PART FOUR

CANALS OF THE UNITED STATES

AND CANADA

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INTRODUCTION

The information to be obtained concerning the various canals of North America is somewhat meagre and a satisfactory compilation is extremely difficult. The most complete document on this subject is the report of H. Vétillart to the French Minister of Public Works. This report, entitled La Navigation aux États-Unis, has been used in preparing the present work, but considerable original research has been made also. Probably errors will be found in these sketches and tables; concerning New York canals it is known that different official records vary so widely as to make certainty of statement often impossible, and doubtless this is true of other waterways.

A number of short canals, without locks, have been purposely omitted. Among the canalized rivers only those are given in which the improvements comprise something more than mere betterment of channel by means of dredging and snagging. Naturally the line drawn between canals and canalized rivers cannot be altogether satisfactory; some of the canalized rivers will be seen to embrace in their extent canals of considerable length. The ton of two thousand pounds is used throughout this chapter, unless otherwise stated.

The following persons have kindly furnished information to be used in this compilation: Frank W. Hodgdon, Chief Engineer of Massachusetts; Leon McDonald, Superintendent of Canal Commissioners, Ill.; C.L. Nicholson, Secretary of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal Company; W.G. Johnston, President of the Board of Public Works of Ohio; Frank M. Kerr, Chief State Engineer, Louisiana; G.B. Nicholson, Engineer and General Manager of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company; Dr. E.L. Corthell, Advisory Board of Consulting Engineers, New York State canals; Professor L.M. Haupt, Consulting Engineer, Philadelphia, Pa.

The following is a partial list of the books consulted on this subject: Internal Navigation of the United States, George Armroyd; The Great American Canals, Archer Butler Hulbert; Waterways and Water Transport in Different Countries, J.S. Jeans; History of the Sault Ste. Marie Canal, D.H. Kelton; Map of the Railroads of the United States and Canada, D.K. Minor; Compendium of the Internal Improvements of the United States, Mitchell; The Canals and Railroads of the United States, H.S. Tanner; Transportation Systems in the United States, J.L. Ringwalt; History of the Canals and Railroads of the United States, H.V. Poor; the report on Water Transportation of the United States census reports of 1880 and 1890; the reports of Chief of Engineers of the U.S. Army to date; reports of various corporations and of State officials; articles appearing in the following publications: Engineering News, Engineering and Building Record, Scientific American, and others.

CUMBERLAND AND OXFORD CANAL. – 1.

{Reference number. A corresponding number is given in Chapter II – Tabular Statistics – and on the accompanying map, found in pocket at cover.}

This canal, constructed under a charter granted in 1820, was designed to establish communication between Portland and Sebago pond, together with the connecting waters.

One lock in Songo river opened a waterway from Sebago river into the upper lakes and together with the canal, established a through water route from Harrison and Bridgeton to Portland.

Although badly constructed the canal did a profitable business until the opening of the Portland and Ogdensburg railroad, soon after which the canal was abandoned. The canalization of the Songo river was kept in operation by the State of Maine at last reports.

In 1833 the net profits on this canal amounted to $12,000.

THE CANALS OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. – 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.

The canals of New Hampshire were constructed between the years 1812 and 1837 and were designed to furnish a means of getting around the falls of the Merrimac and to render the river navigable.

These canals together with the canal at Lowell, Mass., around the Pawtucket falls made the Merrimac navigable from Concord, N.H., to the sea, for boats drawing three and one-half feet of water. This whole distance is more than one hundred miles.

PAWTUCKET FALLS CANAL. – 7.

This canal was constructed by a company incorporated in 1792 under the name of, "The Proprietors of the Locks and Canals of the Merrimac River." The canal was built in order to enable boats to get around the falls of the Merrimac, called the Pawtucket falls at Lowell.

This canal eventually became a distributing canal for water-power. It ceased to be used as a waterway to any great extent after the building of the Middlesex canal.

MIDDLESEX CANAL. – 8.

This canal was constructed by the Middlesex Canal Company, incorporated in 1793, and was designed to unite the Merrimac above Pawtucket falls with Boston harbor.

It left the Merrimac about one mile above Pawtucket falls and from thence ascended to its summit at Billerica. From that point it descended to the Charles river, which empties into Boston harbor. The canal summit level was fed from the Concord river.

The canal opened as far as Woburn in 1804; was completed and fully opened to traffic in 1808.

In 1810 the tolls on the canal, fixed at one-sixteenth of a dollar per mile, yielded a revenue of $15,000, and in 1836, $30,000. The revenues of the company continued to increase until 1835, when the Boston and Lowell railroad was built. From this time on the receipts from the canal tolls decreased steadily till in 1853 they ceased entirely. Six years later the rights of the company were forfeited and the rights of soil reverted to the original owners. During the most prosperous parts of this canal’s history, the stockholders received an annual dividend of six per cent.

CAPE COD SHIP CANAL – 8 ½.

As early as 1676 the necessity of building a canal across Cape Cod from Buzzards bay to Barnstable bay was appreciated by the colonists, but no action in the matter was taken until 1697, when it became a subject of such interest that the General Court of the Colony of Massachusetts discussed the advisability of undertaking the work. The matter was referred to a committee, which, however, did nothing with the project, and it was about seventy years before the question was again brought before the public.

During the interim private parties became interested in the undertaking and a short time before the signing of the Declaration of Independence a surveyor was employed to examine the route for the proposed canal, but, owing to the Revolutionary war and the consequent reorganization of the Government, consideration of the project was given up and it was not until the year 1824 that it appeared again. At this time the question was brought before Congress, but again nothing was done.

During the several times that the question of building this canal was before the different legislative bodies up to 1860, it was evident that the importance and necessity of such a water-way was not fully appreciated; although first projected in 1676, it was not until just prior to the Civil war that there seemed to be any possibility of the passage of an act to accomplish the object so long sought by the people of Massachusetts and the marine interests. However, the outbreak of the war again blasted the efforts, when the outlook seemed bright for success.

Not until 1885 was anything done towards building this channel and in that year about one mile of canal was constructed, but this is all that has been done towards its completion. As projected the canal is to be eight miles long, to be built without locks and is estimated to cost $6,000,000.

The building of this waterway will save about 75 and 145 miles, respectively, in distance over the present "inside" and "outside" routes between New York and Boston, which are more or less dangerous at all times. About 40,000 vessels round Cape Cod annually, bearing cargoes of some 20,000,000 tons. It is supposed that the construction of this canal would increase this traffic by the large amount that now goes by part water and part rail routes.

BLACKSTONE CANAL. – 9.

Two distinct companies were incorporated in 1823 by the Legislatures of Massachusetts and Rhode Island respectively, for the construction of a canal from Worcester, Mass., to Providence, R.I.

