WASHINGTON CITY CANAL LOTTERY [2 Tickets]

1796. 4" x 1.75". One signed by Daniel Carroll of Duddington and one by Notley Young. Ticket #6696 signed by Young "will entitle the possessor to such Prize as may be drawn to its Number, in Lottery No. 1, for cutting the CANAL through the City of Washington to the Eastern-Branch Harbour." The second ticket (#3032) is for a "Quarter Part of such Prize...."

Daniel Carroll of Duddington and his uncle Notley Young were significant landowners in the District and this canal was surely an attempt bring value to their land. While the fundraising via lottery around 1796 was largely ineffectual. It wasn't until a decade later when Congress funded the work that the canal was started in earnest. It was finished in 1815 and as these things go, largely out of use by the mid-19th century. In 1871 it was filled in. These two lottery tickets are a glimpse into the nascency of Washington D.C. Light toning and with a scalloped left edge, these are wonderful examples of two different signers and two different versions.