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Building America’s Canals

Curriculum Guide A Special Thanks

Kelly Bean, Easton Middle School, Gifted A special thanks goes to our Jennifer Brunetti, Cheston Elementary, 3rd & Math K-4th teacher’s advisory team Sonya Dollins-Colton, National Canal Museum, Curator of Education and consultants. Elizabeth Gee, Palmer Elementary, 3rd grade

Erich Hammerstone, Easton Catholic, 7th & 8th grade

Holly Janneck, Palmer Elementary, 3rd grade

Lance Metz, National Canal Museum, Historian

Ed Mooney, National Canal Museum, Director of Exhibits

Amanda Uecker-Miernicki, Bangor Middle School, 7th & 8th grade

Carmen Pirotte, Educational Consultant

Tom Smith, National Canal Museum, Director of Public Programs

This curriculum guide made possible through a grant from the National Science Foundation.

Cover photo: A family heading south on the Delaware Canal below Riegelsville, PA, circa 1890.

All the photographs are from the Pennsylvania Canal Society Collection at the National Canal Museum. Canal Websites

National Canal Museum: www.canals.org 30 centre Square Easton, PA 18042 610-559-6613 http://www.canals.org/researchers/Canal_Profiles/Links: This link will take you to a list of canal websites in North America, Canada, and Europe. American Canal Society: www.americancanals.org Canadian Canal Society: candiancanalsociety.org Canal Society of New Jersey: www.canalsocietynj.org Canal Society of New York State: www.canalsnys.org Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Association: www.candocanal.org Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park: www.nps.gov/choh/ Delaware and Hudson Canal Historical Society: www.canalmuseum.org Friends of the Delaware Canal: www.fodc.org Middlesex Canal Association: www.middlesexcanal.org Ohio Canal Society: www.canalsocietyofohio.org Old Santee Canal Park: www.oldsanteecanalpark.org Pennsylvania Canal Society: www.pacanalsociety.org

National Heritage Corridors Websites Augusta Canal National Heritage Corridor: www.augustacanal.com John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor: www.nps.gov/blac Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor: www.delawareandlehigh.org Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor: www.eriecanalway.org Illinois & Michigan National Heritage Corridor: www.canalcor.org National Parks Service: www.nps.gov/history/heritageareas/ Ohio and Erie National Heritage Corridor: www.ohioanderiecanalway.com Historical Information

Flight of five locks on the Erie Canal at Lockport, NY, circa 1900. Lock 12 on the Lehigh Canal near Parryville, PA, circa 1900.

History of North American Towpath Canals

n the early days of our country, Native Americans traveled on rivers and lakes. When they came to a rapids or waterfall in the river, they were forced to carry their canoes Iaround the obstacle. As the eastern seaboard began to be settled, the settlers also used rivers as transportation routes. The same natural obstacles that hindered travel for Native Americans also handicapped the early settlers and restricted their ability to devel- op the interior of the country. Canals were constructed in America to meet the pressing need for a reliable means To move 50 tons of transporting bulk cargoes. In 1812, it took a six-horse team 18-35 days to transport of freight took 3,000 pounds of cargo by wagon from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia. To move 50 tons of 25 wagons, freight took 25 wagons, 25 drivers, and 100 horses. The cost and the length of time to 25 drivers, and transport goods by wagons were enormous. On the other hand, a canal boat using only 100 horses. two people and two mules could move even larger amounts of cargo in a shorter time and for less money. Canals were the answer. Now the journey from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia could be made in three and one-half days. The engineering and technology that was needed to construct canals in the United States was first imported from Europe. Canals had been in active use for centuries on that continent to transport people and such bulky commodities as grain, coal, timber, and stone. Americans quickly learned how to build canals by learning from European canal builders and engineers. Many young surveyors from this country went to Europe to study the art of canal building. The key elements in the construction of canals all involve the control of water. The most important canal structures were dams, lift locks, and canal channels. Engineers built dams across rivers and streams to impound water to make these artificial waterways deep enough to allow the passage of boats. Dams also supplied water to the various sections of a canal system. In order to overcome differences in elevation, lift locks were built to raise and lower boats. 1 The National Canal Museum The first serious attempts to build canals in the United States began in the 1780s soon after we had won our independence from Great Britain. Although canals were planned for almost all parts of the new nation, the lack of capital and business organiza- tional skills prevented most of these projects from getting off the ground. However, some early canals were constructed to allow boats to bypass rapids in rivers or to link with adjacent waterways. Among the earliest of these successful canals were South Carolina’s Santee Canal, New York’s Western Locks and Inland Navigation near Rome, NY, and the Middlesex Canal in northeastern Massachusetts. The Middlesex Canal, built in the 1790s and early 1800s, linked the Merrimac River with Boston’s harbor. It was an immediate success and served as an inspiration for the building of longer waterways in other states. The great age of American canal construction began after the conclusion of the War From 1815 to of 1812. From 1815 to 1835, more than 3,000 miles of canals were constructed to link var- 1835, more than ious regions of America together. By far the most influential of these man-made water- 3,000 miles of ways was the Erie Canal. Completed in 1825, it ran for 363 miles from Albany to Buffalo connecting the navigable Hudson River with Lake Erie. The Erie Canal touched off a canals were great economic boom in the interior of New York State. Because of its success, the Erie constructed.... Canal served as an example to other states that were looking for ways to solve their transportation problems. The engineers who designed and supervised the construction of Erie Canal were in great demand and they carried their hard won canal building skills to other regions. The Erie Canal can thus be considered America’s first “engineering school”.

Maintenance workers repairing break in the Delaware Canal near Lumberville, PA, August 1912.

Many innovations in civil and mechanical engineering were products of the canal era. Hydraulic cement, which would harden under water, became an essential tool for building lock chambers and other canal structures. This cement was later used to construct bridge piers and foundations. The first tunnels in America were built as part of canal systems as a means of overcoming mountains. Other means, like inclined planes, were employed by the Pennsylvania Main Line Canal and New Jersey’s Morris Canal to overcome both great changes in elevation and a lack of adequate water supplies. Finally, gravity and inclined plane railroads were developed as feeders to bring anthracite coal to the Lehigh, Schuylkill, and Delaware and Hudson Canals. Thus, canal companies were among the first to employ railroads in the United States. 2 The National Canal Museum During the 1820s and 1830s, thousands of miles of canals were built in America. Many of these canals, such as Pennsylvania’s Main Line Canal, had to overcome tremen- dous geographical obstacles, while other canals, such as those in Ohio (Ohio and Erie Canal and Miami and Erie Canal) and Indiana (Wabash and Erie Canal and Whitewater Canal), were planned and built to link together almost all regions of these states. The discovery of anthracite or “hard coal” in northeast Pennsylvania provided the stimulus for the building of a series of anthracite-tidewater canals: Delaware Canal, Delaware and Hudson Canal, Delaware and Raritan Canal, Lehigh Canal, Morris Canal, North Branch Extension, Schuylkill Canal, Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal, and Union Canal. These canals brought the coal, mined in Pennsylvania, to the ports on the Atlantic coast. In Maryland and Virginia, the Chesapeake and Ohio and James River and Kanawha Canals were built to carry bitumi- nous coal to the markets of Canals provided a the Chesapeake Bay. cheap means of The construction and linking sources operation of towpath canals of raw materials had profound effects on the economic development of with inland the United States. Canals factories. provided a cheap means of linking sources of raw materials with inland factories. They also enabled manufac- Work scow used to carry turers to ship their finished stone for dam across the Lehigh River at White goods to eastern seaports. Haven, PA, 1908. Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley became America’s leading iron producing region because of the joining of the Delaware, Lehigh, and Morris Canals. The Morris Canal facilitated the shipment of iron ore from northern New Jersey, while the Lehigh Canal brought down anthracite coal from northeastern Pennsylvania. The pig iron smelted by the Valley’s anthracite-fueled blast furnaces was shipped to New York City and Philadelphia on these three canals. Such linkages played a large role in the development of the modern American mineral-fueled iron industry. Canals also made it possible for the country’s inland farmers to send their crops to the bustling markets of Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Charleston. Likewise, manufactured goods were sent westward over these same canals. In addition, canals supplied water power to the new industrial cities such as Lowell, Massachusetts, Rochester, New York, Paterson, New Jersey, and Augusta, Georgia. The products from these and other canal communities would transform the American economy.