These two companies were merged in 1825 under the name of "The Blackstone Canal Company." The construction of the canal was begun in Rhode Island in 1824 and in 1826 the work was started in Massachusetts.

The first boat passed through the entire length of the canal in 1828. The construction up to this time had cost $750,000. Of this total, $500,000 was subscribed by citizens of Massachusetts and the remaining $250,000 by citizens of Rhode Island.

The receipts from tolls reached their maximum in 1832, amounting to $18,907. The canal was never profitable to the owners.

The canal was deficient in an adequate water-supply and was often visited by injurious floods. It was also out of service during the winter months on account of the severity of the climate in this section. In spite of these disadvantages and its failure to make a commercial success, the canal conferred vast benefits on the region traversed and was not abandoned until 1848.

Its abandonment at this date was the direct result of the building, in 1847, of the Providence and Worcester railroad, with which the canal was unable to compete.

FARMINGTON CANAL. – 10.

HAMPSHIRE AND HAMPDEN CANAL. – 11.

NEW HAVEN AND NORTHAMPTON CANAL. – 10,11.

The Farmington canal received its charter from the State of Connecticut in 1822. It was begun in 1825 and opened in 1828 as far as Farmington. Soon after this, it was prolonged to Southwick on the northern boundary of the state.

The Hampshire and Hampden canal was the extension of the Farmington canal in the State of Massachusetts. Authorized in 1823, it was completed in 1829, as far as Westfield from Southwick, on the state’s southern boundary. In 1835 the canal was completed to Northampton.

The Farmington canal and the Hampshire and Hampden canal, although owned by separate companies, formed practically one canal, furnishing a continuous waterway from Northampton, Mass., to New Haven, Conn., on Long Island Sound.

In 1835 these canals suffered heavy damage and both companies, equally involved, sold out to a new company, called the New Haven and Northampton Canal Company, which thus put this whole system under one control.

The traffic on these canals was of considerable importance and from 1830 to 1836 the annual receipts were as large as $75,000. The expense of operating was so large, however, and the repairs were so numerous that the canal was never a paying one.

In 1836, when these properties were taken over by the New Haven and Northampton Canal Company, the new company agreed to take up the indebtedness only, of the old companies, paying nothing whatever for the capital stock, which thus became a total loss. The amount of stock issued by the Farmington Canal Company was $537,195, and by the Hampshire and Hampden Canal Company, $269,000, making a total loss up to 1836 of $806,195 to the stockholders of these two companies. The canal was operated with twenty to twenty-five-ton boats till 1845 when it was replaced by a railroad. At this date, 1845, the total loss on the canal system was reckoned at $1,089,425.

THE CANALS OF NEW YORK STATE – NOS. 18 TO 33, INCLUSIVE.

For a complete account of the canals of New York State, see Part One, their map numbers only being given here.

Erie Canal. – 18.

Champlain Canal. – 19.

Oswego Canal. – 20.

Oneida River Improvement. – 21.

Baldwinsville Canal and Seneca River Towing-path. – 22.

Cayuga and Seneca Canal. – 23.

Black River Canal. – 24. (Including Black River Improvement. – 25.)

Chemung Canal. – 26.

Crooked Lake Canal. – 27.

Oneida Lake Canal. – 28.

Chenango Canal. – 29.

Chenango Canal Extension. – 30.

Genesee Valley Canal. – 31.

Shinnecock and Peconic Canal. – 31A.

Delaware and Hudson Canal. – 32.

Junction Canal. – 33.

THE MORRIS CANAL. – 34.

The Morris Canal and Banking Company was chartered in 1824 by the State of New Jersey and authorized to construct a canal from the Delaware river to Newark. The extension from Newark to Jersey City was authorized in 1828. The canal was opened in 1831 as far as Newark and was completed to Jersey City in 1836.

The summit of the canal near Stanhope is fifty-one miles from Newark and thirty-nine miles from Phillipsburg. It is nine hundred and fourteen feet above the Hudson and seven hundred and sixty above the Delaware. The height of nine hundred and fourteen feet is surmounted by means of twelve inclined planes lifting seven hundred and fifty-eight feet and sixteen locks lifting one hundred and fifty-six feet.

The descent to the Delaware of seven hundred and sixty feet is accomplished by means of eleven inclined planes of six hundred and ninety-one feet total lift and seven locks of forty-nine feet total lift.

The canal was built originally with a prism of small dimensions, 32 x 20 x 4.

The planes and locks were enlarged in the year 1841, but immediately after this enlargement the company failed and the management of its affairs was put in the hands of receivers. The receivers leased the canal until 1844.

In 1844 the canal was bought under a plan for reorganization by the Morris Canal and Banking Company of 1844, (capital $1,000,000.)

In 1844-5 this company undertook the enlargement of the locks and prism. The prism was enlarged by them to the dimensions, 40 x 25 x 5. Section boats were also introduced at this time and were capable of carrying forty-four tons of twenty-two hundred and forty pounds.

Between the years 1847 and 1860 all the planes were rebuilt and equipped with wire-rope hoists. At the end of these improvements,, in 1860, the canal was capable of conveying boats of sixty tons capacity.

Besides its twenty-three lift-locks, already enumerated, this canal has four guard-locks, one feeder-lock and two tide-locks. The greatest lift of any one lock is twelve feet.

The boats, in order to facilitate their passage over the inclined planes, are constructed in two sections and are jointed together by latches and steadying pins. The trucks, like the boats, are built in two sections and are heavy timber cradles, supported on eight wheels and running on tracks that extend at the foot of each incline a short distance along the bottom of the canal prism. The tracks descend again to the bottom of the summit level and extend a short distance along the bottom. The boats are floated into these trucks in one level and are floated out again in the next level. The trucks are hauled up the steep inclines by wire ropes, wound on drums operated by water-power and descend by their own weight.

This canal has a total length from Phillipsburg to Jersey City of 102.38 miles, and in addition to this, two feeders. The Lake Hopatcong feeder in Morris county has a length of 0.5 mile and the Pompton feeder in Passaic county a length of 3.6 miles, making in all 106.48 miles of canal.

The original cost of this canal was $2,830,000, and the total cost including all enlargements up to 1860 was $5,100,000.

The canal was leased in 1871 to the Lehigh Valley R.R. Co. for nine hundred and ninety-nine years under a guarantee of ten per cent dividends on preferred stock and four per cent on the common stock.

The tonnage on this canal had decreased to such an extent that in 1904 a committee of the New Jersey Legislature reported in favor of allowing its abandonment. The Legislature, however, has failed to act on this report to the present time.

