Conflicts with Timber Rafts

Conflicts with Timber Rafts. . Remains of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company's 16-foot-high slackwater dam are visible upstream (before you). It was built in 1828 to form a pool of deep, slow-moving water, which allowed canal boats to safely cross the river. Conflicts with the raftsmen arose immediately as many timber rafts were damaged navigating the dam., Beginning in the late 1700s, timber raftsmen used the Delaware River to float their logs to market. For more than a century, when the river was high--especially during the spring "freshet"--thousands of logs were rafted to Easton's sawmills and Philadelphia's shipyards. Note the size of the two workmen by the dam, and the raftsmen (photo above), Because the slackwater dam diverted water into the canal, even after the aqueduct was built, the D&H Canal Company maintained this dam until 1898. (caption on upper right photo) When the D&H Canal was first built, mules and their drivers crossed the Delaware River on a rope ferry. Canal boats were poled or floated across the river, where mules were reattached., To improve its operations the D&H Canal Company rerouted the canal in 1848. The Delaware Aqueduct's masonry piers were spaced far enough apart to accommodate the passage of large timber rafts.