Geography, Geology, and Genius; How Coal and Canals Ignited the American Industrial Revolution by Martha Capwell Fox. 228 pages with numerous illustrations. Canal History and Tecnology Press, 2019 Suggested Retail Price $24.95. Available at the National Canal Museum website –https://canals.org/shop/
The Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor was established in 1988. It covers five counties in southeastern Pennsylvania and it is based around the Delaware and Lehigh rivers. Martha Capwell Fox serves as the archivist and historian for the Heritage Corridor, a position that makes her well suited to write a book that covers the history of the two valleys and surrounding region.
Martha begins by recounting how she and Tom Stonebeck rediscovered a 369-page Historic Resources Study, that was written to support the creation of the Heritage Corridor. She calls this study a “sweeping, monumental, detailed telling” of the D&L Corridor that no one read (once the Corridor had been established). One can understand that these studies are written to be read by academic professionals and perhaps political staff, not for the general public. None-the-less, if one takes the time to dive into one, they will find that these reports contain lots of valuable information. Mr. Stonebeck, then the Executive Director of the National Canal Museum, asked Martha to go through the report and perhaps make a readable book out of it that would help everyone understand the significance of the D&L Corridor. Martha has accomplished this goal and more. As a historian, she understands that at the core of all history are the people who lived, worked, and died; and without telling their stories, much of the history rings hollow. After all, what would a canal boat be without its crew? Plus, she has an additional three decades of learning and listening to help round out the history of the region, so you will benefit from those who came before her and from her own research.
The book starts in the late 1700’s, and works it way up through the 1960’s. Each chapter covers a topic and a period of time. Weaving throughout are the rivers, the canals, and the railroads, since without these means of transportation, there never would have been the development in the region. Coal also plays a large part in the story, but it is not the only part. Coal may have began the building of wealth, but once a businessman was wealthy, they often divested into other industries. So you will find sections on; cement, silk, iron and steel production, Mack trucks, zinc, Dixie Cups, the war effort, and much more.
As Martha develops the chapters, and when she wishes to present the biography of the people involved, she interweaves a separate side-bar biography. Some of these are a full one-page, while others might be a half-page. This is a nice touch, since it doesn’t clutter up the narrative by trying to fit the full lifetime biography into the story. It also allows the reader the chance just to focus on the individual.
The illustrations are remarkably clear and well presented. And there are plenty of them. In the main chapters, all are black and white or greyscale. A small chapter after the Epilogue is titled; The Corridor in Color, where a number of noteworthy images are presented in color. Thankfully, the illustrations are woven throughout the text and not segregated to a few pages in the middle of the book.
For the well informed canal enthusiast, you will learn little new here. Other works have told the story of the Lehigh and Delaware Canals. However, the focus on the river navigation and canals are covered in the first couple chapters. After that, you will find a fascinating history of the many industries that were built along the rivers and canals, and perhaps be surprised at the great variety in manufacturing. And if you know nothing of the area, this is a excellent introduction. Hopefully, all will be motivated to visit the Heritage Corridor. It is a beautiful area with lots to see and do.
Martha ends the book with a really nice epilogue of how the region has changed throughout the years, and what are the current conditions of the geology, conservation, tourism, manufacturing, education, and more. Martha met the goals laid out by Tom Stonebeck. She has taken a well researched and dense report and turned it into a even better researched and presented book. You will not be disappointed.