From 1880 to 1890 the average amount of coal transported on this canal was about 285,000 tons. The amount carried in each of the ten years previous to 1903 is shown below.

DELAWARE AND RARITAN CANAL. – 35.

The Delaware and Raritan Canal Company and the Camden and Amboy Railroad Company received their charters in 1830 and were consolidated in 1831. The company resulting from this consolidation constructed the canal and operated it until 1867, when it united with the New Jersey Railroad Company.

This new company took the name of the United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company and is still the real owner of the canal.

In May, 1871, however, the canal was leased to the Pennsylvania Railroad Company for nine hundred and ninety-nine years, and since that date it has been operated by that road. The Pennsylvania Railroad engages to pay ten per cent per annum on the total stock of the united companies.

The canal is well built throughout with paved banks, swing bridges and steam operated lock-gates. The bridges also near the locks are operated by steam and steam is used to tow the boats through the locks. The whole plan is to allow high speed and quick lockages.

While the canal is designed to allow the passage of boats carrying six hundred tons, experience has shown that it is more advantageous to employ boats carrying not more that four hundred and fifty tons. The length of boats should not be greater than one hundred and ten feet and the width not greater than twenty-three feet.

The feeder is navigable, but only for smaller boats.

{d = Deficit.}

THE PENNSYLVANIA CANALS. – 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46.

The State of Pennsylvania began the consideration of a canal system traversing the State from the east to the west in the latter part of the eighteenth century, but nothing was accomplished until 1824. In that year a commission was appointed to investigate the possible canal routes between Harrisburg and Pittsburg. The following year another commission was appointed to make surveys and estimates for a canal system extending from Philadelphia to Pittsburg, from Allegheny to Erie, and also for a line to extend to the northern boundary of the State, with a view to connecting with the New York State canals.

The work of construction was begun in 1826 and continued until about 1840 without interruption. During the year 1827 the construction of the Juniata canal as far as Lewiston was authorized and the construction of the western division as far as Blairsville was ordered; also the construction of the Susquehanna division to Northumberland. By the same act construction of the French creek feeder was ordered and the examination of a canal route up the valley of the Delaware from Bristol. Provisional authorization for this construction was also given.

In 1828 the extension of the canal on the Susquehanna from the mouth of the Swatara to Columbia was authorized, also the extension of the Juniata division to Hollidaysburg. By the same act the extension of the canal from Northumberland to Bald Eagle creek was authorized and of the Delaware valley canal as far as Easton. The construction of the Allegheny Portage railroad, designed to form a connecting link between the canals east and west of the Allegheny mountains, was authorized also at this time.

The work undertaken by the State in these various canals and railroads was much more expensive than previously estimated, and the debt accumulated rapidly. Much of the work was poorly done, although some of it merited the highest praise. As a whole, however, the construction of these canals was scandalously mismanaged.

The dissatisfaction of the people, when they began to realize the enormous burden of debt that they had taken upon themselves, was intense. Retrenchment was necessitated by the attitude of the people toward further expenditures, and in 1840 the work of construction was entirely stopped.

The work at this time was not complete, but the success of the competing railroads was already assured, and the people of the state wholly out of sympathy for further expenditures for canals.

The canals and railroads built by the State at such vast expense were no doubt successful in part. The vastness of the enterprise so hastily undertaken resulted in much that was unproductive. Parts of the canal system never paid the annual charges for repairs and operation, and disappointment with the entire scheme became general.

As a result of the popular discontent, the sale of the State works to private corporations was begun in 1845 and was completed in 1859.

In 1845 the Erie canal was sold to the Erie Canal Company. In 1857 the main line of the canal was sold to the Pennsylvania Railroad Company for $7,500,000 in bonds. In 1858 the lateral canals were sold to the Sunbury and Erie Railroad Company for $3,500,000.

The Sunbury and Erie Company afterwards sold the several canals as follows:

The North Branch divisions to the North Branch Canal Company for $1,600,000; West Branch and Susquehanna division to the West Branch and Susquehanna Canal Company for $500,000; the Delaware division to the Delaware Division Company for $1,775,000.

In 1863 the North Branch Canal Company sold that part of the canal between Northumberland and Wilkesbarre to the Wyoming Canal Company for $1,010,000. In 1865 the name of the North Branch Canal Company was changed by legislative enactment to the Pennsylvania and New York Canal and Railroad Company. The privilege of constructing a railroad along the berme bank of the canal was granted by the same act.

This railroad did not injure the canal nor interfere with its operation, but the canal was practically destroyed by a flood in 1865, and repairs were never completed. The railroad was opened to traffic in 1869.

The Wiconisco canal was transferred to a private company while still incomplete, having cost the State about $1,500,000.

By the terms of sale to the Pennsylvania railroad, in 1857, that corporation acquired the Eastern division, the Juniata division, the Western division and the Allegheny Portage railroad. The railroad company gave in payment for these properties bonds to the value of $7,500,000, bearing five per cent interest and payable in annual instalments. These instalments were so planned that the entire bond issue would be finally retired in 1893.

In the first year of its ownership the railroad company abandoned the Allegheny Portage railroad. In 1863 about thirty miles of the Western division was abandoned, extending from Blairsville to Johnstown, and in 1864 the remainder of this division was abandoned.

In 1866 the Pennsylvania Railroad Company sold to the Pennsylvania Canal Company that part of its canal property that was not abandoned, amounting to one hundred and seventy-eight miles. The consideration was $2,750,000, and of this amount $1,000,000 was reckoned as being the value of the canals when first purchased by the railroad in 1857. The companies’ reports seem to show that this sale was made to avoid further payments to the State, and that the State received only this sum, $1,000,000, instead of the $7,500,000 as at first agreed.

The Pennsylvania Canal Company acquired a majority of the shares of the West Branch Canal Company in 1867, and operated the canals of that company (Susquehanna and West Branch canal) under a lease after 1869. The Wyoming Canal Company was absorbed by the Pennsylvania Canal Company in 1869. In 1870 the property of the Wiconisco Canal Company was obtained as a result of a judgment, and thereafter all these canals were operated as a single property. In 1870 the canals of the Erie Canal Company were acquired by forced sale by the Pennsylvania Company and were operated through the season of 1871, when they were abandoned.

In 1872 the canals in operation under the control of the Pennsylvania Canal Company were reported as follows:

The prism was 40 to 60 feet at water-surface, 24-34 at bottom and from 4 to 6 ¼ feet deep.

The locks were as follows:

Besides these lift-locks there were fourteen stop-locks, sixteen guard-locks, and four weigh-locks. There were, on the entire system, twenty-six dams, sixty-eight aqueducts, and eighteen miles of slack water. At this date the average capacity of the boats was one hundred and twenty tons each, and the average tonnage on the canals was a little less than one million tons yearly.

