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Delaware and Hudson Canal High Falls, New York:. A Case Study Photos by Shaun Boyce . The D&H . Goal: Link coal mines owned by William and Maurice Wurts to transport anthracite coal from PA to the Hudson River and NYC. It opened in 1828 and closed in 1898.
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Delaware and Hudson CanalHigh Falls, New York: A Case Study Photos by Shaun Boyce
The D&H • Goal: Link coal mines owned by William and Maurice Wurts to transport anthracite coal from PA to the Hudson River and NYC. • It opened in 1828 and closed in 1898. • Other canals had been built: Erie (NY), Morris (NJ).
The first 16 miles • A Gravity railroad from Carbondale to Honesdale. • Designed by John B. Jervis, the D&H chief engineer. • Used steam engines, incl. the Stourbridge Lion and inclines to cart coal. • The coal crossed the HoosicMtns.
From Honesdale, PA to the Rondout (Kingston) • 108 miles and 108 locks • The canal itself was 32’ at the top, 20’ at bottom, depth of 4’. • Locks were 76’ x 10’, and canal boats carried 20-30 tons of coal. • Speed was 1-3 mph. • Pulled by mules, it was a 7-10 day roundtrip • In later years the canal was widened and deepened so boats could carry 140 to
Locks 16-20 High Falls, NY
Family Life • Italian and Irish immigrants labored to build the canal. • Families lived aboard the canal barges. • Everyone worked. • Orphaned children called hoagies would work 15-20 hour days. • D&H policy was to save a mule before a child if both fell into the water. • Villages sprang up along the canal as industries were created along the route.
Results of Canals on Hudson Valley • Direct: • The economy in the valley expanded as the cost of transporting goods dropped by 90%. • Canal fees kept taxes. • Indirect: • NYS became the financial capital of the world. • Upstate settlement led NYS to be the most populous state. • The Hudson became part of a national transportation network.