Delaware Canal
1831-1932
| | Delaware Canal Lock 20 State Park | |
Flora Henry, Locktender
Shouts of "Gid-Up” echo along the canal. Pairs of mules strain at their harnesses to get the canal boats 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.
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.
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.
Topics and series.
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Location. 40° 33.733′ N, 75° 9.817′ W. Marker is in Upper Black Eddy, Pennsylvania, in Bucks County. It is on River Road (Pennsylvania Route 32), on the left when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Upper Black Eddy PA 18972, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Southeast Pennsylvania and in Greater Philadelphia. 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, New Netherland, and one of the original Thirteen Colonies.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Cemented in the Past (within shouting distance of this marker); Amsterdam Historic District (approx.
Credits. This page was last revised on December 31, 2020. It was originally submitted on December 30, 2020, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio. This page has been viewed 226 times since then and 12 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on December 30, 2020, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
