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The (New York State) Blue Line Maps

By Michael Riley

The focus of this article is how the built and operating canals were surveyed and mapped. We might call these maps “As Builts,” since they show what had been constructed. Having a decent map would aid the engineers and maintenance crews in their planning and repairs. And was necessary for the legal departments who had to defend against damage claims. This article will take a look at the history these maps, and why you should be using them as a canal researcher.

Although the process would be similar, the work of the surveying teams who measured the land to determine the route of the yet to be built canal, was very different. The life and hardships of these men is the stuff of legend, and there are many books and articles about them. In his autobiography, John Jervis wrote about his early life on canal survey crew, which offers a look at how someone could start as a axeman and work his way up to becoming an civil engineer.ⁱ William C Young wrote about his time on a survey crew in 1816-17 which offers a intimate look at how the crews functioned.ⁱⁱ

Over the nearly 100-years of the towpath canals in New York State, thousands of maps have been drawn that show the canals. But only a few maps show the entire length of the canals, from end to end, in a scale that allows the researcher to see structures, nearby buildings and streets, and even property owners. The maps that this article will focus on are;

1) The 1834 “Holmes Hutchinson” maps of the early canals.ⁱⁱⁱ

2) The 1869 – 1874 maps of the Enlarged canals.^iv

3) The 1896 “Schillner” maps of the Enlarged canals.^v

4) The 1910 “Blue Line” maps.^vi

At one time New York State had twelve working canals covering nearly1000 miles, and not every map set will cover every canal. But rest assured that somewhere in the New York State Archives, there will be a map of your canal and it is likely that many of these methods described here will apply.

Surveying the Built Canal, and the Red and Blue Lines

For the purpose of this article, let us keep things simple and say that the survey process locates fixed points on the earth, while a map is a visual representation of the survey. An example might an old deed that says something like, “Beginning at a blaze on a apple tree near the road.” Here the apple tree becomes the point where the survey begins and all others will go to start as they retrace the survey or property lines. If the deed is from the early 1800s, it might tell you to, “walk 14 paces to the rock in the stream and then follow the course of the stream down to the bridge.” This is the Metes and Bounds method of surveying. Over the years the process improved and became more scientific that used measuring instruments. Thus you will see phrases such as; “runs thence north 20 degrees 45 minutes east, two chains, 4 links.” Whatever the method, by repeatedly finding and connecting points in the landscape, a survey will be created. Later, by using the survey and notes, a map could be drawn.^vii

This method of a boundary survey works fine for determining the outline of a piece of land. But on a long and linear canal, that might have been built through wetlands or deep cuts, it would be impractical to try to measure the properties boundary. Instead, another method was used. As the canals had a nice flat towpath, it was a simple matter to layout a line along the towpath and use this as the base line from which all measurements were made. The base line, shown on the survey notes and maps with red ink, became known as the red line.

Wherever there was a change in the canal, such as a change in direction or the width of the canal, or to note a structure (bridge, aqueduct, or lock, etc), the surveyor would stop and establish a cross section. The cross section was perpendicular to the red line running to outer edges of the canal property. Using the red line as the base, measurements would be taken to the outer edge of the towpath and berm embankments. So keep in mind that any red line on the map is a line of measurement.

A very simplified drawing of the redline and cross sections

Once the surveys were completed, a draftsman would use the survey data to draw a map. With the red line and cross sections laid out on paper, the outside boundary of the canal land could be roughly determined by drawing a line that connected the end of each cross section. Since blue ink was used to show this line, the “blue line” became the term for the state boundaries. This is why the drainage ditches on the outer edge of the embankments were called the “Blue Line Ditches,” and the maps are called the “Blue Line Maps.” Just keep in mind that the blue line was not measured, it was inferred.

In 1891, a newspaper article said; “What the Blue-Line Is.” The “Blue Line” is often mentioned in the course of the pending great debate in the senate. A brief explanation of what the Blue line is may be of interest. This line was established by the canal board when the canal enlargement of 1840 was made. The engineer corps, in surveying for the enlargement, indicated on its maps with a blue line the boundaries of the lands which were deemed necessary for State purposes. The irregularity of the line is explained as having been caused by adaptations to the needs of the canal. Where there wee embankments or streams or other peculiarities, the line was made to conform to these conditions as they were thought to affect the canals. The rule was to run the line five or six feet outside the limit of land absolutely required. The indication by the blue line was a formal taking of property by the State and extinction of the title of formal ownership.^viii The date of 1840 in this article appears to be slightly in error as the first instance of the use of a blue line was with the 1834 canal maps. The term “blue line” would later be adopted for the line that shows the state lands in the Adirondack Park.

The blue line connects the cross sections.

