Local filmmaker Roger Hagopian presents his new film, Journey Along the Middlesex Canal. It documents the history and traces the route of the Middlesex Canal today, including its passage through Medford.

While the Erie Canal has become well-known in the annals of American history, the Middlesex Canal, built two decades earlier in 1803 and a model for canal engineers throughout young America, has only recently become recognized for its important achievements. Extending 27 miles northeast from Boston harbor to the Merrimack River near present-day Lowell, Massachusetts, the Middlesex Canal provided low-cost and efficient freight transport for almost five decades, helping to establish the canal in the U.S. as a viable means of economic development.

The building of the Middlesex Canal also served as a proving ground for an American practice of civil engineering. Its construction, for example, saw one of the first uses of telescopic leveling devices in America, the first innovations in cement-making, the first experiments in “puddling” canal banks to make them water-tight, and the first use of dump carts to speed excavation. While the canal never turned a profit for its private investors, it nonetheless stimulated economic growth along its path, establishing a foundation for one of America’s first major industrial regions.

About the Filmmaker: Roger Hagopian lives in Lexington, where he learned filmmaking at the local cable television studio there. A history lover since his youth, he has had film screenings on the Armenians and the Genocide, World War II veterans, factory workers, and local American history, including the Middlesex Canal, which ran through Medford, at universities, high schools, public libraries, historical societies, churches, temples, community centers, and other public and private venues. He has also appeared on local cable television stations and radio programs. After the film, Roger will be present to discuss it with the audience.