Coal being unloaded from canal boat at Leedom’s Coal Yard, Bristol, PA, 1931.

3 The National Canal Museum Two boats passing on the Delaware Canal, circa 1930.

By the 1850s, canals had created a vast network of trade that linked the rapidly By 1855, there growing states that were located west of the Appalachian Mountains with the older were more than established cities on the Atlantic coast. These waterways also enabled farm families to 5,000 miles of move from worn out lands in New England and the Middle Atlantic states to the towpath canals.... Midwest which became the bread basket of America. The result was the creation of the first national American economy and the strengthening of political and cultural ties between the northern and mid-western states. These bonds would later play a crucial role in preserving the Union during the Civil War. Canals also provided employment for immigrants who would stay and work in the factories that grew up along their banks. Some groups such as the Irish were able to spread across America by helping to build and operate this country’s canals. By 1855, there were more than 5,000 miles of towpath canals. These canals, combined with navigable rivers, helped to build an effective commercial and industrial infrastructure for the United States. However, the supremacy of canals proved to be short-lived.

4 The National Canal Museum The B&O Railroad’s express train, the Capitol Limited, passing a canal boat along the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal near Point of Rocks, MD, circa 1912.

A number of factors help to bring about the downfall of canals and the rise of rail- America’s canal roads. Although cheap to operate, canals needed constant maintenance and were era lasted less extraordinarily vulnerable to floods and droughts. Traffic on canals was also slow. Canals than fifty years. could only reach those parts of the country that had ample supplies of water. Finally, canals were frozen for a third of the year halting all movement of passengers and cargo. By the mid-1800s, the technology of steam locomotive railroads had been perfected. Railroads were faster than canals and, in many cases, they were cheaper to build. They could also serve areas which lacked sufficient water supplies for canals. Railroads could also operate during the entire year. By 1900, almost all of America’s towpath canals had been closed and forgotten and only a few waterways in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and Ohio remained in operation. Some towpath canals, such as the New York State Barge Canal (formerly the Erie Canal), were converted to modern waterways that employed steam navigation to move cargoes. The last towpath canal to operate was Pennsylvania’s Lehigh and Delaware Canals which did not close until 1932. Although America’s canal era lasted less than fifty years, towpath canals provided the first efficient means of moving bulky cargoes. They can be considered to be the catalyst for America’s rapid economic growth and industrial development during the first half of the nineteenth century.

5 The National Canal Museum African American mule driver on New Jersey’s Morris Canal, circa 1900.

Canal Terminology Animal power: Due to their fragile nature, many canals could not be navigated by powered vessels. The wake produced by steam vessels would erode the banks of the canals. As a result, many early American canals utilized towpaths and towlines to enable mules and horses to pull their boats. Strict speed limits of no more than 4 miles per hour also were vigorously enforced to further protect canal banks. Mules were the most common draft animals that were used on American canals. A mule is a sterile hybrid that is produced by mating a male donkey with a female horse. Mules have many advantages. They Mules were the can do the work of a horse while consuming 1/3 less food. They also are more disease- preferred draft resistant and more sure-footed and less likely to be injured by a fall. Unlike horses, which animals on all of could wear out quickly, mules preferred to work at slower, steadier speeds, and were thus the anthracite able to cover greater distances and work longer hours. Mules were the preferred draft carrying towpath animals on all of the anthracite carrying towpath canals. The principal advantage of horses was their greater speed. Many passenger carrying packet boats utilized horses canals. rather than mules, but their operators were forced to change teams at regular intervals. Aqueducts are bridges that carry canals across rivers, streams, and ravines. Aqueducts are extremely varied in design and construction. The two basic types of aqueducts that were used on American canals were the masonry arch and the wooden trunk. Suspension aqueducts were predecessors to many long-span suspension bridges such as the Brooklyn and Golden Gate Bridges.

6 The National Canal Museum Two Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company boats passing on the Delaware Canal at New Hope, PA, circa 1920.

Basin: A widened section of the canal sufficient to enable full-size canal boats to turn about, reversing their direction of travel. Boats docked at an adjoining wharf to transfer cargo and passengers. The wharf area was lined with warehouses, stores, businesses serving the canal trade, and local offices of the canal company. Boat types: The two main divisions of canal boat types were freight boats and packet Packet boats boats. Freight boats were the most common type of vessels that were used on canals. sometimes They carried both raw materials and manufactured goods. The size of freight boats was averaged 8 to 10 determined by the dimension of each canal’s locks, thus boats varied greatly between miles per hour, canals. Another type of freight boat was the timber raft. Packet boats carried passengers while freight and mail. They not only provided sleeping and dining accommodations, but also space for small quantities of high value cargo. Packets were almost always pulled by horses, and boats only trav- teams were switched several times during a day. These boats sometimes averaged 8 to 10 eled at 2 to 5 miles per hour, while freight boats only traveled at 2 to 5 miles per hour. Packet boats miles per hour.... made up a small percentage of a canal’s traffic. Many famous novelists, like Herman Melville, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Charles Dickens, wrote of their trips on packet boats. Other boat types included work scows, carpenter boats, scrapper boats, and steam dredges. Bridges: Usually a wooden structure spanning the canal channel, supported by earth- filled stone abutments, and having sufficient height to allow the passage of canal boats beneath. Farm bridges provided farmers access to theirs fields bisected by canals.

Lock 46, Hope’s Lock, on the Lehigh Canal at Hopesville, PA, circa 1912.

7 The National Canal Museum Canals: A canal is a man-made channel constructed for the passage of boats. (The word “canal” also was used to refer to the entire project, including sections of slack water and the structures described below.) The banks of the canal channel were formed by a towpath (used by mules and horses towing canal boats) on the river side and a berm bank on the land side. The channel was made sufficiently wide (no less than 30 feet at the bottom and 50 feet at the water line) to enable boats to pass, and deep enough (5 to 6 feet) so boats would not disturb the bottom. To prevent leakage, the channel was lined with puddle, a clay mixture that acted as a barrier. Where practical the canal channel was located on high ground to avoid damage from freshets (flooding).

