Pennsylvania Canal
Solebury Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
A system of State-built public works to connect Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Lake Erie. The Delaware Division, Bristol-Easton, begun 1827; operated by the State 1831-58, and by private owners to 1931. A State Park since 1940.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
Pennsylvania's ambitious public works program aimed to link Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Lake Erie by water. The Delaware Division, running Bristol to Easton, was begun in 1827 and carried anthracite and goods along the river. Operated by the state from 1831 to 1858 and by private owners until 1931, the corridor became a state park in 1940.
Why it matters
The canal era briefly turned Pennsylvania's river valleys into commercial highways, and this preserved route recalls the state's gamble on public infrastructure to spur growth.
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Related events
- · Pennsylvania Canal (Delaware Division)
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Delaware Canal
Solebury Township, PA · est. 1949
Lock No. 12 marks one of the twenty-three lift locks that carried boats along the Delaware Canal between Bristol and Easton. Just upstream, one of the canal's nine aqueducts lifted the waterway and its traffic across a small stream draining toward the Delaware. In the mid-1800s, mule-drawn boats laden with coal passed through here in steady procession.
Pennsylvania Canal
Solebury Township, PA · est. 1949
In the early 19th century Pennsylvania raced to bind its distant corners together with a state-financed network of canals reaching from Philadelphia toward Pittsburgh and Lake Erie. The Delaware Division running from Bristol to Easton broke ground in 1827 and moved coal and freight along the river valley. The state ran it until 1858, private owners kept it working into 1931, and it became a state park in 1940.
Samuel D. Ingham
Solebury Township, PA · est. 1947
Samuel D. Ingham was born on this ground on September 16, 1779, and rose to become one of the young republic's notable public men. He served as Secretary of the Treasury from 1829 to 1831 under President Andrew Jackson, alongside a long career in other state and national offices. A promoter of the early anthracite coal trade and an advocate for canals, he helped tie Pennsylvania's mineral wealth to the growing national economy.
Delaware Canal
New Hope, PA · est. 1949
Opened from Bristol as far as this point in 1831 and finished to Easton by 1852, the Delaware Canal became one of Pennsylvania's vital freight arteries. An outlet lock built here in 1834 connected the canal to the river itself, and the nearby River House of 1794 served as a favorite stop for barge crews. For decades the canal bustled with boats carrying coal downriver toward Philadelphia and beyond.