The canals of the western division were entirely abandoned in 1865 and after 1872 the number of miles operated decreased steadily. In 1875 the canal mileage of this system had decreased to three hundred and twenty-four miles. Again, in 1901, all except one hundred and one-half miles of the canals of this system were abandoned. In 1903 only forty-three miles remained and in 1904, this great system of Pennsylvania canals was wholly abandoned. The Delaware Division canal which is not included in the above system, but which is under the control of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company, remains to-day a sole representative of the original system of State canals.

Statement of Operations of the Pennsylvania Canal Co. from 1871 to 1900.

{Abandoned in the year 1904.}

{d = Deficit.}

DELAWARE DIVISION CANAL. – 47.

This canal was sold in 1858 by the State of Pennsylvania to the Sunbury and Erie Railroad Company and it has since been resold to the Delaware Division Canal Company.

This latter company leased the canal in 1866 to the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company, receiving eight per cent on the stock, $1,633,350 and six per cent on the bonds, $800,000.

Constructed originally with locks only eleven feet wide, it was operated with great inconvenience until the year 1860. At that time the width of the locks was enlarged to twenty-two feet, corresponding to the locks on the rest of the Lehigh canal, in connection with which it is operated.

{See also Lehigh Coal and Navigation Co.}

{a = average.}

ERIE DIVISION – 48, 49, 50.

FRENCH CREEK CANAL.

BEAVER CANAL.

ERIE EXTENSION.

These canals furnished two routes between Lake Erie and the Ohio river with the portion from Lake Conneaut to Lake Erie in common.

They were sold to the Erie Canal Company in 1845 by the State of Pennsylvania, and this company was absorbed by the Pennsylvania Canal Company in 1870. They were operated until the end of the season of 1871, when they were abandoned.

French Creek Canal.

{d = Deficit.}

Beaver Canal.

{a = Average. d = Deficit.}

SCHUYLKILL CANAL. – 51.

{On the accompanying map this canal should be shown in orange rather than red.}

This canal, one of the oldest, had a more prosperous history than some of the other canals.

It was chartered, in 1815, with the purpose of opening up one of the richest anthracite coal fields of Pennsylvania. The work was begun in 1816 and about 1825 the canal was in operation between Mount Carbon and Philadelphia.

The company did an extremely lucrative business until the beginning of railroad competition in 1842, when the Philadelphia and Reading railroad began competing for the coal trade. The canal could not compete successfully with the railroad and, in order to do so, undertook extensive enlargements. In 1846 and 1847 the depth was increased to six feet, the number of locks was decreased from one hundred and twenty to seventy-one, and the canal made available for boats of one hundred and seventy tons.

This outlay, together with great flood damage in 1850, reduced the company to bankruptcy and although the canal was repaired and operated in 1851, nevertheless, in 1852, it went through a reorganization.

The company of 1852 took up the contest with the railroads, and showed great energy in that direction until 1870, when the Philadelphia and Reading put an end to the conflict by leasing the canal property for nine hundred and ninety-nine years, paying an annual rental of $655,000.

The canal receipts decreased steadily under the railroad management. In 1898 and thereafter only 89.88 miles were operated between Port Clinton and Philadelphia, and in 1904 the whole canal was abandoned.

The freight rate on this canal varied, for various commodities, from one cent to two and one-half cents a ton per mile, the ton being a gross ton of twenty-two hundred and forty pounds.

In 1872, two years after the lease to the Philadelphia and Reading railroad, there were forty-seven lift-locks, eighteen stop-locks, seven guard-locks, and seventeen guard-locks with lift also. Of these locks seventeen were of cut stone, two were of cement, and the remainder were composite, i.e., timber backed with rubble masonry.

The following shows the variation in the traffic on this canal:

{d = Deficit.}

{* in original text.}

THE LEHIGH COAL AND NAVIGATION COMPANY. – 52,53.

In the year 1793 a company was formed under the title of the "Lehigh Coal Mine Company" which acquired, by purchase and under State warrants, about five-sixths of the anthracite coal land now owned by the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company.

This company opened the coal mines and appropriated some money to open a road from the mines to the landings, a distance of nine miles. Failing to obtain from the stockholders any adequate sum for this purpose, the mines were allowed to lie idle for a number of years. In the meantime, however, the stockholders endeavored to secure legislative action looking to the improvement of the Lehigh river. Several laws were passed as a result of their efforts, but none of real benefit to them.

A lease of one vein of coal was given by them in 1807 with the privilege of mining iron ore as well. The parties securing this lease failed to make a success of the business and soon after abandoned the lease.

Again, in 1813, the company leased their property for ten years, granting also the right of cutting lumber for boats. The company holding this lease agreed to market ten thousand bushels of coal a year. The entire consideration demanded by the Lehigh company was the introduction of this quantity of coal into the Philadelphia market. The lessees paid four dollars a ton to a contractor for hauling the coal from the mines to the river, over the above mentioned road. This contract resulted in loss to the contractor.

At the river the coal was enclosed in timber boxes, shaped like crude flat-bottomed boats, and called "arks." These arks, five in number, were despatched down the river, being carried along by the current. Of the five ark loads, so despatched, two reached Philadelphia in safety, the other three being wrecked in the passage.

The price at which the coal was sold to Messrs. White and Hazard, twenty-one dollars a ton, did not cover the expenses and losses incurred by the lessees, and owing to this fact the business was abandoned.

Messrs. White and Hazard were determined to obtain more of this coal, and in 1817 obtained a lease of the property for twenty years. The sole conditions of this lease were the marketing of forty thousand bushels of coal a year, in consideration for which the lessees were to pay the owners one ear of corn annually.

Having obtained this lease, Messrs. White and Hazard applied to the Legislature for authority to improve the Lehigh river. In 1818 an act was passed granting this authority. The Legislature, while granting this privilege, reserved the right to compel this firm to extend a slack-water system the entire distance from Easton to Stoddartsville if dissatisfied with the navigation provided.

A survey of the property was commenced in April of this year. The instruments used were borrowed from the Delaware and Schuylkill Canal Company. These were, in fact, the only instruments in Philadelphia at that time.

In attempting to form a stock company, Messrs. White, Hanto and Hazard found it necessary to separate the river improvement from the land improvement. Accordingly two companies were formed. The Lehigh Navigation Company was formed in August, 1818, to undertake the river improvements; the Lehigh Coal Company in October of the same year, to build a road from the mines to the river. This dual organization was due to the fact that some people believed in the river improvement, but were skeptical about the value of the anthracite coal, while others regarded the river improvement as a dangerous experiment, but had faith in the value of the coal fields.

