A Tour of Locks on The Delaware Canal in Tinicum and Bridgeton Townships First proposed in 1824, the Delaware canal was constructed Parallel to the River From Bristol to Easton. when it was completed in 1832 it stretched 60 miles, was 60 feet wide and 5-6 foot deep and cost almost 1.5 million dollars.
Thomas Kennedy served as superintendent of construction and Henry G. Sergeant as chief engineer. They, with a corps of surveyors completed the preliminary field surveying work. Over 400 contractors bid on the building of the canal.
A Detail of the Map of Bucks COunty by A.W. Kennedy from 1831 documents the canal for the first time.
After the original construction failed in 1830, the canal had to be re-engineered by Josiah White from the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company. He redesigned and reconstructed the canal allowing it finally to reopen in 1832.
Map of the 24 Locks of the Pennsylvania Division of the Delaware Canal
The construction of the Canal spurred business in Upper Bucks County. Villages were host to loggers and canal boats laden with wood or coal, prompting the need for general stores and other businesses to be built. Farmers had a steady route to ship their produce to the markets of Philadelphia.
Lock 20--The Narrows
The canal wound its way through the scenic Narrows, where high red-shale cliffs drop down to the river level. A lookout point in the cliffs just south of Lock 20 is called Top Rock.
Upper Black Eddy
An "eddy" is a point on a river where it changes current direction, and circles around and this eddy is the longest example on the entire Delaware. During the height of the canal era, Upper Black Eddy was home to many canal boat men and included a mule stables, and a general store.
This General Store was first built by Hugh Major. In 1913, the property was purchased by the Singley family, who continued to operate the store for 67 years, and it is now the location of Homestead Coffee and Roasters.
Lock 19--Lodi
Lore has it that the name Lodi came from Italian immigrant laborers who helped build the canal and settled nearby in the 1830s. Supposedly, the region reminded them of their native Lodi, a city in the province of Milan, Italy.
Lock 18--Uhlerstown
Originally named Mexico, Pennsylvania, this village came to be known as Uhlerstown in honor of resident J. Michael Uhler who moved to this site in 1831. Uhler became very successful, dealing in and manufacturing lime, shipping coal, growing and shipping grain, operating a canal boat company, running a boat building operation, building and managing the hotel, and he even served as postmaster.
This is a rare 1860 Frenchtown NJ advertisement for Michael Uhler: Merchant, Coal and Lime Dealer. It is addressed to James Wills of Haddonfield, New Jersey and discusses freight charges. The image depicts a canal boat being loaded, with lime kilns visible on the opposite side of the canal.
Erwinna
During the Canal’s prosperous days, Erwinna was a boat building center. Prior to 1860 Jonas Rapp is listed in an old directory as an Erwinna boat builder. One of the late owners of the boatyard was R. F. Rapp, whose journeymen were Sheridan Fabian, Marshall Pursell and John Whitman.
Lock 17--Treasure Island
From 1806 until 1913, Treasure Island was known as Ridge’s Island and belonged to William Ridge. After the opening of the Delaware Division of the Pennsylvania Canal, the Locktender who operated the lock just opposite the island regularly set out shad nets anchored on the island and sold the fish to the canal boatmen passing through.
The Golden Pheasant Inn
A tavern was located on this spot since 1811. It was a social hub for farmers, travelers, and later, canal men.
The original tavern was built by Joseph Haney and sold to Patrick Mulvaney. For a time it was also called Waterman’s Inn, and Jacob Oberacker's Tap Room. The tavern changed hands a number of times and in 1856 the tavern was destroyed by fire. It was rebuilt and that building was later renamed the Golden Pheasant Inn.
Lock 15 & 16--Smithtown
In 1915, Jacob Henry accepted the position of Locktender of Smithtown for the location of Locks 15 & 16. He moved into the Locktender's house with his family.
Born on January 30, 1911, Flora Henry was five years old when her family settled in Smithtown. Like everyone in her family Flora learned to operate the locks. Upon her father’s death in 1931, 21-year old Flora took over the position as Locktender.
In the height of the shipping season, it took all available hands to keep the boats flowing through from before sunrise to after sunset, six days a week.
The Cat and the Fiddle
In 1932, former trapeze artist Carrie Aaron and her husband, Joseph, formerly known as the circus daredevil Diavolo purchased an old inn just below Smithtown along with a stable for canal mules. Carrie and Joseph transformed the buildings into a woodworking shop and a restaurant and inn, which they called The Cat and Fiddle.
In 1945, the Aarons sold the property to Wayne and Emma McGhee, who in turn sold it to Matthew and Mary Hartigan in 1945, who then sold it to Benjamin and Florence Peter in 1953.
Locks 13 & 14--Point Pleasant
Point Pleasant was a resting spot for canal boats along the Delaware Division of the Pennsylvania Canal, and a waystation for the Doylestown-Frenchtown-New York stagecoach.
The Tohickon Aqueduct, which is the longest on the Delaware Canal, spans 221 feet across the Tohickon Creek in Point Pleasant, Bucks County.
1931 was the last official year of operation for the Delaware Division Canal. On October 17, 1931 the last recorded canal boat headed north from Bristol.
Many thanks to all the local historians who worked to gather, preserve and share these historic images in some pretty amazing books. A special thanks to Martha Capwell Fox of the National Canal Museum, for sharing some of the museums wonderful collection of photos for this project.
Credits:
Photos were taken from the Archives of the National Canal Museum, Images of America: Tinicum Township, Bucks County by Patricia Valentine Whitacre and Richard A. Planck, and Delaware and Lehigh Canals by Ann Bartholomew and Lance E. Metz, 1989