Delaware Canal

Delaware Canal. , "Besides, I want to tell you there were pretty good times and many a heart broken and rough life on the canal." , Flora Henry, Locktender, Shouts of "Gid-Up" echo along the canal. Pairs of mules strain at their harnesses to get the canal boat moving. The sound of conch shell horns alert locktenders to approaching boats. It is 4 AM, still dark, yet the work day has already begun along the Delaware Canal., The 60-mile-long canal was built to reliably transport anthracite coal from the mines of northeastern Pennsylvania to cities along the eastern seaboard. Opened in 1831, the canal had twenty-four locks (water elevators) that raised or lowered boats on their journeys between Easton and Bristol., The canal shaped communities. Canal boat captains, muletenders, and locktenders made their living on the waterway. Neighboring businesses provided the goods and services canal workers needed while traffic on the canal fueled local enterprise., Powerful speeding trains left canals behind. In 1932, the last coal-laden boat completed its trip on the Delaware Canal. This historic waterway is now preserved for future generations as Delaware Canal State Park., [Photo caption reads] , An empty boat, riding high in the water, heads north for payday and another load of coal. It is passing a heavy coal-laden boat heading south to market., [Diagram caption reads] , This side view of the Delaware Canal shows the locks that were used to raise and lower boats along the 165-foot elevation change between Easton and Bristol.