Note: The following is part of a series of columns exploring the importance of canals in the early history of Georgia and Bulloch County. On December 20, 1833, the Georgia legislature granted the "corporations of the cities of Savannah and Macon" the right to form the "Central Railroad and Canal Company." The first canal designated connecting Macon and Savannah, this project was proposed "for the purpose of opening a canal or rail-road communications from the city of Savannah to the interior of the State."