In 1824, Philadelphia merchants Maurice and Wilbur Wurts proposed a canal to transport coal from mines in northwest Pennsylvania to New York City via the Hudson River. The canal opened in 1828 at a cost of over one million dollars and extended 108 miles with 108 locks. It was 4 feet deep and 28 feet wide at the water line and could carry boats of 20-ton capacity. The first locks and the double-arch aqueduct were 9½ feet wide and made of stone, while the rest of the canal was a clay-lined ditch. In 1847 it was enlarged, and in 1848 its depth increased to 6 feet. The final improvement required widening the locks to 15 feet to accommodate larger boats and replacing the stone aqueduct with the cable suspension aqueduct designed by John A. Roebling. The 1849 expansion also required extensive changes in the canal's routing. The canal remained profitable for many years, but growing railroad development led the D and H Canal Company to cease operations in 1899. It was sold to Mr. S. D. Coykendall for $10,000 and continued operating for five more years, carrying cement and bluestone to Kingston.

Photo: Steve Stoessel

Stone Ridge, New York · USA