The Delaware Canal Read online

  Published by The History Press

  Charleston, SC 29403

  www.historypress.net

  Copyright © 2008 by Marie Murphy Duess

  All rights reserved

  Cover design by Marshall Hudson.

  Cover image: Fred Wagner, Canal at Lumberville, circa 1910, oil on canvas, 20 x 24 inches. James A. Michener Art Museum. Gift of Marguerite and Gerry Lenfest.

  First published 2008

  e-book edition 2012

  ISBN 978.1.61423.461.6

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Duess, Marie Murphy.

  The Delaware Canal : from stone coal highway to historic landmark / Marie Murphy Duess.

  p. cm.

  Includes bibliographical references.

  print edition ISBN 978-1-59629-487-5

  1. Delaware Canal (Pa.)--History. 2. Canals--Pennsylvania--History. 3. Coal--Transportation--Pennsylvania--History--19th century. 4. National parks and reserves--Pennsylvania. I. Title.

  HE396.D33D84 2008

  386’.480974821--dc22

  2008021049

  Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  To the Americans—born and bred and immigrant alike—who “worked” the Delaware Canal…the laborers who built the canal with nothing more than shovels and picks…the pilots who steered the snappers and stiff boats through all that nature threw at them…the lock tenders who worked from four o’clock in the morning until ten o’clock at night…and the mule drivers (mostly children and often in bare feet) who guided the mules more than sixty miles each way eight months a year. Their stories are inspiring, moving and legendary.

  And, as always, to Ed, Mai and Buddy—my history and my future—and to Tommy and Christian, my best guys.

  Genius is present in every age, but the men carrying it within them remain benumbed unless extraordinary events occur to heat up and melt the mass so that it flows forth.

  —Denis Diderot

  Contents

  Foreword, by James C. Greenwood

  Preface

  Acknowledgements

  Chapter 1 Magic Canals: Past and Future

  Chapter 2 From the Bowels of the Earth

  Chapter 3 Josiah White’s Waterways

  Chapter 4 Locks and Their Keepers

  Chapter 5 Beside the Busy Canal

  Chapter 6 Snappers and Stiff Boats

  Chapter 7 The Mules

  Chapter 8 The Canallers

  Chapter 9 Human Cargo

  Chapter 10 The Canal’s Worst Enemy

  Chapter 11 Beautiful Impressions

  Chapter 12 National Historic Landmark

  Notes

  Bibliography and Resources

  Foreword

  For a century the Delaware Canal served as a man-made working waterway, floating three thousand flat-bottomed, mule-drawn boats brimming with coal, lumber and manufactured goods along the sixty-mile route from Easton to the river port in Bristol in a rapidly industrializing eastern Pennsylvania.

  From 1832 to 1931 men, women and children—Irish and German immigrants, former slaves and others—eked out livings on the hustle-bustle, hardscrabble, but colorful world of the canalboats until that world gave way with the advent of the freight train.

  Its working days over, the Delaware Canal has served us still in its retirement for more than three-quarters of another century. Threatened with deteriorating locks and gates, leaks and abandonment; insulted by highway and railroad crossings; paved over with a shopping center’s parking lot; and repeatedly battered by a recent series of raging floods, the canal has yet endured, rescued repeatedly by the affection and commitment of its more recent travelers.

  Hikers and bikers, handholding lovers, bird watchers and dog walkers, painters and picnickers, locals and visitors, kids toting fishing poles, parents with strollers—we come with cross-country skis, canoes and cameras to rest and to play. And sometimes, when reminded, as we are in Marie Duess’s excellent work, we think of our forebears who plied these waters from before dawn until well past dark.

  I have been privileged to live and to raise my family beside the canal for thirty years. As an elected official I have worked with the Friends of the Delaware Canal and other dedicated citizens who have refused to surrender our special treasure to apathy, abuse or catastrophe. While some have called to pave it, we have fought to save it. And save it we will.

  The Delaware Canal is as central to Bucks County’s story as William Penn’s home or Washington’s Crossing. Uniquely, it is a park, a National Historic Landmark and a charming, natural pathway winding its way through our beloved picturesque and historic villages. We are fortunate to call this treasure our own and to share it with those who come from afar.

  And so we have a duty to preserve it for our children so that they may pass it on to theirs.

  James C. Greenwood

  President and CEO of Biotechnology Industry Organization United States House of Representatives (1993–2005)

  Preface

  While doing the research for this book, I fell in love with Bucks County all over again—just as I did twenty-one years ago when my husband and I moved our family to this lovely place, and again in 2007 when I learned so much more about the county in which I live while writing Colonial Inns and Taverns of Bucks County: How Pubs, Taprooms and Hostelries Made Revolutionary History. Bucks County has a fascinating history and is a captivating place to live.

  I have also become enamored with mules since writing this book. I had no idea what interesting animals they are. I always thought they were beautiful, but I didn’t know they were intelligent, too—gentle when treated kindly and spiteful when wronged—and not stubborn at all, but just smart enough to know when their loads are too heavy and it is time to rest. We humans could take a lesson from them where that is concerned.

