For a more detailed history of the Cross Florida Greenway, please download A History of The Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway (PDF 1mb)

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The corridor that exists today as the Cross Florida Greenway was for decades
the site of one of Florida's largest public works projects ever. Below is a chronology of events leading from ship canal to world class greenway...

• May 1933 -- Canal Authority of the State of Florida was created to construct and maintain a deep-water ship canal across Florida.
• 1935-1936 –- Construction of a ship canal began under the Emergency Relief Appropriations Act of 1935, but work was suspended when Federal funds were depleted.

• July 1942 –- Congress authorized construction of the Cross Florida Barge Canal.

Construction of Cross Florida Barge Canal
Photo Courtesy of Florida State Archives

• February 1964 –- The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers began construction of the Cross Florida Barge Canal.

 

Construction of St. Johns Lock, known today as H.H. Buckman Lock
Photo Courtesy of Florida State Archives

• 1969 –- The Environmental Defense Fund and others filed suit in the U. S. District Court for the District of Columbia seeking temporary and permanent injunction against the construction of the canal.
• January 15, 1971 –- The District Court granted a preliminary injunction halting any further construction activities pending the outcome of the litigation.
• January 19, 1971 –- President Richard Nixon signed an executive order suspending further work on the Barge Canal. When halted, the project was one-third complete and approximately $74 million had been spent on land acquisition and construction.
• 1979 –- Bills filed in Congress to deauthorize the Canal failed to pass.
• May 22, 1990 -- A revised federal bill was filed in the U. S. Senate by Senators Bob Graham and Connie Mack providing, among other things, for a minimum 300-yard wide greenway corridor to be maintained along the former Barge Canal route. This bill was agreed to by the entire Florida Congressional delegation.
• May 31, 1990 -- The Florida Legislature enacted a deauthorization bill conforming to the consensus bill filed in the U. S. Senate. Most of the provisions were not effective until Congress deauthorized the project.
• October 27, 1990 –- Senate Bill 2740 was passed by Congress and sent to the President for signature. The bill deauthorized the Cross Florida Barge Canal project upon acceptance by the Governor and Cabinet of the State of Florida.
• November 28, 1990 –- President George Bush signed SB 2740 into law deauthorizing the Cross Florida Barge Canal project and changing the purpose of the lands to recreation and conservation.
• January 22, 1991 –- The Governor and Cabinet of the State of Florida signed a resolution agreeing to the terms of the Federal deauthorization bill thereby officially deauthorizing the Cross Florida Barge Canal project. This action ultimately led to the creation of the Cross Florida Greenway State Recreation and Conservation Area.
• 1998 -- The Cross Florida Greenway was officially renamed the Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway in honor of the individual who led the fight to stop the Cross Florida Barge Canal project.