The capital stock of the navigation company was fixed at $50,000, and the owners of the stock were to receive all earnings up to twenty-five per cent on their holdings annually. All earnings above this were to go to Messrs. White, Hanto and Hazard.

The grading of the road from the mines to the river, a distance of nine miles, was completed in 1819. This is said to be the first road in this country laid out with instruments and built to well planned grades, and possibly the first road built, without undulations, in any country in which so many natural obstacles to such a road existed.

In 1820 White and Hazard absorbed Hanto’s interests in these concerns, and the two companies were combined under the name, "Lehigh Navigation and Coal Company." Additional stock to the amount of $20,000 was issued at this time for improving the navigation, and three hundred and sixty-five tons of coal were sent to Philadelphia for sale. This quantity completely stocked the market and was disposed of with difficulty.

In 1821 the capital stock was again increased, the name was changed to "The Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company," and the plan of distribution of the earnings was changed so that thereafter Messrs. White and Hazard were merely stockholders in the company. The amount raised by this stock issue was $50,000, which was expended in further improvements in the river navigation. In this year one thousand and seventy-three tons of anthracite coal were sent to Philadelphia.

In the following year, 1822, an act was passed incorporating the company and the stock was still further increased by $38,950.

The arks, so called, used in transporting this coal, were rectangular boxes from sixteen to eighteen feet wide, and from twenty to twenty-five feet long, resembling a rough scow. At first two of these were joined together by hinges, and later the number of sections increased to eight or nine. They were steered by a long oar, like a raft. Machinery was introduced for jointing and putting together the planks of which these arks were built, and the men became so expert in building them that five men could build and launch a section in forty-five minutes. These arks were broken up at the end of their journey and the lumber sold. The men employed in guiding them down-stream walked back to the upper end of their route and brought down another consignment.

The corporation was granted a license to receive tolls on this river navigation, but did not collect any tolls until the year 1827.

This method of transporting coal caused the consumption of so much timber that the river was improved in 1823 for sixteen miles above Mauch Chunk, for the purpose of bringing down the timber for building arks. These improvements gave rise to another increase to the capital stock of $96,050, making the entire capitalization at the end of 1823, $500,000.

In 1825 the demand for coal had increased to such proportions that 28,393 tons were sent down the Lehigh and 7,143 were sent down the Schuylkill, which was now open to navigation. The coal trade had grown to such proportions that a railroad was built in 1827 on the road from the mines to the river. There was at that time only one other railroad in operation in the country, and that was only three miles long. This railroad built by the Lehigh Company sloped from the mines to the river without any up grade in the entire nine miles. The slope was sufficiently steep so that the cars loaded with coal ran from the mines to the river under the influence of gravity. The empties were then drawn back to the mines by mules. On the down trip these mules were loaded in cars, with the coal.

In 1827 the capitalization was increased by the issue of new stock to the amount of $500,000, and it was determined to establish a complete slack-water navigation on the Lehigh, that would be navigable in either direction. The improvements up to this time had consisted in dams and channel work to facilitate the passage of the arks, and the change in system was a radical one.

At this time, the construction of the Delaware Division canal became a certainty; therefore, the Lehigh company had only to provide for the necessary canals and locks between Easton and Mauch Chunk. The dimensions of the canal were fixed at a width of sixty-feet at water-surface and five feet in depth. The locks were to be one hundred feet long and twenty-two feet wide, adapted to boats of one hundred and twenty tons. The Lehigh slack-water navigation was completed in 1829, and the Delaware Division canal was not navigable until nearly three years later. The failure of the contractors to complete the Delaware Division canal was very costly to the Lehigh company. Arks were the only form of boats that could be used on the Delaware during these three years, and they were very expensive to move on the improved Lehigh slack-water navigation. Moreover, when complete, the locks of the Delaware Division canal were only half as wide as those of the Lehigh, thereby preventing through transportation in the large boats, so that in its early history the Delaware Division canal was a serious handicap to the Lehigh.

In 1835 the extension of the Lehigh canal from Mauch Chunk to Stoddartsville was undertaken in compliance with legislative enactment. In 1837 the Legislature allowed the capital stock to be increased to $1,600,000 and repealed so much of their former act as effected the improvement of navigation between White Haven and Stoddartsville. In 1838 the canal extension from Mauch Chunk to White Haven was completed by means of high lifts and the obligations to the State thereby met.

In 1841 the Lehigh canal was visited by a flood that damaged the works so seriously as to render them entirely useless. Owing to this fact, an impression was created that the property was destroyed. As a result of this damage it was necessary, for a time, to put the canal under the management of trustees for the benefit of the creditors. The canal was restored in the following year from Easton to Mauch Chunk and in 1844 to White Haven.

The depth of the canal was increased at this time and other improvements made. The Legislature allowed the increase of the capital stock so as to cover the actual cost of the canal, provided that the total amount should not exceed $6,000,000.

The canal suffered again from flood damage in 1851, although somewhat less severely than in 1841. Repairs were immediately made increasing the depth of the canal and locks to six feet, in this year.

The financial position of the company was much improved in 1850 by the funding of the claims of the creditors, in whose interests trustees had been appointed in 1842. In 1851 provision was made for converting outstanding bonds into stock, still further strengthening the company.

In 1860 the Delaware Division canal was increased in size so as to admit boats of the same size as the Lehigh, thus conferring great benefit upon the latter.

In 1862 the canal was again visited by a damaging flood and in the year following the canal was repaired, except that part above Mauch Chunk, which was then abandoned.

In 1866 the Lehigh took a lease of the Delaware Division canal for nine hundred and ninety-nine years, and the two have been operated as a single canal ever since. The Lehigh company agreed to pay six per cent annually on the bonds of the Delaware company, amounting to $800,000, to assume the obligation of paying them, and to pay eight per cent annually on the stock, $1,633,350. In 1878 the date of payment of these bonds was extended to 1898 and the dividend payment on the Delaware stock decreased from eight per cent to four per cent per annum. In 1898 the date of payment of the bonds was extended to 1948 and the rate on them decreased from six per cent to four per cent.

The Lehigh company owns valuable railroad properties, built as adjuncts of the canal. These railroads, combined with the coal properties, have so increased in value as to form the main asset of the company.

The Lehigh and Susquehanna railroad was built by this company in the years 1837 to 1844. It was designed to connect the Lehigh canal with the North Branch canal of the Pennsylvania system. It extended from Whitehaven to Wilkesbarre, a distance of about twenty miles, and cost originally about $1,120,000. A description of the present condition of the coal and railroad properties is beyond the scope of the present work.