  There is so much in this book that I relate to. Although this book is about the Lehigh mines and the Delaware Division Canal, my mother’s family is from the anthracite coal region of Carbondale, Pennsylvania—the site of the first underground mine in the United States, developed before the Lehigh mines and home to the founders of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company. Throughout my life I heard many stories about the mines and miners, and I was always fascinated by stories I was told about the mine fire that burned for years beneath the streets of Carbondale. I didn’t know about the breaker boys, however, and wish I didn’t have to. Their story breaks my heart.

  My Irish-American Catholic father told me about the discrimination his mother and father experienced when they first arrived in New York from the “old country” in the early twentieth century. They were branded as drunks and fighters before they had a chance to prove themselves different; yet both were gentle, loving and kind.

  I cried when I wrote about the fleeing slaves who hid in subterranean rooms, living in constant fear of being caught, wondering what danger was just around the next corner. Being claustrophobic myself, I could almost feel the panic they must have experienced when they had to crawl through underground tunnels and hide in windowless chambers. Their courage is inspirational, and their stories remind me that freedom is precious and should never be taken for granted.

  When writing this book, I could almost hear the boatmen calling out to the lock tenders as they worked the canal and t
he bells on the mules’ harnesses as they walked the towpath beside their drivers. I have to smile when I think of the barefoot children walking along the canal on beautiful summer days, yet I wince when I remember that they also walked in the rain, cold and snow.

  I wish I could go back in time, if just for an hour, to walk the canal as it was then, wave to the boat captains, touch the cheek of a little mule driver, give some tobacco to a mule and peek over the shoulder of Redfield or Coppedge as they capture the canal in a masterpiece.

  The canal age was an important era in our country’s development. The stories in this book speak to the work ethic of a different day and the cultural differences that have, for the most part, now become our American identity.

  As I have with the county in which it is located, I also have fallen in love with the Delaware Division Canal. I hope that after reading this book, you will fall in love with it, too, and will be drawn to Bucks County’s beautiful historic treasure as I am.

  Acknowledgements

  My most sincere appreciation is extended to:

  My wonderful editor, Saunders Robinson, for her confidence in me, and to all the people at The History Press who seem to make things happen almost effortlessly.

  Jim Greenwood, for taking the time out of his busy schedule to write the beautiful foreword for this book and for his, and his wife Tina’s, gracious hospitality in allowing me to do some research in their lovely historic home and stables along the canal.

  Charles Lauble Jr., of the Historic Langhorne Association, for all of his assistance and support—he is extraordinary.

  Millard C. Mitchell, who is painstakingly keeping alive the stories of the underground railroad in Lower Bucks County—he is truly a great gentleman and historian.

  The New Hope Historical Society, especially Barry Ziff, for his help, his stories and his expertise.

  The Grundy Library, for all of their assistance in my research.

  The National Canal Museum in Easton, for their assistance in obtaining photographs for this book, especially Ann Bartholomew and Susan E. Francisco—without their help, this book would not be as visually interesting.

  Friends of the Delaware Canal, especially Susan Taylor, who shared the Friends’ dreams for the canal.

  Rosemary Tottoroto, a wonderful artist, for sharing her photographs and experience in designing one of Bucks County’s “icon” mules.

  Paul and Harriet Gratz of Gratz Gallery in New Hope and Sara Buehler of the Michener Museum—they all went above and beyond in helping me obtain images of the paintings of our American impressionists who so loved the Delaware Canal.

  Robin G. Lightly, Mineral Resources program manager of the Bureau of Mining and Reclamation, for sharing her moving—and sobering—images of the children and men who worked the mines in Pennsylvania.

  Frank Lyons of the Continental Tavern, for sharing information about the historic tavern and allowing me to experience the secret room that protected the courageous and hopeful Americans who sought freedom before the Civil War.

  Greg Chalson…just because.

  Finally, to the historians who keep the stories of the canal era alive through their writing and lectures, especially Lance Metz, Albright G. Zimmerman, C.P. Yoder, James Lee, William H. Shank, Will Rivinus, Terry McNealy, Robert J. McClellan and the New Hope Canal Boat Company, especially “Captain” Dave and his mule driver, Charles.

  Chapter 1

  Magic Canals

  Past and Future

  Canals hold a special place in the hearts of the people who live near or work on them. Their tranquil beauty and history inspire protectiveness. Ancient canals are considered sacred, and like the people and organizations in modern times that fight to preserve the canals in their communities, there is evidence that people in medieval times fought just as fiercely to safeguard their own man-made waterways.

  Canals are charismatic. People flock to France, England, Germany and other parts of Europe and Asia to vacation on boats that float gracefully down some of the most beautiful and ancient canals in the world, moving through old stone locks, passing orchards, farms and fragrant vineyards.

