Canal Office

Canal Office.

“A quiet little village at the southern end of the canal suddenly awakened to find itself a teaming river port swarming with canal boats, boatmen, mules, and river and coastal boats of all sorts.” , C.P. Yoder , Delaware Canal Journal

, Bristol Booms , The Canal turned Bristol into a boomtown. The Canal Office that once stood approximately in the location of the brick pavers (on which this sign rests) took care of company business - primarily collecting freight charges. Stores provided food and supplies to the boatmen, and stables housed mules. Blacksmiths shoed the mules and tavern keepers helped the boatmen wash down the dust of the towpath. A Pinkerton detective described Canal Boat Captains as a “bad lot” who “would not hesitate long about throwing a man into the canal.”, Today , Old photos indicate that the office and Tide Lock area was planted with shade trees, probably sycamores. The surrounding areas, the basins, pier and marsh, were void of any overhead tree canopy. Other outbuildings were located in the vicinity of the office and are visible in the aerial map. The brick pavers indicate the location where the Canal office once stood.