The Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal between Wrightsville Pennsylvania and Havre de Grace Maryland at the head of Chesapeake Bay provided an interstate shipping alternative to 19th-century arks rafts and boats plying the difficult waters of the lower Susquehanna River. Built between 1836 and 1840 it ran 43 miles (69 km) along the west bank of the river and rendered obsolete an older shorter canal along the east bank.