Lock tender using a dog house to open lock gates on the Lehigh Canal, 1907.

There was very little current in a canal channel, so the surface of the water was essen- Although almost tially flat. Most canals were divided into sections. Lift locks and guard locks linked the all American rail- sections. An outlet lock served as a passage between a canal and a larger body of water. roads were even- Changes in elevation were overcome by the use of lift locks. The path of canals and the tually forced to location of the lift locks were carefully chosen to conform to the rising terrain along river adopt a standard banks. Canals relied on rivers or reservoirs as their main sources of water. gauge between Although almost all American railroads were eventually forced to adopt a standard their two rails gauge between their two rails (4’ 8”), canal systems never adopted such standardization. (4’ 8”), canal As a result, canal boats varied greatly in size and often vessels had to be built to the systems never dimensions of the smallest waterway of a connected canal system. This lack of uniformi- adopted such ty greatly hindered the operations of canals. standardization. Canal boat captains earned their living by hauling cargo on their boats. Canal companies paid their captains specified rates for varying types of cargo and an additional fee for mileage covered. They were not paid for empty return passages. There were two philosophies for maximizing a canal captain’s income. Some captains preferred to make many short trips, while others felt that it was more lucrative to maker fewer, longer trips. In 1855, canal captains on the Lehigh/Delaware Canals earned on average $800 per year. Canal boat captains had varying backgrounds. Some captains boated during the spring, summer, and fall, while serving as teamsters during the winter. Other captains were farmers. Immigrants from Ireland and Germany made up a large proportion of America’s canal captains during the 1850s and 1860s. Canal companies were often equal opportunity employers allowing both women and racial minorities to become captains. 8 The National Canal Museum Two young children Canal boat captains would often tethered on the deck of a strive to reach a lock or coal yard canal boat in New York before other captains. Sometimes Harbor, circa 1900. fights would break out over who was to go next through a lock. These disor- ders could severely disrupt the operation of canals, and some states and private companies employed canal police to prevent hostilities. Most canal boats were operated by families. Sometimes single men would hire orphans or children from large families to serve as their mule drivers Canal boats were built at boat yards along canals. Canal companies or state canal authorities owned some boat yards, while others were operated by private entrepreneurs. Boat yards not only built canal boats, but they also repaired them and built replacement parts for lock gates and waste weirs. Boat yards usually employed many workers, and contained saw mills, forges, and derricks. Some yards also had dry docks and slipways. Canal boats were generally built to standardized dimensions with a box-like cross-sec- It usually took a tion. Boat builders built canal boats from pre-cut oak frames and pine planks in rapid team of 6 boat fashion. Canal boats were utilitarian vessels that were often “knocked about”. It usually builders 14 days took a team of 6 boat builders 14 days to build a canal boat. Under normal usage, the to build a canal average canal boat could be expected to last for 10 to 12 years. Sadly, no original canal boat. boats have survived, except as underwater wrecks Canal lifts are elevators that enable canals to overcome severe elevation changes. Some lifts are powered by water pressure and the counterweight principle, while others rely on electric motors. Canal lifts are among the most difficult and expensive canal engineering features to build and maintain. The largest canal lift in North America is Peterborough, Ontario on the Trent Severn Canal.

Lock 6 on the Delaware Canal, circa 1880.

9 The National Canal Museum Lock tender Doc Piatt operating a lock on the Morris Canal, circa 1900.

Canal jobs: The majority of canal workers were boat crews, who operated vessels. Lock tenders Among a boat crew were captains, mule drivers, cooks, bowsmen, and clerks. However, operated the most boats were operated by families. On occasion, several generations of one family locks that allowed would work on canals at the same time. Another large component of a canal’s workforce boats to travel included maintenance workers. Maintenance workers were responsible rebuilding and through the repairing canals. Carpenters, blacksmiths, stationary steam engine engineers, and labor- canal.... ers made up the bulk of a canal’s maintenance staff. Lock tenders operated the locks that allowed boats to travel through the canal by overcoming elevation changes. Lock tenders, including family members, were on duty during all hours of a canal’s operation. Lock tenders were given free rent in a house (lock house) adjacent to the lock and a modest salary, which they supplemented by operating small stores and taking in laundry. An important part of their job was to record the passage of all boats through their lock. This enabled company officials to detect captains who broke the speed limit. Finally, lock tenders were responsible for minor maintenance around their locks and assisted maintenance workers in the repair of breaches along the canal. Toll collectors and company clerks worked in offices that were located at weigh-locks and canal terminals. They collected the money that boat captains paid for each of their passages through the canal and maintained records of boat traffic Cargo being unloaded Cargo: The great economic from a boat on the advantage of canals was their Delaware & Raritan ability to move large amounts of Canal, Lambertville, cargo over long distances at a NJ, circa 1900. cheap price. Both raw materials, such as coal and grain, and finished goods, such as ironware and textiles, were almost impos- sible to efficiently transport over long distances before the comple- tion of canals. Due to the decreased friction of movement on water, canals allowed draft animals, like mules and horses, to geometrically increase their 10 pulling power. The National Canal Museum Culverts were stone-lined archways passing under a canal that allowed small streams and occasional waters to flow into a river without intercepting the canal. Dams: A structure constructed within the bed of a river to raise the water level of the river in a pooling area (slack water pool) behind the dam. Most dams were crib dams. They were constructed of loose stone confined within timber box-like structures. Watertight wood planking was affixed to the upstream side to reduce leakage. Although more expensive to build, stone dams were watertight and better able to survive damage from freshets. Slack water dams formed pools of flat or slack water enabling the river to serve as the canal channel. Water behind feeder dams was diverted along feeder canals into the main canal to provide a steady source of water for the canal.

Canal boat loaded with unidentified barrels on the Delaware & Hudson Canal, circa 1890.

Freight boats were by far the most numerous type of boat on America’s towpath canals. Some of these These boats were designed to carry bulk cargoes of raw materials and manufactured boats could carry goods. Some of these boats could carry as much as 230 tons of cargo. A team of up to as much as 230 three mules or horses were required to pull these larger boats. Freight boats usually trav- tons of cargo. eled at the slow, but steady speed of 2 to 4 miles per hour. Horse collar: The horse collar revolutionized the use of horses/mules as draft animals. This device was invented in central Asia. Because it rested on the animal’s chest, it could transmit more pulling power than earlier harnesses which tended to choke the animals.

11 The National Canal Museum Inclined planes enable canals to quickly overcome large elevation changes in a short distance. These mechanical devices served to eliminate locks and conserve water. Among the canal systems that featured inclined planes were the Morris Canal (NJ) and the Allegheny Portage Railroad of the PA Main Line Canal. Inclined planes continue to operate on modern canals such as the Trent Sevren (Ontario, Canada), the Lake Biwa Canal (Japan), and the Eblag Canal in Poland. Inspection boats, like the Kattie Kellogg of New Jersey’s Morris Canal, allowed canal company officials to inspect their waterways. Some inspection boats featured both offices and first class accommodations. Inspection boats also served as pay boats to bring wages to the workers throughout a canal system.

