Page:Historical and Biographical Annals of Columbia and Montour Counties, Pennsylvania, Containing a Concise History of the Two Counties and a Genealogical and Biographical Record of Representative Families.pdf/72

 COLUMBIA AND MONTOUR COUNTIES four miles. In this section there were five locks, located at Berw ick. Bloomsburg, Rupert and Lim e Ridge and one near Danville. 'Fhese locks were twenty feet wide, twenty feet deep, with three sets o f gates at distances o f ninety feel. They were very substantially built of earth, lined with stone, covered with a wooden sheathing fastened to the stones by iron rods an<l w c d ^ s. T he capstones along the walls w ere o f Pottsville conglomerate, fastened to­ gether with iron staples sunk in holes previ­ ously filled with melted lead. Som e of these locks could easily be m ed at present, while others have been destroyed by fire and flood. T he most important monument in Columbia county to the ability of the old canal builders is the anuctluct at Kupcrt, which is now used b^- the electric railroad as a bridge. T he stone piers arc in excellent sliape and the timbers arc still in fair condition after eighty-ihrce y e ars of use. In 1830 the first canalboat— the "W yom ­ ing” — built at Northumberland passed B e r­ wick in the river, the canal being still tmcompleted. The following year the ‘‘Luzcm c” came up the canal. In 1835 the first boats built exclusively for passenger trade, the “ Denison" and the “ Gertrude,” constructed by M iller Horton and A. H. Cahoon, were launched at Northumberland fo r the trade between that town and W ilkes-Barre. They were drawn by six horses. F o r a period of some years before the ads'cnt of the railroads the canal w as a favorite route for passenger traffic, a s the stagecoaches were barely com­ fortable and more expensive. Although the progress on the canal was slow—about six miles an hour— the scenery was beautiful, the accommodations excellent, and the food could be eaten in peace and at leisure. M any picnic and excursion parlies were made up and the practice continued even down to the last years of the life of the canal system, when small light-draft steamers were used for the pur­ pose. Boatyards were cstablislicd at Northumber­ land, Kspy and W ilkes-Barre, where the boats were built and repaired. T he canal company in later years operated its own lioats, but any person could carry on a freight business by paving the regular tolls and complying with the rules. In winter the canal w as emptied o f water and all the necessary repairs were then made. Tn the spring it was necessary to mow the long grass in the canal licd before the water w as let in, as it greatly interfered with rapid transit. F o r s o m e y e a rs th e bu sin ess d o n e b y th e

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canal was immense. It was the main avenue to the seaboard and coal could be profitably sent through it to Philadelphia for one dollar a ton from W ilkes-Barre. T he railroad rate is now nearly double that. Canalboats were on an a v e r s e eighty-five feet long and drew two feet when loaded. T he average depth of the canal was five feet. The largest catgo ever shipped in one boat was a mixed one o f 285 tons. T he entire canal system in this section of the State was sold in 1858 to the Sunbury & E rie Railroad Company and by them to the North Branch Canal Company. In 1869 it w as sold to the Pennsylvania Railroad Com­ pany. wlio formed the subsidiary company which for some years operated it under the name of the Pennsylvania Canal Company. In i88u the traffic on the canal began to de­ cline and in ten years after that it became apparent that the canal would have to be abandoned. The unprecedented freshets o f 1889 had destroyed the Juniata division, from Newton Hamilton to Rope F e rry, a distance of fifty-six miles, and the W est Branch canal was also danuged, all that portion west of the Loyaisock being almost totally obliterated. Having no connection below Northumberland, the canal became almost useless and was finally abandoned in 18 9 1. The Pennsylvania R a il­ road Company sold it to the Delaware, Lacka­ wanna &• W estern Railroad Company, the pres­ ent owners, later on. T he Pennsylvania Canal Company operated the section of the canal from Northumberland to W ilkes-Barre, a distance o f sixty-five miles, but owned altogether ahout 338 miles o f canals. Their capital stock w as fixed at $5,000,000 and the officers were all Philadelphians, stockhold­ ers of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. T he local superintendents in this section were Hugh D. Quick o f Rupert and Hudson Owen o f Berw ick. T he chief engineer w as Thomas H, Wierman o f Harrisburg. In this year o f 19 14 there is little evidence in sight of the past glory of the canal, although but a few years have elapsed since its abandon­ ment. Nature lias done her best to obliterate the work of the past and man has assisted her by tearing down the embankments and de­ stroying the stone work. T he authorities at Danville have almost entirely filled up the bed of the canal, but in Bloomsburg and Berwick and along most of the inlcn-cning space it re­ mains open, filled in places with stagnant water, a menace to the health of the public. The locks at Rupert and Bloomsburg arc still visible.