During the early 1800s, the state of North Carolina had only 43 of the 1,343 miles of canals in the United States. The Cross Creek Canal Company was one company that ensured that goods were transported into and from Fayetteville.
Incorporated in 1790, the Cross Creek Canal Company,named after the second largest Cape Fear River town, worked to make a navigable stream leading from Fayetteville to the Cape Fear River. The efforts of this company improved trading along eastern North Carolina. The Cape Fear Navigation Company continued such work in the early antebellum era.