Children 6 or 7 years and older worked as mule drivers, walking the mules from 4 a.m. (when the canal opened) till 10 p.m.

Mule drivers taking a break along the Lehigh Canal, 1886.

Kids and mules: On the Lehigh/Delaware Canals most canal boats were family-operated. The youngest children spent most of their time playing on deck (they were tethered to a post by a rope or chain to prevent them from falling of the boat). Children 6 or 7 years and older worked as mule drivers, walking the mules from 4 a.m. (when the canal opened) till 10 p.m. (when the locks on the canal closed). Mule drivers would have to get up every morning (not Sundays on the Lehigh/Delaware Canals) at 3:30 a.m. to feed, brush, and harness the mules and have them ready to go by 4 a.m. If you were the only mule driver in a canal boat family, you would have to walk the entire day, covering up to 25 miles. The only breaks for the mule drivers were the times when a boat passed through a lock. If there was more than one mule driver in the family, they would split the time spent on the towpath. At the end of the day, the mule driver was responsible for car- ing for the mule team before going to bed. He/she had to unharness, feed, water, brush down, and stable the mules. Girls also worked as mule drivers until the age of 12. Many girls were taken off the towpath to be taught by their mothers in the domestic arts. These girls would sometimes be married by age 14. Boys, on the other hand, continued as mule drivers until they could qualify to run their own boats. At age 16, a boy could become a canal boat captain (on the Lehigh/Delaware Canals) if he was married. Some children who served as mule drivers were hired from other families or they were orphans that were hired out by county 12 governments. This system could lead to abusive treatment of the mule drivers. The National Canal Museum A canal boat captain at the tiller with his family approaching Lock 8, Delaware Canal, at New Hope, PA, circa. 1900.

Life on the Canal On the towpath canals that ran 24/7, boat captains used two teams to pull their boat. The captain would switch teams every 4 hours. One team would be working on the towpath, while the second team was resting in a stable onboard the canal boat. Living space was at a premium on all canal boats. The carrying of cargo was the first Some boats priority and the crew’s quarters were almost an afterthought. Some boats contained cab- contained cabins ins that were only 8 X 10 feet in dimension. A typical cabin included bunks and tables that were only that folded down from the walls and a small coal stove for cooking and heating. Canal 8 X 10 feet in boat cabins were invariably located below deck at the rear or stern of the boat. During dimension. the summer months warm weather allowed canal boat crews to live on the top deck. Sometimes the cooking stove was taken apart and reassembled there. Keeping food fresh was a major problem for canal boat crews since refrigerators and iceboxes were not in use. Because most foods could not be keep fresh, canal boat crews had to often buy pro- visions from stores, many of which were operated by lock tenders and their families. Light for canal boat cabins was provided by very small windows and kerosene lamps and lanterns. On some canal boats which operated 24/7, a stable was needed on the boat to board one of the two mule teams. Sometimes mule drivers had no other choice but to sleep with their animals in the stable. During the winter months individuals and families often remained with their canal boats. Some boats were tied together to form large floating communities. The largest of these communities were located in various parts of New York Harbor. The most important of these canal boat communities was the Erie Basin at Brooklyn, NY. Those canal boat captains who could afford it rented homes or apartments on shore. In order to prevent small children from falling overboard, mothers tethered them by rope or chain to a wooden post located on the deck of the boat. This allowed the young children freedom of movement and enabled the mother to go about her daily chores without worry. Canal boat children were an essential part of a boat crew and during the spring, summer, and fall they would be working instead of attending school. Only during the winter months when canal boats were tied up, could children attend school for 3 to 4 months. In comparison, most working class children were employed year round in factories, mills, 13 and mines. Thus, they were not able to attend school. The National Canal Museum A lock house scene along Lock tenders played an essential role in the Maryland’s Chesapeake & operation of towpath canals. They operated Ohio Canal, circa 1900. the locks which raised and lowered boats between a canal’s different elevation levels. Lock tenders or members of their family were on duty during the hours of a canal’s operation. On the Lehigh/Delaware Canals, the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company in 1900 paid its lock tenders $18 per month and gave them free rent. Lock tenders usually lived in a company house that was located near the lock that they were assigned to tend. Lock tenders and their families often ran small stores, took in laundry, or sold milk, eggs, and vegetables to supplement their incomes. Lock tenders also were responsible for doing minor maintenance on and around their locks. In cases of major damage to the canal, the canal company enlisted them as members of the repair crews. It was a common practice The Lehigh Coal for a man to obtain a position as a lock tender. In reality, his wife and children often times & Navigation operated the lock in his absence. These men worked at nearby factories or on adjacent Company in 1900 farms to earn extra money. paid its lock Serving as a lock tender was less strenuous than working on a canal boat. Sometimes tenders $18 middle-aged couples who were tired of running a boat would become lock tenders. Many per month.... lock tenders were women who had either lost their husbands or fathers. Locks: There are many types and configurations of locks. Pound locks (because they impounded water), also known as lift locks, served to raise and lower boats between different elevation levels on canals. No one is sure when and where the pound lock was invented. There are A boat with its hatches off three differing historical interpreta- carrying coal dirt in Lock tions. Some scholars believe that the 28, Lehigh Canal, near pound lock was invented in China Lockport, PA, circa 1930. during the 9th century, while others maintain these locks were invented around 1200 in Flanders (modern Belgium and Holland). Finally, it also is a fact that pound locks were in use on the waterways of northern Italy by 1500. All pound locks function by the use of gravity to let water into their chambers to raise boats or to let water out of their chambers to lower boats. Essential to a lift lock were two pairs of wooden lock gates (called mitre gates) that were operated in a specific sequence by the lock tender. Controllable openings at the base of the gates contained wickets (also called sluice gates) that could be opened to fill or drain the lock chamber. Called locking through, a boat traveling upstream would enter the lock chamber through open lower gates, while the closed upper gates held back water from the higher upper canal level. Once the boat was within the chamber, the lower gates were closed. Next, water from the upper canal was allowed into the chamber through opening the wickets in the upper lock gates, raising the boat to the level of the upper 14 The National Canal Museum canal section. Finally, the upper lock gates were opened and the boat continued on its way. For a boat going down the canal, the process of “locking through” was reversed. Appointed lock tenders operated and managed the locks. Lock houses were built near the lock enabling the lock tender and his family to be on duty at all times. Locks were his- torically operated by hand, but almost all modern locks use electric motors to open and close their gates and valves. A guard lock is another common type of canal lock. These locks serve as gateways between canals and slack water (impounded) sections of rivers. Guard locks were built with two with two pairs of gates, much like lift locks. The upper gates extended well above most flood water levels. A weigh lock is a third type of lock. It was designed for measuring the weight of the cargo in a canal boat. Flights or combinations of locks are used to overcome great elevation changes. However, they require vast amounts of water for their operation.

