Canal Towns: Cheshire

A primary feature of the canal in Cheshire, Connecticut was the "Cheshire summit," the highest point on this section of the waterway, reaching 156.5 feet above sea level at 'Lockport' (near Locks 10 and 11). This summit became locally navigable on November 24, 1827, an event celebrated with the firing of cannon and an excursion of three boats, including the Fayette, which famously hoisted a red flannel "Petticoat Flag". This milestone led to the area of West Cheshire being christened "Beachport" in honor of Richard Beach, who had built a prominent store and warehouse there. His building was constructed with a portion projecting over a canal basin, allowing boats to be loaded and unloaded directly inside the structure. The name was reportedly bestowed by Eldad Keeler, who shouted "Beachport!" from the chimney of the new store.

Cheshire was also the site of one of the canal's most significant and troublesome engineering works: the "great embankment" that carried the canal across the Ten Mile River in the northern part of the town. This massive structure was a recurring target of sabotage. On July 1, 1834, it was deliberately cut, causing a massive washout that closed the canal for about two months while it was repaired. The embankment was maliciously breached again on the night of July 29, 1838, closing the canal south of Southington for four weeks and prompting the company to offer a $500 reward for the capture of the "offender or offenders". One landowner, Joseph Hitchcock, was repeatedly a victim of such acts by a neighbor who, on his deathbed, confessed to letting the water out to damage Hitchcock's crops due to a grudge.

Several notable Cheshire residents were involved with the canal. Burrage Beach, a leading lawyer from the town, was a director of the Farmington Canal Company and delivered the main oration at the canal's groundbreaking ceremony in Granby on July 4, 1825. Another resident, the inventor Benjamin Dutton Beecher, built and tested an early screw-propeller steamboat on the canal. This boat was transported to Beachport for a trial trip with dignitaries like Governor Samuel A. Foote and Dr. William Foote aboard. The trial was a failure, and the notable passengers were obliged to walk back to Cheshire. The canal also served as a transportation route for local events, as seen in an 1837 advertisement for the canal boat Splendid, which offered passage from New Haven to a Camp Meeting in Cheshire.