Delaware and Lehigh Canals

For many decades in the 19th century, and into the 20th century, anthracite coal was the fuel of industrial America, consumed by the steam engines that powered factories along the east coast. Even larger quantities went into the making of iron, the raw product of the Industrial Revolution. In many homes, schools, businesses, it was the preferred heating and cooking fuel. How the anthracite got from the mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania to the places where it was used is a story of grand-scale entrepreneurship. It is also the story of the Delaware Canal and the Lehigh Navigation, the two waterways that carried the coal to the cities of the Lehigh Valley, to Philadelphia, to New York, and to points beyond and between. They were used until the 1930s. Long before then they had captivated both the artistic and casual photographer. The beauty of the canals and their locks is apparent in many of the photographs in the book. as is the hard work in the faces of the boatman and their families.