In the year 1871 the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company leased its railroad properties to the Central Railroad Company of New Jersey for an annual rental equal to one-third the gross receipts from their operation. In 1873 the same company contracted to operate the Lehigh canal properties, to assume all the obligations involved and to pay an annual rental of $200,000 to the Lehigh company.

In 1876 the Central Railroad of New Jersey was put in the hands of a receiver. As a result of this, the canal contract was abandoned by the railroad company, and the operation of the canals was resumed in 1877 by the Lehigh company.

The Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company derives to-day large revenues from its coal and railroad properties and its securities are closely held. There is a small annual loss from the operation of the canals, larger than appears in the accompanying table. This table does not show loss due to capital account nor to extraordinary repairs which are frequent.

In 1839 the lower section of the canal, extending from Mauch Chunk to the Delaware river at Easton, was reported as follows:

Canals sixty to sixty-five feet wide at top water-line, forty-five feet wide at bottom and five feet deep.

Locks

Dams – 8

Total fall of canal, 352.2 feet.

TABLE SHOWING TONS OF COAL TRANSPORTED ON THE LEHIGH CANAL UP TO THE YEAR 1839.

It was estimated at this time, 1839, that the total cost of conveying freight on this canal per ton per mile, including tolls, was 1.6 cents.

{The below statement includes the Delaware Division canal after 1890.}

{d = Deficit.}

The report of the entire operation of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company for 1902 shows a capitalization of $35,270,693, and values the Lehigh canal improvements at about $2,225,300. The total net receipts of the company for that year were reported as being $2,430,135 from it railroad properties and coal lands. The deficit from the operation of its canals for the same year was $77,037, owing to flood damage.

UNION CANAL. – 54.

Including the Pine Grove Branch.

The project of connecting the Schuylkill and the Delaware with the Susquehanna dates back to the eighteenth century. Two companies were formed with the project in view, one in 1791 under the name of Schuylkill and Susquehanna Navigation Company, the other in 1792 under the name Delaware and Schuylkill Canal Company. These two companies were united, but nothing came of their project.

In 1811 a new company was incorporated by the Pennsylvania Legislature under the name, "Union Canal Company of Pennsylvania."

The canal, leaving the Susquehanna at Middletown, joined the Schuylkill at Reading, following the left bank of the Swatara and of the Hocken. It was completed in 1827.

The Pine Grove Branch, commenced as a feeder branch or ditch in 1828, was made into a navigable way to the coal field in 1832.

Originally constructed for twenty-five ton boats, the canal was enlarged in 1850 in its western part and in the Pine Grove branch, and in 1855 in the eastern part as well, so as to allow the passage of eighty-ton boats. The cost of this enlargement, together with the failure of the expected increase in business, resulted in financial embarrassment, and the canal was operated by trustees for bondholders after 1858.

The Pine Grove branch was abandoned in 1862, and the remainder of the canal in 1885.

The tonnage had decreased from 205,517 tons in 1858 to 16,165 tons in 1884.

The capitalization of the company was as follows:

{a = Average. d = Deficit.}

SUSQUEHANNA AND TIDE-WATER CANAL. – 55.

This canal served as an extension to tide-water of the Pennsylvania canal system. Two distinct companies were organized for this purpose, one in the State of Pennsylvania (the Susquehanna Canal Company), the other in Maryland (Tide-water Canal Company); but the first of these absorbed the second by stock purchase, so that the Susquehanna Canal Company was the real owner of both lines.

The maximum tonnage of 528,000 was in 1864, and since that time the railroad competition caused steady decrease in tonnage till the canal was abandoned in 1895.

During the latter years of this canal, it was operated by the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company, which leased the canal in 1872 at an annual rental of $7,000, plus the interest on the canal bonds, plus one-half the net revenue of the canal, with three per cent guaranteed on the capital stock.

The capitalization in 1890 was as follows:

This canal showed a rapidly decreasing tonnage after 1880, and in 1895 the total tonnage reported was 11,021 tons. It was never operated after that year.

{d = Deficit.}

CHESAPEAKE AND DELAWARE CANAL. – 60.

This project was conceived in the eighteenth century, and in 1799 a concession was granted to a company by the State of Maryland, and was agreed to by the State of Delaware.

The work was begun in 1804, but was repeatedly interrupted, and in 1822, under a reorganization of the company, the States of Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania, in conjunction with the United States Government, subscribed to the stock of the reorganized company.

The line of the canal extends across the peninsula at the narrowest point, from Delaware City to Chesapeake Bay, a little south of the straight line joining Baltimore and Philadelphia.

It is built with swing drawbridges and rapid acting locks and is an efficient ship canal. Through it pass each year great numbers of passengers on the swift Baltimore and Philadelphia boats, besides large quantities of miscellaneous freight.

{a = Average.}

CHESAPEAKE AND OHIO CANAL. – 61.

As early as 1774, General Washington appears to have conceived the idea of opening up a navigable waterway from the Potomac to the Ohio.

In 1774 he obtained, from the Virginia Legislature, a law authorizing the citizens who wished, to undertake the improvement of the Potomac river as far as Wills creek (Cumberland).

Maryland objected to the proposition on the ground that the improvement of the Potomac would divert business from Baltimore and, as the river was a boundary between the two states, concurrent action was necessary.

The question was taken up again in 1784 by a commission from the two states, of which commission George Washington was a member. The work of this commission served as the basis for the formation of the Potomac River Company. The two States each took a portion of the stock. The stock was rapidly subscribed and in 1785, the whole amount being taken, the enterprise was launched with George Washington as the first president.

The company in 1820 had failed to complete the work, but had accomplished a good deal. The promoters recognized, however, that the enterprise would not be remunerative and soon after it was abandoned.

In 1822 the idea of substituting a canal in place of improved river navigation was proposed, and in 1823 the Potomac company was authorized to transfer its charter to the Potomac Canal Company, formed under the laws of Maryland and Virginia. The lack of consent of the United States caused this company to give up the project. Being reorganized in 1825 under the name of Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company, with authority to extend the canal to Baltimore, it was finally in a position to undertake the work, with the consent of Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and the United States.

The United States treasury subscribed for 10,000 shares of the stock. The work was commenced in 1828 and completed in 1850, when it had cost $11,071,176.

The canal follows the left bank of the Potomac from Georgetown. It is fed entirely from the Potomac, from which it separates at only one point, Pawpaw Bend, in order to avoid a long curve in the river. The canal and river are connected by numerous locks known as "feeder" locks.

In 1889 the capitalization of the company was as follows:

The competition of the railroads decreased the receipts of the canal steadily, and in 1889, when much of the canal was destroyed by flood, there was neither money nor credit to carry out the necessary repairs.