Mules were the most common draft animals Mules can do the that were used on American canals. A mule is work of a horse sterile hybrid that is produced by mating a while consuming male donkey with a female horse. Mules have 1/3 less food many advantages. They eat and drink less (hay and grain than horses. Mules can do the work of a horse mixed with while consuming 1/3 less food (hay and grain molasses). mixed with molasses). They also are more disease-resistant and more sure-footed and less likely to be injured by a fall. Unlike horses, which could wear out quickly, mules preferred to work at slower, steadier speeds (2-3 miles per hour), and were thus able to cover greater distances and work longer hours. Mules were the preferred draft animals on all Mule driver Lovett Wood with his mules at Lock 40, of the anthracite carrying towpath canals. On Lehigh Canal, near the Lehigh/Delaware Canals mules worked Allentown, PA, circa 1900. an 18 hour day, 4 a.m. to 10 p.m. The principal advantage of horses was their greater speed. Many passenger carrying packet boats utilized horses rather than mules, but their operators were forced to change teams at regular intervals. Mules are very strong. They combine the strength and size of a horse with the intel- ligence and endurance of a donkey. One mule by itself can pull 60-65 tons on water. Most boats used on the Lehigh/Delaware Canals weighed 20 tons empty and could haul up to 95 tons of coal. Two mules could easily pull 120 tons on water. Mules are known to be stubborn. Their stubbornness is their strong self-preservation instinct. If you try to push a mule past his/her endurance they will sit down until they are rested or until the problem has been resolved to their satisfaction. Mules were work animals and valuable assets to a canal boat captain. Mules can live up to 35 years of age. Some mules might work for more than two decades on a canal. Most began work when they were 3 or 4 years old. Some canal companies, like the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company and the Morris Canal and Banking Company, bred and raised mules to sell to boat captains. Other mules were supplied by local farmers and livestock dealers. Lock tenders often had stables by their lock houses to rent out to canal boaters for 15 the night for their mules. The National Canal Museum A painting by E. L. Henry of a 1840s era packet boat on the Delaware & Hudson Canal.

Packet boats were the most colorful and fastest boats on America’s towpath canals. They Most tolls were were designed to accommodate travelers on overnight journeys. These passenger boats calculated on the were pulled by teams of horses which were changed several times during the course of a basis of boat day. Packet boats averaged approximately 8 miles per hour. They also served to carry mail weight (tare and express packages. weight) and the Shanty boats were floating homes or offices for canal company employees. They were type of cargo that far more common on the canalized rivers of the Midwest than on the towpath canals of a boat carried. the eastern states. Steam dredges were used to remove silt and other debris from canals so that an uniform depth of water could be maintained. Dredges were steam shov- els mounted on work scows and they were very efficient.

A typical record kept Toll collectors were canal company by toll collectors on the employees who worked in offices that Lehigh Canal, 1872. were located at weigh-locks and canal terminals. They collected the money that boat captains paid for each of their passages through the canal and maintained records of boat traffic. Tolls: Canal companies charged tolls to both make a profit and generate funds for their construction and operation. A toll is a fee paid by a boat captain or business agent to secure passage through the canal. Most tolls were calculated on the basis of boat weight (tare weight) and the type of cargo that a boat carried. Canal companies maintained toll collector’s offices where 16 company agents collected tolls. The National Canal Museum Tunnels were the most rarely used and costly of all canal engineering features. Very few canal tunnels were built. Tunnels served to either join the summit levels of two watersheds or to cut off a lengthy bend in a canalized section of a river. The oldest canal tunnel is America is located on former Union Canal near Lebanon, PA. Perhaps, the most famous canal tunnel is the Paw Paw Tunnel on the C&O Canal in MD. Waste weir: A means for maintaining the desired level of water in a canal. Weirs pro- tected the canal from excessive buildup of water, reducing the risk of water overflowing the canal banks and eroding or, worse, breaching the banks. They functioned much like spillways, allowing excess water to safely flow into the river. Water management: Since canals function through the gravity flow of water, engineers have often manipulated or greatly changed natural watersheds. The great amount of water that was needed to operate locks was often supplied by dams and reservoirs. Among the most difficult of canal engineering achievements was to provide reliable links between two different, but adjacent watersheds. Water power: Canals not only served as important early transportation routes, but they also took advantage of elevation changes to power water wheels and turbines. These mechanical devices provided the power for mills and factories along their banks. Almost all early American industrial centers utilized water power from canals, and before 1860 water power was the primary source of energy in the United States and Canada. Work scows were the “dump trucks” of towpath canals. They carried the materials, such as clay, wood, and manure that were needed to repair breaks in the canal. Maintenance workers used manure mixed with clay to patch holes in a canal’s bottom or sides. Some work scows were covered by a large cabin that included work benches and blacksmith forges. These boats served as mobile repair shops and were called carpenter boats.

17 The National Canal Museum Educational Resources about Canals

John Cosman with his mules, Molly and Polly, on the Delaware Canal near Kintersville, PA, 1886.

18 The National Canal Museum Children’s Resource Books

Ancient Machines: From Wedges to Waterwheels by Michael Woods Traces the development of methods of transportation and conveys the technological sophistication of ancient peoples. The text features fascinating descriptions of the process of inventing with conjectures on what an early human might have observed and adapted. Some of the ingenious conveyances described will amaze readers. The author alludes to the migration of technologies across cultures, including the suggestion that the wheel was only invented once. Crisp, vibrant photographs of artifacts add to the strong visual appeal. Ancient Transportation: From Camels to Canals by Michael Woods Discusses the invention and use of six simple machines and establishes a connection between ancient and current technology. Full-color photographs and drawings depict National artifacts, sites, and some different mechanisms. Mule Day is October 26th. Bridgetender’s Boy by Linda Barth This story takes place in 1868 along New Jersey’s Delaware and Raritan Canal. On this canal, all of the bridges swung to the side to allow boats to pass. Even very tall vessels could use the canal because there were no overhead obstructions. Ten-year-old Josh Riley lives in the village of Griggstown. He is the son of a bridge tender on the canal, who pushes the bridge to the side to allow boats to pass. Every day Josh sees boats that come from faraway places. He wishes that someday he, too, could travel to big cities and see the world. The Canals by Raymond Bial This book contains excellent introductory material about the usefulness of canals and great illustrations of how locks work. There are chapters about canal engineering and canal life. Canalboat to Freedom by Tomas Fall Canalboat to Freedom is an award-winning, 215-page historical novel about a young emigrant boy named Benja, who becomes a mule driver for a cruel canal boat captain on the Delaware and Hudson Canal. Benja develops a special friendship with Lundius, a former slave, who also works on the canal boat. Lundius is secretly using the boat as part of the Underground Railroad to smuggle escaped slaves from the South. When Benja offers his help, he did not know that one morning he would be faced with saving the life of a fugitive slave and that Lundius would not be there to help him. The book is recom- mended for ages 8 and up. The Eerie Canal by Jack Reber Two ten-year-olds on a class trip to the Erie Canal find themselves transported back in time to the year 1829. The main characters, a boy and girl, experience adventures on the canal while trying to find their way back to the present. The book, which contains an enormous amount of detail about the Erie Canal, is boldly brought to life by the author’s colorful characterizations. This novel is both entertaining and exciting and will hold a youngster’s interest. The volume contains enough detail on the Erie Canal and the period to be used as a resource book as well.