Field Books and Monuments

A part of the survey teams tool kit were small note books in which they recorded their measurements and notes. In order to not turn this article into a book, it will suffice to note that these note books were used to record not only what the surveyor was measuring, but also what was around them. All the data you will find on the finished maps will be found in the field books, plus more. If you are exploring local history, and what may have been around the canals, be sure to check the field note books. Don’t assume it will be on the maps.

Below are two versions of the 1830s Holmes Hutchinson field notes, showing the Erie Canal in Port Byron, NY. The rough draft was likely done in the field while the other was a cleaned up version, perhaps drawn in the office. The survey shows the canal crossing the Owasco Aqueduct and passing Beach’s Mill. At the time the mill was one of the largest in the state and used the canal for receiving grain and shipping flour. Note that the canal is represented as running straight up the page, while on the map, the canal has quite the bend.

1834 field notes of Port Byron. All the maps used in this post are from the New York State Archives. (B0292)

A cleaned up version of the Port Byron notes. Note the location of the drydock and mill. (B0292)

The 1834 Holmes hutchinson map of Port Byron. Note the drydock and Beach’s Mill. (Joined by author. Erie Canal_6_Camillus to Galen, 309 Erie HH Map Mentz (Port Byron).pdf, and 310 Erie HH Map Mentz (Port Byron).pdf. Cropped to fit.)

As noted prior, all surveys need a physical point in the landscape where the measurements begin. These might be called a bench-mark, a hub, or a monument. While the older surveys used anything that was prominent in the landscape, such as that apple tree, eventually the tree would died and the stump dug up. And as more property was sold and divided, conflicts arose as to the lines of ownership.

In 1827, Governor DeWitt Clinton recommended that a survey of the state be made and a map drawn. Nothing happened with this. Then again in 1852 and ‘53, the governors stated that a state-wide survey be made, but nothing happened. In 1875, the American Geographical Society reported; “that the existing maps, made from these old land-parcelling surveys and by private parties, were as nearly worthless as possible.”^ix The state finally relented and began a survey in 1876.

To begin their survey, the State used monuments that had been placed along the Atlantic coast by the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, and and monuments around the Great Lakes that had been installed by the United States Lake Survey. These would serve as the foundation for their survey. If the survey was carried out correctly, the two should meet at exactly the same place somewhere in the middle of the state. This survey went on up to 1884 when the Governor vetoed the funding. It was restarted in 1888 by the U.S. Geological Surveyor and continued ever since.

As part of this survey, monuments were placed in the landscape that noted true north. Any surveyor could then use one of these to begin their measurements and thus, everyone would be working off the same grid. Interestingly, the canal itself would often become the place of permanence in the landscape and many deeds will often mention the blue line of the canal as part of the survey, even though in many cases, the line of the canal was often in doubt.

This is a fun example showing the use of bench marks. I include it because it is a remarkable example of what you can find in the field books. This is from the 1895 Improvement of the Clyde area. I would bet that Mack’s barn looked like this. (B0730 Box 23)

The 1834 Holmes Hutchinson Maps

As noted, the 1834 Holmes Hutchinson (HH) maps are a set of “as builts,” meaning that they are a record what had been built. During the canal construction, property was often taken and the state had no record of what was what, and who was who. The HH maps were made to fill that void.

In the HH collection, there are a total of 18 volumes showing five canals. The Erie Canal is shown in 10 volumes, with about 540 maps total. All the Hutchinson map sets have a set of Explanatory Remarks that go into detail as to how the map was drawn, but here are the basics with some added comments.

For surveyors of that time, the method of measurement was the 66-foot-long chain, otherwise known as the Surveyors or Gunter Chain. The chain had 100 links, each .66 of a foot or 7.92 inches in length. A mile would be 80 chains long (66ft times 80 chains = 5280 feet or one mile). The were drawn at a scale of two chains to the inch, or one inch equals 132 feet (66 times 2 = 132 feet), and all measurements are shown as chains and links. The measurements seem to run from west to east, although I have yet to find a point of beginning. But knowing where the surveyor began doesn’t really matter with this type of survey, because at every cross section, the measurement is reset to zero. So it goes something like this; start here- measure 2.50 chains to a cross section- stop, note the distance and measure the cross section, then reset and restart- measure 4 chains- stop, make notes, etc. In total, the measured distance was 6.50 chains, but it is not represented in that manner. On the colored version of the maps, it is easy to see where each measurement ends as it is noted with as a solid red cross section line running across the canal.

Confused? There is more. There are also places where an intermediate measurements were taken, meaning that the distance, bearing and cross section were noted, but the measurement continues. These intermediate sections are shown as dashed red lines. So you will see: start- measure 1.5 chains, stop to note measurement, continue- measure 3.0 chains – stop and reset to zero.

The measurements shown here are on one of the Hutchinson maps.