  People who live by canals find themselves walking at a different pace during an early morning or evening stroll. They revel in the vibrancy of colors reflected off the water; they experience a quiet peace from the harmony that exists between the lush vegetation and the wildlife that is sustained by it. There is always something at which to marvel. There is, in fact, something magical about canals.

  Canals of China

  Although irrigation canals have been in existence since the sixth millennium BCE in Mesopotamia and Egypt, and as early as 4000 BCE in other areas of the Middle East, the first transportation canal was built in China in the third century BCE. Called Lingqu—“Magic Canal”—it is an impressive achievement in engineering and longevity. When Emperor Qin Shih Huangdi needed a way to transport supplies inland to his armies, he employed the genius of engineer Shi Lu, who built his Magic Canal to link the Rivers Xiang and Li, which ran in opposite directions. The success and durability of the Lingqu laid the groundwork for additional canals in ancient China. Joseph Needham, the author of Science and Civilisation [sic] in China, noted, “Few if any other civilisations [sic] could demonstrate a work of hydraulic art in continuous use for well over two thousand years.”1 Indeed, the Magic Canal is still used today and is considered a sacred waterway, with a dragon as its governing spirit.2

  The Grand Canal of China is the longest ancient canal in the world. Courtesy of Istockphotos.com.

  In AD 604, when Yang Guang ascended the throne of China, he ordered the completion of what was to be called the Grand Canal. Measuring 1,115 miles long and 100 miles wide, the Grand Canal was completed in 609, combined many older canals and is, to this day, the longest canal in the world. Its construction supposedly took the work of more than two million men.3

  Roman Aqueducts

  Throughout their vast empire, the ancient Romans were industrious aqueduct and canal builders, and these structures are excellent examples of the engineering of the ancient world. They built aqueducts to supply fresh water to the largest cities in their empire, normally routing them below ground to keep the water from being tainted by the lack of sanitary conditions above.

  When wars died down during the first two centuries AD, Roman leaders kept their troops occupied with military construction and put them to work improving the previously neglected infrastructures. Roman military engineers were skilled surveyors and designed vast projects in the Roman provinces. They built networks of roads, bridges and canals that opened commerce and cultural influences with many regions that had previously been unreachable. Even Syrians refer to their ancient canals as qanats Romani or “Roman canals,” although archaeological evidence and written accounts suggest they were first established by the Persians in Syria.4

  The Foss Dyke in England is the oldest canal built by the Romans in that country. It was constructed in AD 120 and, like the Chinese canals, is still in use today, largely for pleasure trips. In contrast to the 1,115-mile-long Grand Canal of China, the Foss Dyke is only 11 miles long, but its history is just as rich. The Danes invaded England by way of the canal, and the Normans used it to carry stone to build the medieval Lincoln Cathedral in 1072. This canal was so important to England’s residents that Katherine Swynford, the mistress and eventual third wife of John of Gaunt, the first Duke of Lancaster, organized a protest to repair the Foss Dyke in 1375 after its severe deterioration.5

  Canals have been built and used throughout Europe. Some of the most beautiful and photographed canals are in Venice and Holland, where they are even more important than roadways for transportation.

  A Place in the Future

  We look at canals as designs of engineering genius that were important for ancient trading routes started by the Romans, Persians and Greeks and that played a significant role in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to set in motion the Industrial Revolution of England and America. But
the truth is, canals may reemerge as a viable source of transportation in the twenty-first century.

  The Seine-Nord Europe Canal, which will link the Seine River in France to northern Europe, is scheduled to begin construction in 2008. It is estimated that it will transport thirty-two million tons of goods annually, employing modern and efficient shipping vessels. Because this inland waterway will consume very little energy in comparison to the fuel needed to transport goods by truck, ship and rail, and due to the fact that it will be low in atmospheric and noise pollution, it is expected to have little negative impact on the environment. It is being managed by Voies Navigables de France (VNF), and will take approximately five years to complete.6 Additionally, some canals are being used as wayleaves for fiber-optic telecommunications networks.7

  It is not impossible, therefore, to imagine that canals will come back as a modern, safe and environmentally sound means of transporting goods and people just as they were in the past.

  Waterways of America

  William Penn wanted a canal system one hundred years before the American Revolution. George Washington thought it was a good idea when he was just a young surveyor. So did Benjamin Franklin. Yet it wasn’t until 1800 that canals started to become a means of commercial transportation in the United States.

  America was a very young country, with the bulk of our settled land stretching along the Atlantic coast. We needed to push westward to access the rich natural resources that lay beyond the early boundaries of our colonies, but most of the roadways were barely passable—not much more than Native American paths too narrow for wagons.

  The industrial use of canals was in full force in Europe late in the eighteenth century. Around 1796, Pennsylvanian Robert Fulton, who invented the first successful steamboat, spent time in England to study its canal systems. He maintained constant communication with George Washington, who was president at that time, and Governor John Mifflin of Pennsylvania. Excited about the achievements in canal building in England, Fulton promoted the establishment of canals in the new country.