The Delaware Canal

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The Delaware Canal Page 12

by Marie Murphy Duess


  Daniel Garber, who lived in Lumberville, was born in Indiana and settled on the Cuttalossa Creek. He taught at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and his work won numerous national awards.

  After visiting Lathrop’s New Hope home, Florence and Henry Snell, both acclaimed artists from England, relocated to the village. Florence won the McMillan landscape prize from the Association of Women Painters and Sculptors in New York in 1913. Henry taught at the Philadelphia School of Design for Women from 1899 to 1943.

  Fern Coppedge, Canal in Winter. Courtesy of Gratz Gallery, New Hope, PA.

  Fern Isabel Coppedge may be the artist who painted the largest number of Bucks County landscapes, although some of her art was produced in Gloucester, Massachusetts, when she spent summers there. Like Redfield, she tied her canvasses to trees during winter storms, and she was fastidious in her attention to the effects of changing light on a landscape. She became a member of the “Philadelphia Ten,” a group of women painters who banded together to show their work in exhibitions once a year. In April 1922, the Christian Science Monitor published this statement about this group of American artists:

  While a certain coterie of men artists are striving for “atmosphere” and find in harshness of subject and technique what purports to be the strength and power of masculine intelligence, the traditions of the decorative and beautiful are being perpetuated quietly, conscientiously, by the sisters of the brush.69

  John Fulton Folinsbee, Lock, New Hope. Courtesy of Gratz Gallery, New Hope, PA.

  It is easy to understand why artists and early photographers were so attracted to the Delaware Division Canal. Courtesy of Historic Langhorne Association.

  Most of these artists lived beyond the end of the canal age, long after the Delaware Canal had ceased to be an avenue of commerce. They witnessed the once busy canal become empty, one boat after another disappearing from the water, its rough and ready captains and the young mule drivers in bare feet passing their studios less and less frequently. The sound of the tinkling bells and padded hoofbeats of the mules faded. Yet most of the artists remained living and working on the now quiet and peaceful canal—perhaps they liked it even better in its serenity.

  Artists are still drawn to the canal’s beauty. In a 2007 summer boat excursion on the Delaware Canal with the New Hope Canal Boat Company, two artists were seen sitting—one on the towpath and one on the berm—their canvasses in front of them, their paint-stained palettes beside them, as they immortalized the present canal just as Redfield, Schofield, Lathrop, Coppedge, Folinsbee and Wagner had during the previous century.

  Chapter 12

  National Historic Landmark

  The seminal role of the canals in the ferment of the Industrial Revolution is little appreciated today. Yet it can be traced directly to Josiah White and Erskine Hazard, owners of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company, and their quest for expanding markets for their coal…The decline of the canals started with the building of the railroads and continued with the adoption of coke as the primary fuel for smelting iron. As more rail lines were built…less traffic went by the canal.

  —Ann Bartholomew and Lance Metz, Delaware and Lehigh Canals

  Demise of the Canals

  During the years that the Pennsylvania canals enjoyed moderate success as a major transportation mode for moving coal, lumber and other goods, the railroads were being established as well. New immigrants arriving in America were being put to work laying the rails in all directions, while better and bigger steam engines were built.

  After the Civil War, the country experienced a wave of prosperity, followed by a severe economic panic in 1873 that affected the entire nation. As a result of government-promoted speculative credit, there was a huge overexpansion of the nation’s railroad network. The Coinage Act of 1873 created a depreciation of silver. A chain of bank failures caused the stock market to close for ten days. Numerous railroads went bankrupt, and businesses failed. It was also the beginning of the decline of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company.

  In 1866, at the height of the canal era, 792,000 tons of coal were pulled upon the canal annually. In 1915, that amount dropped to 130,000 tons, and in 1931, only 65,000 tons moved from Easton to Bristol.70 With the arrival of the freight trains, the American canals began to decline.

  Railroads took over as the most efficient means of transporting anthracite coal and other cargo in the mid- to late nineteenth century, and the once busy canals became obsolete. Courtesy of the Historic Langhorne Association.

  Additionally, roadways were being improved, and the automobile was taking over as the most expedient and popular means of transportation, followed by the sturdier truck. Use of canals in other parts of the country was decreasing rapidly in the late part of the nineteenth century. Coal was still the predominant fuel for homes and industry in the early part of the twentieth century, but now the coal companies were using rail and automotive means to transport it to even the smallest towns and villages, and trucks brought the coal right up to the houses, mills and factories.

  The only reason the Delaware Canal lasted as long as it did was due to the fact that Delaware Canal coal yards still needed deliveries, and unlike most of the other canals in the country that stopped operations in the late 1800s, there was no parallel railroad from Easton to Bristol along the Delaware Division. It wasn’t until the autumn of 1931 that the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company ended all commercial navigation on the canal when the costs of the operation couldn’t be supported by the diminishing revenue.

