Posted on September 25, 2024
Dredging operations are underway in Turnbull Plantations with this hydraulic dredge barge aiming to remove up to 3 feet of built-up silt and sediment from the pond between Old Minorcan Trail & Terrier Way. The work is fully funded by a Florida Division of Emergency Management grant also covering Gabordy Canal and canals along Aqua Court, Pine Shores Circle, and New Smyrna Beach’s multi-use trail.
In addition, the barge will soon see action along a 1.31-mile stretch of Turnbull Grand Canal from Old Mission Road to State Road 44, where chainsaw-toting crews have been hard at work clearing fallen trees and other debris since Sept. 9. This work is funded by a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant awarded to the city in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian to help improve water flow and reduce the risk of flooding.
Dug by hand in 1768, the canal is named for Scottish physician Dr. Andrew Turnbull, who along with other British investors owned 100,000 acres in the New Smyrna Beach area where they planned to grow and harvest indigo, considered at the time to be more valuable than gold. More than 1,400 Minorcans, Corsicans, Greeks, and Italians were brought over as indentured servants to replicate ancient Egyptian methods of crop irrigation and dig canals for drainage and transportation throughout the plantation.
