It's a Short Commute
1829 - 1942
"The boatsmen had a hard life. But the locktenders did too, because they couldn't go nowhere. They had to be on the job all the time."
Harvey Brant
Locktender
It is early morning and still dark. Nestled in bed, six sleeping children nearby, the family did not notice the boats gathering outside their door. The alarm clock is a loud horn blowing outside the lockhouse window. The canalers waited while you slept, taking a well-earned nap. But it is now 4:00 a.m., time to begin another day.
With efficiency born of repetition, the rhythm of a choreographed dance, the locktender or family member opens and closes gates eighteen hours a day, early spring through late fall. Sundays off are wonderful, but those six hour nights are just too short.
The Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company provides the house year round and a pay check during operational months. Making ends meet sometimes requires creativity. The older child may tend the lock while Dad works another job. Mom takes in laundry, trading fresh vegetables and baked goods for coal. Sometimes the peaceful winter seems so far away.
The locktender operated the lock gates by turning gears located in a "dog house".
Friends of the Delaware Canal restored this lock house in New Hope. It is open for visitation on a regular schedule.
A canal boat ride and visit to a lockhouse invite you into the past in Easton's Hugh Moore Park.
[Bottom left photo caption reads]
Walnutport residents restored their lockhouse to its former glory. Volunteers open it whenever possible.
Erected by Delaware
this page online
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Man-Made Features • Waterways & Vessels. In addition, it is included in the Delaware Canal (AKA Delaware Division of the Pennsylvania Canal) series list.
Location. 40° 39.756′ N, 75° 14.307′ W. Marker is in Easton, Pennsylvania, in Northampton County. It can be reached from Hugh Moore Park Road. Marker is near the Josiah White II canal boat loading area in Hugh Moore Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2750 Hugh Moore Park Road, Easton PA 18042, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Southeast Pennsylvania and in Lehigh Valley. It is also in the American Northeast and in the Mid-Atlantic. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: From Mountain to Market (here, next to this marker); The Canaler's Life (here, next to this marker); Canal Boats (here, next to this marker); The Lehigh Canal (a few steps from this marker); Easton & Nearby Heritage Attractions (a few steps from this marker); Making Tracks (a few steps from this marker); Anthracite Tidewater Canals (a few steps from this marker); From Waterways to Highways (a few steps from this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Easton.
Also see . . .
1. Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor. Website homepage (Submitted on November 3, 2017, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.)
2. A Brief History of the Delaware Canal. Friends of the Delaware Canal website entry (Submitted on November 3, 2017, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.)
Credits. This page was last revised on June 12, 2024. It was originally submitted on November 3, 2017, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. This page has been viewed 259 times since then and 12 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on November 3, 2017, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. 2. submitted on November 2, 2017, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.
