As part of the early Saluda River navigation system, Dreher's Canal was built at a cost of $78,000 with three lifting locks and one guard lock. It was located on the north bank of the Saluda River, about eleven miles from the Broad River, where the current Lake Murray Dam exists. The location at time of construction was Dreher's Shoals - named after the Dreher family that had been in the area since the mid-1700s.

The canal provided twenty-one (21) feet of lift along its length, and all structures were made of stone. The contractor was Daniel Kibbee.

This canal was closed in 1837. All of the original canal is now under water at Lake Murray.