The Lehigh Canal was a historic navigable waterway in eastern Pennsylvania that linked the Lehigh Valley to major East Coast trade routes and helped bring anthracite coal from the mountains to market. Begun in 1818 by the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company under Josiah White and Erskine Hazard, it was built in stages, first as a downriver coal route and later rebuilt for two-way traffic before being extended upstream through the difficult Lehigh Gorge. Reaching 72 miles at its greatest extent, the canal became a major artery for coal and pig iron, supported regional industrial growth, and remained in use until 1931.