The canal was consequently abandoned and the sale of the State’s interest was ordered. The bondholders of 1844, dissatisfied with the terms of the sale, got possession of the canal, and in 1891, by a court decree, took up the outstanding bonds of 1878, spent about $400,000 in repairs, and put the canal in operation.

Since that time the canal has been operated by the trustees of these bondholders, appointed by the court for successive terms of four years.

It is now in operation transporting between 200,000 and 300,000 tons yearly, mainly coal.

JAMES RIVER AND KANAWHA CANAL. – 64.

The James River Company was incorporated in 1785 by the Legislature of the State of Virginia for the improvement of the James river. It constructed a canal around the falls of the river between Richmond and Westham seven miles long, and improved the river as far as Buchanan.

A second company of the same name, taking the place of the old, in the interest of the State, reconstructed the canal from Richmond to Westham and improved the Kanawha, by dams and navigation passes, from Charleston to the Ohio.

Finally, in 1832, the Legislature of Virginia incorporated the James River and Kanawha Company, of which the organization was perfected in 1835. The State subscribed for three-fifths of the capital stock of the new company, and placed a valuation of $1,350,000 on the work already done, and on debts due the State from the original company.

The new canal was finished between Richmond and Lynchburg in 1840, with forty-seven lift locks and a total lift of five hundred and fifty-five feet. The rest of the canal was not completed until 1851 and then only as far as Buchanan. The work above that point was never completed.

The capital stock of that company was $5,000,000, of which $1,000,000 represented the work of the old company. The cost of the works amounted to more than $10,000,000. The company was never able to pay its charges and the operation of the canal was abandoned.

In 1880 the works were sold to the Richmond and Allegheny Railroad. This company failed and the line of the canal was sold to the Chesapeake and Ohio railroad, which made use of the old tow-path for a road-bed; so that now a portion of the old canal is used as the road-bed of a railroad, and the remainder is abandoned.

ALBEMARLE AND CHESAPEAKE CANAL. – 65.

The two parts of this canal open a continuous waterway from the Chesapeake to Albemarle Sound. This waterway, together with the Delaware and Raritan and the Chesapeake and Delaware, was designed to furnish a continuous, coastwise, inland water route.

The first part of the canal extends from the southern branch of Elizabeth river into Currituck Sound and the second extends from Currituck Sound to North river, a branch of Albemarle Sound.

The approaches to this canal are being dredged to a depth of nine feet and eighty feet wide, by the National Government, under authority of an act adopted in 1890. The United States Government had spent a large sum on these approaches before that project was adopted. The whole amount expended by the Government amounted to about $300,000 up to 1903. During the calendar year 1902, the number of vessels passing through the canal was three thousand, three hundred and twenty-five, with from three to nine feet draught and an average tonnage of one hundred and nine tons.

DISMAL SWAMP CANAL. – 66.

This canal, begun under a joint charter of Virginia and North Carolina, was opened in 1794. Patrick Henry was a liberal subscriber to the stock in 1791. The canal was enlarged and was opened for navigation on the thirty-first of December, 1828.

The canal connects the waters of the Elizabeth river with the Pasquotank river in North Carolina, an arm of Albemarle Sound.

The canal proved to be of great value in the war of 1812 as a means of transporting war supplies, free from the danger of capture by the enemy’s cruisers.

In 1899 the depth of waterway was only two and five-tenths feet, although originally it had been six feet. In that year the United States Government undertook to dredge the approaches to a depth of ten feet, and a width of one hundred feet in Deep creek, and Turners cut in Croatan Sound, to a depth of twelve feet, and a width of two hundred feet. The cost of this work to 1903 was $251,196.

The private company, owning the canal at the same time, deepened the channel so that vessels of ten feet draught could pass through; but owing to shallow places in the canal, vessels of more than nine feet draught do not pass through.

The total number of vessels passing through the canal in 1902 was thirty-nine hundred and five with an average tonnage of two hundred and forty-eight for the barges.

The freight passing through in 1901 was 214,263 tons valued at $1,485,409. In 1902, the freight passing through had increased largely, being valued at $2,485,161.

NEW BERNE AND BEAUFORT CANAL. – 68.

The Clubfoot and Harlowe Creek canal, so called by the United States Engineers.

A large part of the water route from New Berne to Beaufort consists of navigable waterways improved by the United States.

The distances are as follows: New Berne to Clubfoot creek, twenty-one miles; thence to Clubfoot and Harlowe canal, five miles; thence through the canal three and two-tenths miles to Harlowe creek; thence to Newport river, two and eight-tenths miles; thence to Beaufort, seven miles.

The project, adopted in 1883 and begun in 1884, provided for a thirty-foot waterway, five feet deep throughout; but work has been suspended pending the sale of the Clubfoot and Harlowe canal to the Government.

The depth of the canal, in fact, is only two feet, due to shoaling, and practically the whole commerce consists of rafts and logs.

In 1900 the total tonnage conveyed over the canal amounted to 35,779 tons against 66,974 tons in 1902, showing a general increase.

WATEREE CANAL. – 72.

CATAWBA CANAL. – 73.

LANDSFORD CANAL. – 74.

The Wateree or Catawba river unites with the Congaree river to form the Santee. The canals along the Catawba were built by the State about 1826 in order to extend navigation above Camden, where it stopped then and also to-day.

These canals were never fully completed and were never made use of. The names, even, given to the different small canals, connecting the different ports, never became fixed. Various descriptions of these canals both name and divide them differently.

LORICK’S CANAL. – 77.

DREHER’S CANAL. – 78.

BANKNIGHT’S CANAL. – 79.

These canals form a series of canals along the banks of the Saluda river, utilizing the river bed where possible.

The names, divisions and dimensions of these canals are variously given and they appear never to have been of any great importance.

The divisions and dimensions given in the accompanying table are those of H. Vétillart.

AUGUSTA CANAL. – 80.

The canal, projected about 1845 by citizens of Augusta for a water-supply and for water-power, was completed in 1847 and enlarged in 1875.

Although belonging to the city, it was operated by a private corporation for a time and is now operated by the city itself, which does not collect any toll for its use as a waterway.

{No tolls are charged.}

OKEECHOBEE CANAL. – 84.

The Atlantic and Gulf Coast canal and Okeechobee Land Company, incorporated under the laws of Florida to drain the region of the Okeechobee, was authorized to make use of the natural watercourses and to construct the necessary canals.

The company built, under this authorization, between Lake Okeechobee and the upper part of the Caloosahatchie river, a canal twenty-two feet wide and five feet deep, minimum dimensions.

