Everything about The Lehigh Canal totally explained
The
Lehigh Canal was constructed to carry
anthracite from the upper
Lehigh Valley to the urban markets of the northeast, especially
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. With the discovery of large deposits of anthracite coal, the Lehigh Coal Mine Company was formed to transport the coal down the
Lehigh River to the
Delaware River and on to the growing consumer markets in
Philadelphia via a connection with the
Pennsylvania Canal (Delaware Division) in
Easton, Pennsylvania.
History
The Lehigh Canal, designed by
Canvass White, an engineer of
New York's
Erie Canal, was constructed between 1827 and 1829. The enlarged Lehigh Navigation extended between
Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania (present-day Jim Thorpe) and Easton with 52
locks, eight guard locks, eight
dams and six
aqueducts, allowing the waterway to overcome a difference in elevation of over . A connection across the
Delaware River to the
Morris Canal through
New Jersey allowed the coal from the Lehigh Canal to be shipped more directly to
New York City.
During the 1830s, an extension of to
White Haven, Pennsylvania, which included 20 dams and 29 locks, was constructed, covering a difference in elevation of over to Mauch Chunk.
In 1855, the canal reached its peak of more than one million tons of cargo. However, competition from railroads and the catastrophic flood of
June 4,
1862, were all steps towards the canal's demise. The canal was used as a means of transportation until the 1940s (about a decade after other similar canals ceased operations), making it the last fully functioning towpath canal in North America. In 1962, most of it was sold to private and public organizations for recreational use.
Several segments of the canal are listed on the
National Register of Historic Places. An 8-mile (13 km) segment of the canal
towpath has been converted into a multi-use trail that runs from
Freemansburg, Pennsylvania through
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania to
Allentown, Pennsylvania. The trail runs along the river and active railroad tracks. A section near
Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania is accessible to recreational users. Other short sections are accessible, but there are parts of the canal towpath that have been worn by the elements and are not safe to access.
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