Union Canal: William Penn's Way West

Union Canal: William Penn's Way West. Port of Reading Heritage Trail. , Connecting Progress and History , In 1690, there were few navigable inland waterways in the Quaker colony established by William Penn. Penn recognized the need for a route by which to access and settle the lush countryside and harvest its bountiful natural resources., The initial step to creating this route was taken in 1762, when the Union Canal was the first canal surveyed in America. Thirty years later, two companies were chartered by the Commonwealth to build a canal to connect the Schuylkill and Susquehanna Rivers. In 1827 the Union Canal was finally complete. It stretched 80 miles from Middletown to Reading, with 97 lift locks and construction costs of 6 million dollars., Union Canal Towpath Trail , Today, the 4.5 mile-long Union Canal Towpath Trail is designated as a National Recreation Trail, connecting Stonecliffe Recreation Area with the Berks County Heritage Center - C. Howard Hiester Canal Center, and Gruber Wagon Works, a National Historic Landmark.