19 The National Canal Museum Erie Canal in Cobblestone (October 1982) Cobblestone is a U.S. history magazine for kids ages 9-14. In Erie Canal kids can discover what life along the canal was like and how “the eighth wonder of the world” made a new life possible. The Erie Canal by Ralph K. Andrist This book presents an account of the construction and operation of the Erie Canal that is set within the context of America’s canal era. The volume is profusely illustrated with reproductions of nineteenth-century paintings, photographs, and prints. The Erie Canal Pirates by Eric A. Kimmel (Grades 1-4; a tall tale) The fictional story revolves around pirates who move from the high seas to the Erie Canal. Inspired by the folk song, "The Erie Canal," this tale follows Captain Flynn and his crew as they are besieged by bad guys. A Full Hand by Thomas F. Yezerski Vivid illustrations and exciting text help tell the story of nine-year old Asa. As a young boy on New Jersey’s Morris Canal more than 100 years ago, Asa learns how to operate a canal boat. This warm father-and –son story is a source of information about canal boats, locks, aqueducts, and a forgotten way of life. Growing Up on the Erie Canal in Appleseeds (January 2002) Publications by Appleseeds contain lively, kid-focused stories. In Growing Up on the Erie Canal kids find out how the Erie Canal was built and why. They meet personalities from DeWitt Clinton to canal boys – even the mules that pulled the canal boats. The Incredible Ditch by Carl & Alan Seaberg The Incredible Ditch uses a unique blend of contemporary narratives, fictional accounts, old survey maps, and recent aerial photographs to create a fascinating look at Massachusetts’ Middlesex Canal. Based on three accounts of a July 18, 1817 trip, the book takes the reader on a ride from Charlestown to Woburn. Paintings of locks, bridges, aqueducts, vessels, and life along the canal are interspersed with both modern and historic photographs. Mule Boy by Joan Gilbert Mule Boy presents the history and operation of Pennsylvania's Lehigh and Delaware Canals in 1862 through the fictional adventures of Wilhelm Oberfeldt and his family. The Oberfeldts and their mules Lucy and Max worked for the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company carrying anthracite coal from the coalfields near Mauch Chuck (now Jim Thorpe) to Philadelphia. My Name is Jeremiah My Name Is Jeremiah first delighted children in October 2003 at the theater in the Ice House in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Using life-size puppets, members of the Mock Turtle Marionettes Theater tell the story of Jeremiah Kern, who in the mid-1800s was a mule driver on the Lehigh and Delaware Canals in Pennsylvania. His family’s canal boat carried coal from Mauch Chunk (now Jim Thorpe) to coastal markets. This activity and col- oring book revolves around Jeremiah's life as a young boy, and introduces youngsters to several of America's most vital nineteenth-century economic resources --anthracite coal, canals, and hard-working people.

20 The National Canal Museum A Picture Journey along the PA Main Line Canal 1826-1857 by Philip J. Hoffmann The Pennsylvania Main Line Canal, which stretched along the entire length of the state from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, combined the use of both canals and inclined plane railroads. Hoffman uses his own folk art renderings to explain the workings of this fascinating engineering wonder of early America. He also gives the reader a perception of the folk life of the towns and cities that grew up along the route of the Pennsylvania Main LineCanal. Reaching Tidewater by Noreen Moore. Reaching Tidewater brings to life an often forgotten time period in southeastern Pennsylvania history. This unique book about Anna and her family offers a new look at the people who worked and lived on the Delaware Canal in the spring of 1862.

21 The National Canal Museum Adult Resource Books

A Canal Bibliography by Albright Zimmerman Compiled by a noted historian and former president of the Pennsylvania Canal Society, this volume is the only annotated bibliography on North American canals. It is organized around geographic regions and it is quite easy to use. Canals for a Nation by Ronald M. Shaw Professor Shaw’s book is the only modern authoritative history of America’s towpath canal era. Organized both chronologically and by geographical region, this book is an excellent resource on towpath canals. Erie Canal New York’s Gift to the Nation: A Document Based Teacher Resource edited by F. Daniel Larkin, Julie C. Daniels, and Jean West. A collaboration of Cobblestone Publishing Company and the New York State Archives Partnership Trust. Delaware & Lehigh Canals - 2nd Edition Anthracite coal was as important a fuel in the nineteenth century as oil is today. The two canals featured in this photographic history published by the National Canal Museum were built to move anthracite coal from the coal fields of northeastern Pennsylvania to the major markets of Philadelphia and New York City. The Delaware and Lehigh Canals remained in operation until 1932, thus making them the longest operating towpath canals in America. The Erie Canal Reader: 1790-1950 by Roger W. Hecht The Erie Canal Reader is a collection of poems, essays, travelogues, and fiction by major American and British writers. It captures the colorful landscape and life along the Erie Canal from its birth in the New York frontier through its heyday. Writings by such nineteenth-century figures as Basil Hall, Frances Trollope, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Mark Twain provide first-hand observations of canal life and the canal’s role in the evolution of American social and economic culture. The pieces also offer glimpses of early tourist resorts, like Trenton Falls, and observations of religious experiments that made New York's "burned over district" a hotbed of social and political reform. The works of Walter D. Edmonds and Samuel Hopkins Adams, more recent Erie Canal writers, also appear in the book. Their writings bring a modern sensibility and insight to their reflections on the canal. Home on the Canal by Elizabeth Kytle This richly illustrated and engagingly written book tells the story of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal from its origins, to its demise in the early 1920s, and the efforts that resulted in its preservation as a National Historical Park in 1971. Kytle describes in detail how the C&O operated in its heyday. The book also provides oral history accounts of eleven men and women who worked on or grew up along the banks of the canal.

22 The National Canal Museum Life on a Canal Boat edited by Russell P. Bellico This book is a fascinating day-to-day account of Captain Theodore D. Bartley’s life from 1861 to 1889. It provides an intimate portrait of the life of a canal boat family crisscross- ing America during a period of extraordinary change. The owner of three Lake Champlain canal boats, Bartley traveled on the canals and waterways of the Northeast. His travels included voyages to Ottawa (Canada), Buffalo, and Philadelphia. Journal entries range from dramatic tales of near sinkings during gales on Lake Champlain to descriptions of the lives of ordinary people. Old Towpaths: The Story of the American Canal Era by Alvin F. Harlow Written by a noted journalist during the 1920s, this book tells the story of America’s towpath canals. What is especially significant about Old Towpaths is that it was written when the Lehigh and Delaware Canals were still in operation. Harlow includes first hand accounts of these last towpath canals. Tales the Boatmen Told by James Lee This book is the record of Jim Lee's interviews with boatmen and their families from New Jersey’s Morris Canal. The public television film, Famous Tiller Sharks, is based on these interviews. The reader gets the flavor of life on a canal boat from reading these remem- brances.

23 The National Canal Museum Build a Canal Lesson Plan for Grades 3 to 5

Objectives: Students will practice their skills of measurement, addition, problem solving, and mapping by measuring a rivers length and creating a route for a canal. Essential Question: Where should you build a canal?