  Delaware State Park and Landmark Designation

  The canal was left to the leisure boaters and Sunday picnics that had always been popular along the picturesque and now peaceful Delaware Canal. Nature took over as the company’s nurturing of the canal declined, and it fell into disrepair, especially after floods and freshets. Residents along the canal who believed in the importance of its history and who loved its beauty worried that it would be lost forever and that the LC&N would give it to the state to pave over and make into a roadway. Committed individuals formed a group called the Delaware Valley Protective Association and lobbied the LC&N to deed the land and the canal to the commonwealth as a gift to the people of Pennsylvania. They succeeded, and on the very same day that the last empty canalboat made its return trip from Bristol to Easton, the LC&N deeded forty miles of the canal to Pennsylvania.

  The ceremonial transfer took place on October 18, 1931, on the grounds of the Thompson-Neely Mill, a segment of Washington Crossing Historic Park. Governor Gifford Pinchot accepted the deed from William Jay Turner, general counsel for the LC&N. Numerous dignitaries attended, joined by preservation, historical, nature and artistic groups. In his speech, Governor Pinchot declared that all the bridges that crossed the canal would be preserved to “continue to help make the historic canal one of the beauty spots in the United States.”71

  Ceremonies marking the transfer of most of the Delaware Division Canal lands from the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company to the State of Pennsylvania took place on the historic Thompson-Neeley farm, which is now part of the Washington Crossing Historic Park. Author’s collection.

  The canal runs through the Thompson-Neely farm and past the cemetery, where soldiers of the Continental army were buried in unmarked graves during the Revolutionary War. Author’s collection.

  He named the stretch of park the Roosevelt State Park in honor of fellow preservationist and close friend Teddy Roosevelt. To confirm this sentiment on the part of the LC&N, William Turner said that the company had deeded the canal, the towpath and the berm along the canal “to assure perpetuity of the beautiful landscape we have all enjoyed these many years.”72 The LC&N would remain in control of the canals above Easton and would in fact continue to provide the water for the Delaware Division from the slack water of the Lehigh River at Easton.

  There were very interesting plans surrounding the formation of the park. The plans called for three major centers in the park, four minor centers and five specia
l centers, and all would provide canoe and boat concessions. There would be dance boats, repair boats and cabin boats so that families could spend vacations on the canal. Jobs would be created with these concessions, and the state would hire supervisors, foremen, laborers, carpenters and other employees to staff facilities and operate the locks. None of these wonderful plans came to fruition. Once again, floods and freshets took their toll and the park had all it could do to keep the canal from falling in upon itself.

  By 1936, no one wanted to take responsibility for the canal’s repairs. James F. Bogardus, who was the deputy secretary of forests and waters, announced that the granting of a portion of the canal was unconstitutional. He claimed that this explained why the state wasn’t responsible for repairing the aqueduct at Point Pleasant that had been badly damaged by a flood—the LC&N still owned it and was responsible for its repair. The LC&N refused to assume responsibility, although the company did make minor repairs. The arguments and litigation went on until 1940, while residents along the canal where the water was stagnant complained of mosquitoes, unsightly weeds and general dismay about what was supposed to be an active waterway.

  In 1947, the state finally appropriated $200,000 toward work on the canal, starting with the Point Pleasant aqueduct. Water would fill the canal again. However, the Durham aqueduct collapsed. It was repaired by 1951, but in 1955 the entire Delaware Valley was devastated by floods brought on by Hurricane Diane, and repairs on the canal would cost as much as $300,000.

  The Delaware Canal as it is today in front of Chez Odette’s, both of which suffered major damage during recent floods. Author’s collection.

  The canal was never to be completely filled with water again. Standing water that was present in sections wasn’t suitable for swimming, and in many places the water wasn’t high enough for boating of any sort. There were additional hazards such as fallen trees, cave-ins and litter—picnic tables, chairs, pieces of cars, shopping carts. A small section of the canal was covered over with a parking lot.

  Yet efforts on behalf of the beautiful historic waterway never ended. In 1974, in response to an application prepared by C.P. Yoder, then the curator of the National Canal Museum in Easton, the canal was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Due to further efforts made by Bucks County residents like Virginia Forrest and the Swope brothers, who had been canallers since childhood, the canal was dedicated a National Historic Landmark and the towpath a National Recreation Trail in 1978. The length of the canal was renamed the Delaware Canal State Park.

  In 1989, the Delaware and Lehigh Navigation Canal National Heritage Corridor was created by Congress, which allows the National Park Service to assist state and local governments and private agencies to preserve and interpret the canal. The corridor’s mission is to preserve heritage and conserve green space for public use in Bucks, Carbon, Lehigh, Luzerne and Northampton Counties in Pennsylvania.

  Best Friends

  Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has.

  —Margaret Mead

  The canal’s many enthusiasts began to gather together in 1982 under the leadership of Betty Orlemann and called their nonprofit organization Friends of the Delaware Canal (FODC). Their vision is to restore and improve the canal, towpath and berm. It is their greatest desire to restore the water continuously from Easton to Bristol.

