessed July 9, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Texas State Historical Association.