Materials K Pictures of river sections K Copies of canal sections K Town representations K Yarn K Rivers & Canals worksheet K Ruler

Procedure: You can do this activity as a 1. Have the students watch the film “A Horse, Rope, and Muddy Strip of Water.” The film is about 8 minutes long. Go to www.canals.org to download. whole class or make two maps 2. Using the map images 1 -10 create a river(s). You don’t have to use all of them and you and divide the can use images more than once. Place the picture of the coal town at the beginning of class. the river and the port city at the end of the river. 3. Show your students how they are to measure the river and then convert the measurement to miles. The students should measure the river using the yarn and tape the yarn to the wall every few inches so it stays put. Using removable tape or other removable material is easiest. 4. Students should measure the distance between the coal town and the furnace town using the yarn provided. The students should follow the river and using removable tape have them tape the string down and then take it off the map and measure how long it is. Convert the inches into miles. The scale is 1/2” =1 mile. 5. Why Canals? (from Wild over Waterways)

Discuss with your students why canals were built and their advantages over rivers.

24 The National Canal Museum Canals and rivers

Canals and rivers are both channels containing water. They have a bed at the bottom and banks at the side, however, they are different.

Rivers Rivers are natural channels of water. They are all different but work in similar ways. Rivers start from a source which is usually in a remote place in high ground. They finish at the river’s mouth which is usually where the river meets the sea. Rivers flow downhill and they often get wider and deeper as they flow. Rivers are not always navigable. This means that boats cannot always travel on them. In places rivers will be very narrow, very steep or very shallow and not suitable for boats. Rivers can also suffer from floods or droughts. People sometimes try to control rivers by changing their course to make them safe for boats to use or to try to prevent flooding. Rivers can be very fast flowing with strong currents. Canals Canals are man made channels of water. Most canals in this country were built during the Have your 19th century for boats to use in order to move cargo around the country. As canals are students man made, the people building the canal can decide where they will start and finish and complete the how deep and wide they will be. canals and rivers Before canals were built, cargo had to be transported by horse and cart which was a worksheet. slow and expensive process. A mule pulling a canal boat could pull about fifty times more weight on water than it could pulling weight on land. Hills and valleys were a problem for canal builders. Locks were often built on canals to move boats up or down hills. Tunnels were built to take the canal through a hill and aqueducts to carry them across a valley. Canals have very little flow and therefore only small currents.

25 The National Canal Museum Canals and Rivers Worksheet

Canals Rivers

Use the chart on the right to record five differences between canals and rivers.

26 The National Canal Museum Canals and Rivers

Worksheet Answers

Use the chart on Canals Rivers the right to record Are man made – you can choose Are natural – a river chooses five differences where to build a canal. its own path. between canals and rivers. Are built to be navigated. Not always navigable.

Built to the width necessary for Grow from a source, flow the boats which are to use it. downhill and increase in size. Use locks or lifts to move boats uphill.

Usually have quite weak currents Can have strong currents except near locks. and be very fast flowing.

Very rarely suffer from drought Can suffer from droughts or flood as water entering canal and floods. can be regulated.

Guided Practice / Independent Practice - Doing it by themselves

1. Tell your students that they will have $8,000 to complete their canal. They must use at least 1 aqueduct, 1 tunnel, and 3 locks. The cost of each structure is as follows: $30.00 to build a lock $60.00 to build an aqueduct $90.00 to build a tunnel $20.00 to build a section of canal 2. The students must first decide where they want to put their canal and choose the best route for the canal. Give the students 1 or 2 class periods to complete the project. 3. After the students have completed their canals they should add up the money spent.

27 The National Canal Museum Closure

Ask your students: What did they accomplish? What did they learn? Did they place their canal in the best place? Did they stay within budget? Is it costly to build and maintain canals?

Extended Activities 1. You can have your students make a map of your classroom (or this could be a take home activity and they can make a map of their bedroom). Students should create symbols for the objects in your classroom. The scale could be 1/2 “= 1 foot or 3/4” = 1 foot or a scale you think is appropriate for your students.

28 The National Canal Museum

Map Symbols

Create symbols Canal Section for the objects in $20.00 per section your classroom.

Canal Cure $20.00 per cure

Lock $30.00 per lock

Aqueduct $60.00 per aqueduct

Tunnel $90.00 per tunnel

29 The National Canal Museum Student Vocabulary

Aqueduct – a large bridge built to carry water (or canal boats) across a valley, river, or other difficult terrains. Buoyancy – the upward force on an object in a liquid or gas Bridge – a structure carrying a roadway over a depression or obstacle. Canal – a channel that is dug across land; an artificial waterway Canal Boat – a steerable vessel used on canals for transportation. Cargo – the different materials and objects carried by canal boats. Friction – the force that tends to stop objects from sliding Locks – a part of a canal with gates at each end where boats are raised or lowered to different water levels Map – a detailed plan of an area, showing features such as towns, roads, rivers, mountains, etc. Navigate – to travel by water Navigation – a way of finding the position and charting the course of a vehicle, such as a ship. Navigation uses maps, compasses, stars, satellites, and/or radio signals. From the Latin navis, meaning “ship,” and agree, meaning “to drive.” Rudder – a flat, movable piece that can be moved from side to side at the back of a boat to steer it. Suspension Bridge – a bridge held up by chains or wire cables which are anchored in the ground at either end and supported by towers. Towpath – a trail on the side of the canal where the mules walked towing the boat. Tiller – a lever for turning the rudder of a boat. Toll – a tax or fee paid to use a canal, bridge, turnpike or other transportation link. Towline or Towrope – a rope connecting mules or horses to boats for towing. Tunnel – a passage built beneath the ground or water or through a mountain for use by cars, trains or other vehicles.

Some of these definitions are from Scholastic Children’s Dictionary or Scholastic Science Dictionary

30 The National Canal Museum Build a Canal Lesson Plan for Grades 6 to 8

Materials K Pictures of river sections K Copies of canal sections K Town representations K Yarn K Rivers & Canals worksheet K Elevation Differences worksheet K Elevation section K Ruler

Procedure: 1. Have the students watch the film “A Horse, Rope, and Muddy Strip of Water.” The film You can do this is about 8 minutes long. Go to www.canals.org to download. activity as a 2. Using the map images 1 -10 create a river(s). You don’t have to use all of them and you whole class or can use images more than once. Place the picture of the coal town at the beginning of make two maps the river and the port city at the end of the river. and divide the class. 3. Show your students how they are to measure the river and then convert the measurement to miles. 4. Students should measure the distance between the coal town and the furnace town using the yarn provided. The students should follow the river and using removable tape have them tape the string down and then take it off the map and measure how long it is. Convert the inches into miles. The scale is 1/4” =1 mile. 5. Why Canals?

Discuss with your students why canals were built and their advantages over rivers.

31 The National Canal Museum Canals and rivers

Canals and rivers are both channels containing water. They have a bed at the bottom and banks at the side, however, they are different.

