The Morris Canal was an engineering marvel that used a system of 23 lift locks and 23 inclined planes to overcome 1,674 feet of elevation change, more than any other transportation canal ever built. Its famous inclined planes were short, water-powered marine railways that pulled canal boats up or let them down hillsides, while locks operated like water elevators for smaller elevation changes, and mules pulled the boats across the state in five days. Running from Phillipsburg to Jersey City, the canal was critical to the economy and development of northern New Jersey from its construction until after the Civil War, linking the anthracite coal fields of northeastern Pennsylvania with northern New Jersey’s iron industry, major industrial cities, and New York area markets. Open from 1831 to 1924, it carried anthracite coal, iron ore, timber, limestone, and agricultural products.