  Orlemann recruited friends, neighbors and legislators to help with the preservation of the beloved canal. They piled into boats and pulled on high boots to clean out the debris and weeds. Jim Greenwood, who was a Pennsylvania state senator at the time, became a member of the Friends of the Delaware Canal and secured $50,000 from the Pennsylvania Department of Commerce to create a master plan for the repair and improvement of the canal. With input from the communities along the canal, FODC and other canal authorities, a consultant developed a plan that called for $32 million worth of work. In the meantime, with money they raised on canal walks, lectures and parties, the FODC repainted some of the camelback bridges over the canal, and organized school and service organizations in cleanup projects.

  The lock tender’s house at Lock 11 in New Hope was completely restored and is now the headquarters of the Friends of the Delaware Canal (FODC). Author’s collection.

  According to Susan Taylor, executive director of FODC:

  This master plan created a vision that was able to be implemented. Many of the ideas and projects outlined in the plan have been completed, and we’ve received a great deal of support from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

  After receiving donations from individuals and businesses and grants from the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor and the Pew Charitable Trusts, the FODC restored the lock tender’s house at Lock 11 in New Hope and established its headquarters and interpretation center there. The FODC inspired the creation of a state legislative caucus in hopes of providing continuing and united support. The caucus included State Senator Joe Conti; Dave Heckler as chairperson; six assemblymen; three state senators; Jim Greenwood, who was then a United States congressman; and then–lieutenant governor Mark Schweiker, who would become the forty-fourth governor of Pennsylvania in 2001. The mission of the caucus was to identify governmental agencies and other organizations that could help the canal, provide advocacy and assist in planning and coordinating activities that would impact the canal—always with the objective that it would be structurally sound and fully watered and used for programs that would educate and provide recreational activities and environmental protection.

  Mick Drustrup, Ginger Budny and Betty Orlemann of the FODC paint one of the camelback bridges. The organization works diligently to advocate for the canal’s maintenance and restoration. Courtesy of the Friends of the Delaware Canal.

  The organization has received numerous awards for its work, including four Take Pride in Pennsylvania Awards and three consecutive Take Pride in America Awards. It also received a grant for signage along the canal and raised $100,000 for a long-arm track excavator during a “Pledge for the Dredge” project to begin the much-needed dredging required to restore the channel.

  A case in the lock tender’s house in New Hope displays artifacts that were found along the banks of the canal during restoration. Courtesy of the Friends of the Delaware Canal.

  The model of a lock at the FODC headquarters at Lock 11 demonstrates how a lock works. Courtesy of the Friends of the Delaware Canal.

  When explaining why the FODC is so successful, Susan Taylor said:

  When the canal was in commercial use, a community was created around it. The boatmen interacted with the locktenders, who in turn interacted with the local residents. There were stores and businesses that catered to the boatmen. Together they made the canal work. When the Friends of the Delaware Canal was founded, a “community” was again established to assist in the preservation of the canal, with everyone working together and caring about its welfare.

  The FODC continues its work diligently—just as the environment and weather continue to work against it. Flooding still plagues the canal, water leaks from it and the banks continue to collapse. Yet, it survives, and the FODC continues to advocate for it. “We still envision the entire sixty miles restored, but in the short term, we hope that sections of the canal will be repaired enough for people to enjoy it as it should be enjoyed,” said Taylor.

  The people who live along its towpath and berm, and the Pennsylvanians and tourists who visit the National Historic Landmark (and National Recreation Trail) each year, cherish the historic waterway. They walk its towpath and never tire of its grace. It offers the beauty of nature in all weather and throughout the seasons, and presents an opportunity to savor creation in its lush flora, wading herons and diving kingfishers. It comes alive when the spring peepers hum their sweet songs, and it safeguards the nests of geese and swans. Deer lower their heads to drink of its waters. And children still run giggling, barefoot,
on its velvety towpath.

  Hinge boats were the most common mode of transportation for anthracite coal and other cargo on the Delaware Division Canal. A model of a hinge boat is on display in the museum at Lock 11. Courtesy of the Friends of the Delaware Canal.

  Murals portraying scenes of the canal age adorn the outer walls of a sitting area at Lock 11 in New Hope. Courtesy of the Friends of the Delaware Canal.

  Today, the Delaware Canal serves as a picturesque haven for local residents, tourists, athletes and wildlife. Author’s collection.

  Water in the now idle Delaware Division Canal mirrors the beauty of surrounding trees and foliage. It is a natural aviary for birds and fowl, a home to several species of wildlife and a place where people go to find a quiet peace from a hectic world. Author’s collection.

  In 1931, when the LC&N turned most of the Delaware Division Canal over to the people of Pennsylvania, poet Catherine Curran Smith published a verse in celebration in the Intelligencer. In part it read:

  Its scenes of rural splendor

  Are portrayed by artists’ touch;

  Its winter landscapes immortalized

  By the mighty Redfield’s brush.

  It served mankind a century

  But now its days are spent

  We must preserve its beauty

  And leave nothing to repent.

  Oh, old canal, flow serenely on,

  And may beauty grace your way,

  Throughout the coming centuries,

  As she does at the present day!73

 

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