Delaware and Hudson Canal

In the early 19th century, Philadelphia businessman William Wurts often would leave his affairs aside for weeks at a time to explore the then-sparsely populated northeastern region of the state. He began noticing, mapping, and researching blackish rock outcroppings, becoming the first explorer of the anthracite fields that have since become known as the Coal Region. He believed they could be a valuable energy source, and brought samples back to Philadelphia for testing.[3]

Anthracite coal

Eventually, he convinced his brothers Charles and Maurice to come along with him and see for themselves. Starting in 1812, they began buying and mining large tracts of inexpensive land. They were able to extract several tons of anthracite at a time, but lost most of what they tried to bring back to Philadelphia due to the treacherous waterways that were the main method of transportation in the interior. While the southern reaches of the Coal Region were already beginning to supply Philadelphia, they realized that the areas they had been exploring and mining were well-positioned to deliver coal to New York City, which had experienced an energy crunch after the War of 1812, when restrictions were placed on the import of British coal. Inspired by the new and successful Erie Canal, they envisioned a canal of their own from Pennsylvania to New York, through the narrow valley between the Shawangunk Ridge and the Catskill Mountains, to the Hudson River near Kingston, a route followed by the Old Mine Road, America's first long-distance transportation route.[3]

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D&H Canal map, showing feeder railroads and competition, circa 1865

After several years of lobbying by the Wurtses, the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company was chartered by separate laws in the state of New York and commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1823, allowing William Wurts and his brother Maurice to construct the Delaware and Hudson Canal. The New York law, passed April 23, 1823, incorporated "The President, Managers and Company of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company", and the Pennsylvania law, passed March 13 of the same year, authorized the company "To Improve the Navigation of the Lackawaxen River". The company hired Benjamin Wright, who had engineered the Erie Canal, and his assistant John B. Jervis to survey and plan a route. A primary challenge was the 600-foot (183 m) elevation difference between the Delaware River at Lackawaxen and the Hudson at Rondout. Wright's initial estimated cost of $1.2 million was later revised to $1.6 million (in 1825 dollars).[3]

To attract investment, the brothers arranged for a demonstration of anthracite at a Wall Street coffeehouse in January 1825. The reaction was enthusiastic, and the stock oversubscribed within hours.

Ground was broken on July 13 of that year. After three years of labor by 2,500 men, the canal was opened to navigation in October 1828. It began at Rondout Creek at an area later known as Creeklocks, between Kingston (where the creek fed into the Hudson River) and Rosendale. From there it proceeded southwest alongside Rondout Creek to Ellenville, continuing through the valley of the Sandburg Creek, Homowack Kill, Basha Kill and Neversink River to Port Jervis on the Delaware River. From there the canal ran northwest on the New York side of the Delaware River, crossing into Pennsylvania at Lackawaxen and running on the north bank of the Lackawaxen River to Honesdale.[3]

To get the anthracite from the Wurts' mine in the Moosic Mountains near Carbondale to the canal at Honesdale, the canal company built the Delaware and Hudson Gravity Railroad. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania authorized its construction on April 8, 1826. On August 8, 1829, the D&H's first locomotive, the Stourbridge Lion, made history as the first locomotive to run on rails in the United States.

Barges awaiting coal loads at Honesdale.

Delaware and Hudson Canal Company building as seen in 1876. It was on the southeast corner of Cortlandt and Church Streets in Manhattan. The building was commonly called "The Coal and Iron Exchange".

Business took off as the Wurtses had anticipated, and in 1832 the canal carried 90,000 tons (81,000 tonnes) of coal and three million board-feet (7,080 m³) of lumber. The company invested the profits in improving the canal, making it deeper so larger barges could be used.[3]

In 1850, the Pennsylvania Coal Company constructed its own gravity railroad from the coal fields to the port at Hawley and the canal enjoyed increased traffic, carrying over 300,000 tons of PCC coal in the first season. However, the relationship between the two companies soured after the canal attempted to raise tolls under the argument that canal improvements had reduced costs for the PCC. The dispute led to the courts and was decided in 1863, but by that time the Erie Railroad constructed its extension to Hawley and the PCC moved its shipments to the railroad.[4]

The D&H was also developing railroads, a technology that was continuing to improve and supplant canal transportation at the time, to extend its reach into other Northeastern markets. The D&H also extended its gravity railroad from Carbondale deeper into the coal fields and expanded its capacity. By the time Maurice Wurts died in 1854, the company was reporting profits of 10-24% annually and had paid off its original debt to both states.[3]

The completion of the Erie Railroad through the Delaware Valley in 1848 and its branch to Hawley in 1863 began the end of the canal's days, although it continued to be very successful through the 1870s and '80s. Throughout the rest of the century, canals were perceived as quaint relics of pre-industrial times and began yielding to rail across the country. In 1898, the Delaware and Hudson finally joined them, carrying its last loads from Honesdale to Kingston, as rail could now carry coal more directly to the city, across New Jersey rather than via Kingston. The following year the company dropped the "Canal" from its name, the states authorizing it to abandon the canal if it deemed it suitable and concentrate on its rail interests, which it did.[3]

After the end of the 1898 season, the company opened all the waste weirs and drained the canal. Catskill rail magnate Samuel Coykendall purchased the canal the next summer, reportedly to benefit the Ramapo Water Company for use as a water supply resource[5] But that never came to pass. Instead, Coykendall used the northernmost section, from Rondout to Kingston, to transport Rosendale cement and other general merchandise to the river until abandoning that business in 1904.[6] The canal was never used again.

