Marshall Parks, Sr. was superintendent and chief engineer of the Dismal Swamp Canal Company in the early 1800s. This canal was crafted by hand and was only able to support the passage of small vessels. With the rise of steam-powered ships around 1820, Parks oversaw a project to widen and deepen the canal to accommodate increasingly larger vessels. Upon his passing in 1840, his son Marshall Parks, Jr. inherited the company and built an even larger canal. He benefitted from incredibly powerful, steam-driven dredges known as “iron titans” that provided…
