Preserving & Promoting
Local History, Art, & Culture
Main Street Manayunk Historic District
The Schuylkill Canal
During the mid-19th century, the tow path waterway provided an important means for the transportation of goods and materials in the United States. The Manayunk Canal formed a segment of the Schuylkill Canal System, constructed to provide a navigable waterway along the Schuylkill River, linking the Delaware River and the coal regions above Reading. The Schuylkill Canal System, part of a broader canal system, provided the crucial link to the west. The openings of the canal forged a link between the land located regions of western Pennsylvania, and the port of Philadelphia, creating a tow path water transportation which enabled the cheap transport of anthracite coal to markets all along the eastern seaboard.
A plan to provide a navigable link between the Susquehanna and Delaware Rivers had been conceived by William Penn in 1690. However, such a link was not a reality until 1825. In the interim, surveys for a possible canal were completed in the mid-18th century, and isolated improvements made to the river channel. The first serious planning for a canal began in 1731 when a group of Philadelphia citizens lead by Robert Morris Organized the Society for Improvements of Roads and Inland Navigation. As a result of their efforts, the State of Pennsylvania chartered the first two canal projects in America, the Schuylkill and Susquehanna Navigation Company, and the Delaware and Schuylkill Navigation Company, forerunner of the Schuylkill Navigation Company. The State authorized $440,000 for the projects, however, by 1794 only 15 miles of canal was completed, funds had been exhausted and work stopped on both projects.
The motivating force behind eventual construction of the Schuylkill Canal System was Joshua White, credited with developing a method for burning hard anthracite to process iron ore. He understood the potential of the canal to reduce the cost of transporting anthracite coal from the coal fields above Reading to industries along the Schuylkill in Philadelphia. White petitioned the State for the right to improve the river, but his proposal was rejected. In 1815, the State of Pennsylvania chartered the foundation of the Schuylkill Navigation Company. The Company, established by Philadelphia financiers and headed by Cadwallader Evans was granted a charter to construct a canal from Philadelphia to Port Carbon, just below Pottsville.
This information has been posted by RMWHS with the permission of the Philadelphia Historical Commission.