Rivers Rivers are natural channels of water. They are all different but work in similar ways. Rivers start from a source which is usually in a remote place in high ground. They finish at the river’s mouth which is usually where the river meets the sea. Rivers flow downhill and they often get wider and deeper as they flow. Rivers are not always navigable. This means that boats cannot always travel on them. In places rivers will be very narrow, very steep or very shallow and not suitable for boats. Rivers can also suffer from floods or droughts. People sometimes try to control rivers by changing their course to make them safe for boats to use or to try to prevent flooding. Rivers can be very fast flowing with strong currents. Canals Canals are man made channels of water. Most canals in this country were built during the 19th century for boats to use in order to move cargo around the country. As canals are man made, the people building the canal can decide where they will start and finish and how deep and wide they will be. Before canals were built, cargo had to be transported by horse and cart which was a slow and expensive process. A mule pulling a canal boat could pull about fifty times more weight on water than it could pulling weight on land. Hills and valleys were a problem for canal builders. Locks were often built on canals to move boats up or down hills. Tunnels were built to take the canal through a hill and aqueducts to carry them across a valley. Canals have very little flow and therefore only small currents. Be careful though as strong currents can be found near locks! Have your students complete the canals and rivers worksheet.

32 The National Canal Museum Canals and Rivers Worksheet

Canals Rivers

Use the chart on the right to record five differences between canals and rivers.

33 The National Canal Museum Canals and Rivers

Worksheet Answers

Canals Rivers Use the chart on the right to record Are man made – you can choose Are natural – a river chooses five differences where to build a canal. its own path. between canals and rivers. Are built to be navigated. Not always navigable.

Built to the width necessary for Grow from a source, flow the boats which are to use it. downhill and increase in size. Use locks or lifts to move boats uphill.

Usually have quite weak currents Can have strong currents except near locks. and be very fast flowing.

Very rarely suffer from drought Can suffer from droughts or flood as water entering canal and floods. can be regulated.

Guided Practice / Independent Practice - Doing it by themselves

1. Tell your students that they will have $800,000 (this is how much it cost to build the Lehigh Canal) 1830s money to complete their canal. They must use at least 1 aqueduct, 1 tunnel, and 3 locks. The cost of each structure is as follows: $30,000 to build a lock $60,000 to build an aqueduct $90,000 to build a tunnel $20,000 to build a section of canal 2. Before the students start their mapping project hand out the “Elevation Differences”: worksheet and the elevation diagram with the vertical scale symbol. The students need to measure the elevation drops for each community between coal town and furnace town. 3. Next, the students must first survey their map and make a plan of where they want to dig their canal. They must keep in mind the elevation differences of each town and what the best route will be for the canal. The scale is 1/4” is equal to 1 mile. 4. After the students have completed their canals they should add up the money spent.

34 The National Canal Museum 35 The National Canal Museum On the next page place the elevations answers

Coal Town

Mule Town

Mill Town Picklesville

Appleville

Tillersville

Barge Town

Lock Town Canalville Vertical Scale 1/4” = 1 mile 50’ Factory Town 40’ Measure 30’ from the top to the 20’ bottom Furnace Town 10’ 0 Elevation Differences

Towns Elevation difference in feet

1. Coal Town to Picklesville

2. Picklesville to Mule Town

3. Mule Town to Appleville

4. Appleville to Barge Town

5. Barge Town to Tillersville

6. Tillersville to Mill Town

7. Mill Town to Locktown

8. Locktown to Factory Town

9. Factory Town to Canalville

10. Canalville to Furnace Town

11. Total elevation drop from Coal Town to Furnace Town

36 The National Canal Museum

Map Symbols

Create symbols for the objects in your classroom. Canal Section $20,000.00 per section

Canal Cure $20,000.00 per cure

Lock $30,000.00 per lock

Aqueduct $60,000.00 per aqueduct

Tunnel $90,000.00 per tunnel

37 The National Canal Museum Student Vocabulary

Some of these definitions are from Scholastic Children’s Dictionary or Scholastic Science Dictionary

38 The National Canal Museum The Standards in this lesson correlate with the Pennsylvania Academic Standards

Academic Standards for Mathematics 2.2.3 Computation and Estimation A. Use estimation skills to arrive at conclusions 2.3.3 Measurement and Estimation B. Determine the measurement of objects with non-standard and standard units E. Determine the appropriate G. Estimate and verify measurements 2.4.3 Mathematical Reasoning and Connections A. Use measurements in everyday situations

39 The National Canal Museum Build a Canal Lesson Plan for Grades 6 to 8

Materials K Pictures of river sections K Rivers & Canals worksheet K Copies of canal sections K Elevation Differences worksheet K Town representations K Elevation section K Yarn K Ruler Procedure: 1. Have the students watch the film “A Horse, Rope, and Muddy Strip of Water.” The film is about 8 minutes long

You can do this activity as a whole class or make two maps and divide the class. 2. Using the map images 1 -9 create a river(s). You don’t have to use all of them and you can use images more than once. Place the picture of the coal town at the beginning of the river and the port city at the end of the river. 3. Show your students how they are to measure the river and then convert the measurement to miles. 4. Students should measure the distance between the coal town and the furnace town using the yarn provided. The students should follow the river and using removable tape have them tape the string down and then take it off the map and measure how long it is. Convert the inches into miles. The scale is 1/4” = 1 mile. 5. Why Canals?

Discuss with your students why canals were built and their advantages over rivers. Canals and rivers Canals and rivers are both channels containing water. They have a bed at the bottom and banks at the side, however, they are different. Rivers Rivers are natural channels of water. They are all different but work in similar ways. Rivers start from a source which is usually in a remote place in high ground. They finish at the river’s mouth which is usually where the river meets the sea. Rivers flow downhill and they often get wider and deeper as they flow. Rivers are not always navigable. This means that boats cannot always travel on them. In places rivers will be very narrow, very steep or very shallow and not suitable for boats. Rivers can also suffer from floods or droughts. People sometimes try to control rivers by changing their course to make them safe for boats to use or to try to prevent flooding. Rivers can be very fast flowing with strong currents.

40 The National Canal Museum Canals Canals are man made channels of water. Most canals in this country were built during the 19th century for boats to use in order to move cargo around the country. As canals are man made, the people building the canal can decide where they will start and finish and how deep and wide they will be. Before canals were built, cargo had to be transported by horse and cart which was a slow and expensive process. A mule pulling a canal boat could pull about fifty times more weight on water than it could pulling weight on land. Hills and valleys were a problem for canal builders. Locks were often built on canals to move boats up or down hills. Tunnels were built to take the canal through a hill and aqueducts to carry them across a valley. Canals have very little flow and therefore only small currents. Be careful though as strong currents can be found near locks! Have your students complete the canals and rivers worksheet.

41 The National Canal Museum 42

The Museum National Canal Sample river layout Using the map images 1 -9 create a river(s). You don’t have to use all of them and you can use images more than once. Place the picture of the coal town at the beginning of the river and the port city at the end of the river. 43 The National Canal Museum 44 The National Canal Museum 45 The National Canal Museum 46 The National Canal Museum 47 The National Canal Museum 48 The National Canal Museum 49 The National Canal Museum 50 The National Canal Museum 51 The National Canal Museum WN O ORY T CT A F

52 The National Canal Museum WN O AL T CO

53 The National Canal Museum