As the 20th century began, the company used some of the canal right-of-way for its expanding rail operations; some of the rest was sold to various private companies, mainly other, smaller railroads.[3] Developing communities along the route also filled it in as necessary to expand their own neighborhoods, or for safety reasons as when a Port Jervis man supposedly drowned in 1900.[7]

In the early 21st century residents of the town of Deerpark, north of Port Jervis, complained that the canal had been leaking water and causing flooding in the neighborhoods near Cuddebackville in recent years. Orange County, which maintains it in that area, met with town officials and local residents to discuss possible solutions.[8]

The Delaware and Hudson Canal Museum in High Falls, NY.

The ruins of the canal and its associated structures remained standing. The Delaware & Hudson Canal Historical Society was formed in 1967;[9] its museum has an extensive education program and hosts hundreds of area students each season. The Neversink Valley Area Museum was formed in Orange County New York in 1968 and the National Park Service recognized the canal site in Orange County as a National Historic Landmark.[2] In 1969, New York's Sullivan County bought a 4-acre (16,000 m²) portion to develop as a park.[10] Many other buildings and sites associated with the canal have been added to the National Register of Historic Places and state and local landmark lists.

Child leading mules on the canal.

Roebling's Delaware Aqueduct, still in use today

• Honesdale: The terminal basin site has a state historical marker, and traces of the gravity railroad route can still be seen. Some stretches of the bed are visible along Routes 6 and 590 as they approach town from the south.
• Lower Lackawaxen valley: Route 590 follows the bed and towpath in some areas, and Towpath Road picks up the route in Pike County's Lackawaxen Township.
• Lackawaxen and Barryville, New York: Roebling's Delaware Aqueduct, the only one of the four on the canal still in use today and a National Civil Engineering Landmark as the oldest wire suspension bridge in the United States, was restored by the National Park Service and still carries automobiles over the Delaware between the two states. Just north of the bridge, a former company office has been converted into a bed and breakfast.

Aqueduct abutment on Neversink near Cuddebackville

Lock No. 16 at High Falls

• Port Jervis: A portion of the old towpath near Park Avenue (NY 42/97) on the north end of the city has been paved and is used as a city park. Canal Street is the former bed, now filled. Fort Decker, the oldest building in the city, was used to house canal workers during construction.
• Cuddebackville: Orange County has developed a county park along the Neversink here, just south of Hamilton Bicentennial Elementary School off Route 209. The footings of Roebling's aqueduct still stand, and a portion of the bed and towpath persist in the adjacent woods. The Neversink Valley Museum, also located in the park, has some exhibits related to the canal.[16]
• Sullivan County: maintains the largest remaining fragment of the canal, some of which is still wet, as the Delaware and Hudson Canal Linear Park. Hiking, cross-country skiing and jogging, bicycling and fishing are permitted along the 3.5-mile (5.6 km), 45-acre (18 ha) section near Summitville, north of Wurtsboro in the Town of Mamakating. Much of the land is beginning to return to its natural state due to the long years since the canal was abandoned. Some locks and other structures can be found from three different access points along US Route 209. The county park [10] provides a seasonal interpretive center at the northerly Bova Road access.
• Woodridge: Silver Lake Dam, some distance from the canal mainline, was built during the 1840s expansion to provide a reliable reservoir for the summit section of the canal.
• Ellenville: Towpath Road follows the old route from Route 209 south of the village to Canal Street (NY 52) within it, and a wet section of the bed remains just north of Canal in the woods off Berme Road just opposite the village's firehouse.
• Napanoch: A dry section of bed is located between Eastern Correctional Facility and the Rondout, right next to the old Ontario and Western railroad station.
• High Falls: Several old locks are located here, near the site of the last of Roebling's aqueducts, as well as the canal museum. The downtown area was heavily developed as a result of the canal.
• Rosendale The empty bed of the canal runs parallel to NY 213 between its crossing of the Rondout and Rosendale Village.
• Creeklocks: The northernmost lock still exists, as does the final section before the canal flowed into the Rondout.
• Kingston: The former port of Rondout, the north end of the barges' route, has been recognized as the Rondout-West Strand Historic District and revitalized, still in use as a waterfront and a draw for visitors to the city.