Schuylkill Canal
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The Schuylkill Canal opened in 1825 as part of the Schuylkill Navigation Company's series of canals and locks along the Schuylkill River in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The Schuylkill Navigation Company was a company chartered in 1815 to build a number of navigation improvements in the Schuylkill River. The river was the cheapest and most efficient transportation for shipping. As a result of this improved transportation, coal-mining grew as the major source of industry between Pottsville and Eastern markets and nowhere was the connection of the anthracite reach so discernible as in Pottsville. Mules pulled small barges of coal from Port Carbon, Pennsylvania to Pottsville, to the ports of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The Schuylkill Navigation Company was chartered in 1815 to build a series of navigation improvements in the Schuylkill River. A 108 mile (174 km) waterway was completed in 1827 linking Philadelphia to Port Carbon in the anthracite coal fields or the Coal Region of Pottsville. Combining 62 miles (100 km) of separate canals with 46 miles (74 km) of slackwater pools, the Schuylkill Navigation utilized 92 lift locks to overcome a 588 foot (179 m) difference in elevation between its terminal points. It also featured the first transportation tunnel in America. This 450 foot (137 m) bore through a hill near Auburn, Pennsylvania, was completed in 1824, but due to increased traffic, it was bypassed in 1857.
Due to its ability to transport bulk cargoes and provide water power, the Schuylkill Navigation transformed the towns of Reading, Norristown, and Pottsville into early manufacturing centers. By using the Delaware River and the Delaware and Raritan Canal, manufactured products and anthracite from the Schuylkill Valley could also reach New York Harbor. The Schuylkill Navigation system quickly assumed a monopoly position in the transportation of anthracite coal from the coal mines of Schuylkill County to Philadelphia. By 1841 the Schuylkill Navigation was annually transporting over 737,517 tons of cargo. However, in 1841 the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad was completed as a competing means of transporting coal from the Schuylkill anthracite fields to Philadelphia. A rivalry between these two forms of transportation soon developed.
By 1845 the railroad was able to haul three times as much anthracite to Philadelphia each year as the Schuylkill Navigation. To counter this threat, the Schuylkill Navigation Company began a major expansion program. By 1847 the canals had been enlarged to allow the passage of boats carrying 230 tons of coal. In 1850 a price fixing arrangement with the railroad stabilized prices for the transportation of anthracite. This decade was the Schuylkill Navigation's most prosperous period, transporting 1,700,000 tons of cargo during the peak year of 1859. However, in that same year the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad carried over 2,500,000 tons.
[edit] Railroad history on the canal
During the 1860s the canal entered a period of decline. In 1869 it was damaged by a flood. Surrendering to the competition in 1870, the Schuylkill Navigation Company leased its waterway to the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad for a period of 979 years. Under the railroad's control, the Schuylkill Navigation continued to decline. Since the Delaware and Raritan Canal was owned by the competing Pennsylvania Railroad, Schuylkill boats were denied access to this important New Jersey waterway. As a result, traffic on the Schuylkill decreased rapidly. By 1890 only 144,994 tons of cargo passed through the Schuylkill Navigation. The Schuylkill Navigation was also greatly hindered by the problems of coal silt deposits which made its upper sections almost unusable. By 1891 the portion of Navigation above Port Clinton was abandoned. By 1904 the anthracite traffic had almost completely ceased, and after 1913 only an occasional cargo passed between Port Clinton and Philadelphia. Excursion vessels and pleasure boating remained active on the Schuylkill Navigation until much of the waterway was destroyed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania during 1947-1979 in efforts to remove coal silt from the Schuylkill River.
[edit] Present day canal
There are two watered stretches of the canal still in existence. A one mile stretch in Manayunk, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and 2.5 miles of the 3.5 mile long Oakes [sic] Reach between Oaks, Pennsylvania and Mont Clare, Pennsylvania.
The head of the Oakes Reach is at the Black Rock Dam, near Mont Clare. The canal passes through the dam structure at Lock #60. The volunteer Schuylkill Canal Association has restored Lock 60 to operating condition[1]. The nearby locktender's house has also been restored[2]. The Reach runs under Pennsylvania Route 29 in Mont Clare, then through Port Providence, Pennsylvania. An impounding basin from the silt removal project cuts the canal after Longford Road and the final mile of the Reach, has been filled in. An old stone viaduct exists in this mile and is planned to be used for the 2006-2007 extension of the Schuylkill River Trail to Longford Road. In late 2006, plans are underway to align the Schuylkill River Trail along the towpath of the Oakes Reach.