This canal, built with no intention of navigation, established, as a matter of fact, a navigable waterway three hundred miles long from the Gulf of Mexico into the middle of Florida by way of San Carlos Bay, Caloosahatchie river, the Kissimmee river, Cypress and Tohopekaliga. Steamboats sometimes pass up it, but there is no regular service.

CARONDELET CANAL. – 85. (Old canal.)

The Carondelet canal was constructed in 1794 by the Governor of Carondelet with slave labor, furnished by the residents.

The canal forms, with bayou St. John, a continuous waterway between New Orleans and Lake Ponchartrain.

This franchise was granted by the Territory of Louisiana, in 1805, to the Orleans Navigation Company. In 1852 it was granted by the State of Louisiana to the New Orleans Canal and Navigation Company, which was, in turn, replaced in 1857 by the Carondelet Canal and Navigation Company. The franchise of this latter company was, in 1858, limited in duration to fifty years.

This canal and others of Louisiana are somewhat uncertain as to nomenclature and the names here given are those of H. Vétillart.

In 1880 the total tonnage carried on the canal was 140,988 tons; in 1889 it was 66,476 tons and in 1904, 34,850 tons.

OHIO CANALS. – 92, 93, 94.

The first step toward the construction of the canals of Ohio was taken by the Governor of the State in 1819, when he recommended surveys for a navigable waterway between Lake Erie and the Ohio. In the following year the Legislature authorized the surveys.

The construction of the canals was ordered in 1825 and the work was immediately put under way.

Different parts of Ohio, and of the Miami and Erie, were in operation in 1827 and in 1829. The main lines were completed in 1835, and the Walhonding and the Hocking in 1845.

The United States Government gave the State, in 1827-8, a total of 1,230,522 acres of land to be used in aid of this work. The sale of these lands brought in $2,257,487.

The total cost of construction of the entire system was nearly $16,000,000. The cost of maintenance and repairs from 1827 to 1903 was $12,063,849.

These canals, operated originally by the State, were leased to a company in 1861 for ten years, and again in 1871, for another period of ten years. In 1877, however, owing to the destruction of the Hamilton reservoir, the lease of the canal was surrendered. A receiver, appointed at this time, operated the canals from December 1, 1877, to May 15, 1878, at a cost of $45,299, while the earnings reached $69,766.

The board of public works took charge at that time, and have since been in charge of the operation of the canals.

The lessees paid the State, during the sixteen years that they had control of these canals, $331,237.50. This amount is less by far than the receipts under State management at any time in the canals’ history. The total receipts on all the canals of the State in the years 1827 to 1903, inclusive, amounted to $16,562,103, showing a surplus over expenses of $4,498,254 for the entire period. The value of the property is estimated at fully the original cost, so that neglecting the item of interest on the original outlay, this surplus, though small, is a real net profit.

It leaves the Ohio river at Portsmouth whence in runs nearly north along the west side of the Scioto river to Circleville. At that point it crosses the Scioto river to the east side and continues along it to the southern part of Franklin county, where the Columbus feeder empties into the canal. There the canal swings to the east and crosses over the Licking summit to the Tuscarawas river which it strikes at Coshocton, the junction of the Tuscarawas and the Walhonding rivers.

From Coshocton the canal follows up the valley of the Tuscarawas river to its head waters, and then crosses over the summit at Akron, to the valley of the Cuyahoga river, along which the canal extends to Cleveland on Lake Erie.

The Licking summit level, fourteen miles long, now practically although not officially abandoned, was fed by the south-fork Licking feeder. It is four hundred and thirteen feet above the Ohio river and begins one hundred and sixteen miles from Portsmouth, in which distance there are fifty-three locks. From the Licking summit the canal descends one hundred and sixty feet by nineteen locks to Dresden Junction, where there is a side-cut leading into the Muskingum river. Thence the canal ascends by twenty-nine locks, two hundred and thirty-eight feet to the Portage summit. This level, nine miles long, is three hundred and ninety-five feet above Lake Erie, seventy-eight feet above the Licking summit, four hundred and ninety-one feet above the Ohio river at Portsmouth and nine hundred and sixty-eight feet above the level of the sea. This level ends near Akron and the descent of three hundred and ninety-five feet to Lake Erie is accomplished by forty-two locks in the distance of thirty-five miles.

MIAMI AND ERIE CANAL. – 95.

The Miami and Erie canal was commenced in 1825 and completed in 1845, at a total cost of $8,062,681.

The main canal extends from the Ohio river at Cincinnati to Lake Erie at Toledo, a distance of two hundred and forty-four miles. There is also a feeder fourteen miles long, and a second feeder eleven miles long, both navigable, bringing the total mileage of this canal up to two hundred and sixty-nine miles.

There is one summit on this canal, called the Loramie, one hundred miles north of Cincinnati. Originally there were fifty-three locks south of the summit, with a total lift of five hundred and twelve feet. In 1863, however, the outlet of the canal was granted to the city of Cincinnati, ostensibly for sewer and street purposes, thereby cutting off ten locks. This grant has been a great handicap to the canal ant the property, so granted, is now occupied by the P.C.C. & St.L. Ry. Co.

The north end of the summit is one hundred and twenty-three miles south of Toledo and the descent is three hundred and ninety-five feet, accomplished by fifty-two locks.

In 1864 several miles of the Miami and Erie were given to the City of Toledo, but excellent terminal facilities were provided to replace this loss. Electric haulage has been installed on sixty-eight miles of this canal, but has not proved successful. A standard gauge single track is built along the tow-path, on which runs an electric locomotive capable of hauling from five to seven boats in a tow.

In 1872 several miles of the Ohio and Erie canal in the City of Cleveland were granted to the city to the great detriment of the canal.

In 1876 the lower part of the Hocking canal was abandoned and in 1888 the Wabash and Erie canal entire was abandoned.

The remaining portion of the Hocking canal was abandoned in 1894, and all but six miles of the Walhonding in 1896.

At present there are under way extensive repairs of the Ohio canal system and the restoration of its connection with the Muskingum River improvement, now under the control of the United States Government. These repairs will give only four and one-half feet of water, but the Ohio Canal Association is working ultimately for an enlarged prism, and the rebuilding of abandoned works, so as to provide a seven-foot system of navigation from the Great Lakes to the gulf.

TABLE SHOWING THE EXPENDITURES EACH YEAR FOR SUPERINTENDENCE, REPAIRS AND COST OF COLLECTION ON THE OHIO CANALS, FROM 1827 TO 1903, INCLUSIVE.

TABLE SHOWING THE RECEIPTS ON ALL THE CANALS, FROM 1827 TO 1903, INCLUSIVE.

{a Receipts from Walhonding canal included in Ohio canal receipts.}

{* From lessees and receiver from 1861 to 1878, inclusive.}