A man, a plan, a canal that was never built

Henry H. Tucker had an audacious plan: build a canal between Cape Girardeau and Poplar Bluff, Missouri. By connecting the Mississippi River with the Black River, barge traffic would be able to travel from Cape Girardeau to Poplar Bluff and then on to Little Rock, Arkansas.

Tucker, the past president of the Little Rock Chamber of Commerce, was foremost a booster for his hometown. He argued, "Flood control, hydroelectric power development and waterway transportation would all be tied into one vast project that would turn the Ozark foothills into one of the greatest industrial regions of the United States."

He was able to rally enough support to convince Congress in 1935 to authorize a preliminary survey for a "waterway connecting the Black River with the Mississippi River at or near Cape Girardeau."

The Memphis District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had jurisdiction over the work. Col. Eugene Reybold, the district engineer, organized a public meeting in Poplar Bluff on Jan. 14, 1936, to discuss the project.

Tucker pitched his idea, explaining that it would be feasible to build the canal without the need for locks. Reservoirs would be constructed on the Black and Castor rivers, and the surplus water from these lakes would feed the canal. He said that it would make "a complete inland waterway from a point near Cape Girardeau, around by Greenbrier to Advance, across the St. Francis River, past Wappapello, down through the Mingo basin and south to a point about 15 miles south of Poplar Bluff where the canal would tie into Black River."

The Associated Press covered the meeting, but the opinion of Col. Reybold was not recorded. One story did note that W.C. McClure, secretary of the White and Black Rivers Flood Control Association, expressed reservations about the plan.

Congress had been trying to pass a major flood-control bill, but the legislation was stymied by squabbling over the list of projects. These public works projects were highly coveted as they provided desperately needed jobs during the Depression.

A few weeks after the Poplar Bluff meeting, the northeastern United States was battered by severe flooding, killing 107. This disaster changed the outlook of Congress, which felt more urgency to pass a bill. In order to reduce the size of the wish list, projects were judged on their flood control benefits, while other benefits -- hydroelectric power and transportation -- were not considered.

This meant that the Poplar Bluff canal didn't stand a chance. Although reservoirs were constructed for flood control (Wappapello and Clearwater lakes), no more consideration was given for a canal.

It's unclear if Tucker tried to pursue any more audacious plans. Reybold, however, went on to oversee projects of national significance. Just prior to the Pearl Harbor attack, he was promoted to Chief of Engineers for the U.S. Army. This would prove to be a critical position during World War II as he supervised funding for the Manhattan Project and the construction of the Pentagon.