All compass headings are shown using the quadrant system where all headings begin either North or South, and then work between 0 and 90 degrees East or West. The heading N 88 E shows us that the canal was pointed 88 degrees east of north, or almost due east.

The HH maps are wonderful to study as they include the built and natural environs around the canal. Stores, businesses, property owners, roads and streets, prior canals, creeks, rivers, mill races, steam and electric railroads, historical sites, and more, can be found on the maps. The maps only include those features that are within a block or two of the canal, so in places where the canal passed through a city or village, you see a slice of the neighborhood. As they were drawn in the 1830s, these maps are often the first ever made of many villages and cities.

The 1834 HH maps were accepted and certified by the Canal Board, the Board of Canal Commissioners, and the Comptroller’s Office, as the legal maps of the State of New York.

The 1869-1874 Enlarged Canal Maps

The 1869 maps are another set of “as-builts,” showing the recently completed Enlarged canals. The funds to survey and complete the maps was provided by Chapter 543, Laws of 1866. The law states that the funding was to defray the expense of completing the work. This seems to suggest that the maps had been in the works prior to 1866, but there may have been an issue within the engineering offices as the act also notes that a uniform style of map had been adopted. The maps were completed in 1874. The Archives has them listed as B0292 in various volumes.

The maps were drawn in the offices of the division engineers, beginning with Van Richmond’s in the east. The 1869 “Richmond” map shows the canal from Albany to Rexford. These maps use the 66-foot-long Gunter chain, and many of the methods of measurement that were used on the Hutchinson maps apply to these. And yet, there are notations that tie the surveys, in some places, to local monuments. You can see these in the Cohoes area. As these maps predate the statewide surveys, it would be interesting to know what the monuments were. And other base lines were used to tie the survey to the landscape. In this way, these surveys are a bit more “scientific.” However, the maps are lacking in many of the details seen on the other maps. While they show nearby streets, and even the outline of blocks, they show only a few canal side buildings. They also show the route of the early canals. The maps were never certified but they were used by the state.

The 1869 Richmond map of the West Troy sidecut. The map was drawn by Charles D Burrus. (crop of Richmond1869 47-12A UpprSdCt.jpg)

The 1896 Schillner Maps

The Schillner maps came about as a result of the 1895 Improvement, also known as the nine-million-dollar deepening. The project was passed as an legislative act under Chapter 79 of the Laws of 1895, which called for the deepening of the canal by two feet, from seven to nine feet.^x To support this work, surveys were made of the Erie, Champlain and Oswego in the winter of 1896 while the canals were shut down and drained. Although the main purpose of the surveys was to provide data to the engineering department in their efforts to create estimates and let out contracts for work, they were later used to create the1896 maps.

In the complete Schillner map archive, there are 71 rolls of three canals; the Erie, Champlain and Oswego. There are 53 rolls in the Erie set, 10 of the Champlain, and 8 of the Oswego. Physically, these maps are large at 234 x 183 cm, or 94 x 73 inches, Each roll is divided into four, five or six “frames” stacked top to bottom, each one running horizontally across the full width of the roll. Each frame is 30 to 60 cm, or 12 to 24 inches, in height. The height of the frame is governed by the complexity of the canal at that point, such as if it is passing through a populated area, or maybe somewhat twisting. So basically each roll will show 4, 5 or 6 segments of the canal. Each segment shows about 6700 to 6800 feet, or about 1.28 miles. So if you were to cut up the map and line each section side to side, the map would show between 4.8 to 7.8 miles of canal. These maps have been digitized. This divides the map into smaller bite-sized chunks of 10 to 30 plus images. Additional images were made of the locks and other notable features with a tighter lens and this adds to the number of images per roll.

(map-layout)

Here is a remarkable image made by Steven Talbot, where he pieced together all the images to create a roll. You can view Steven’s map work with this link.

We know the survey process used for these maps as it was outlined in the Annual Report. The Erie, Oswego and Champlain canals were divided into 28 sections that had an average length of 18 miles. (Note- these are not the eleven canal maintenance sections that are mentioned in the annual reports. These sections were only used for the 1895 canal improvement survey and later the 1896 maps.) Over 200 men were pulled from the civil service lists to act as assistant engineers, rod men, chain men, ax men, levelers and laborers. The work began in January 1896 and lasted throughout what they all said was a very harsh winter. The teams first laid out a base line (the red line) with stations every 100 feet using the Ramsden Engineers chain, or Paines steel measuring tape.^xi All measurements on the maps are shown in feet and inches.

Selected stations, or a point of measurement, were tied to the ground by the use of bench marks. These bench marks ranged from iron spikes driven in between the stonework of canal structures, telephone poles, corners of buildings, fence posts, iron rods or wooden pegs driven into the ground, and more. Although the red line continued to be the inside edge of the towpath, to make it easier to work and set up the equipment, the line was “off-set” to the middle of the towpath. The off-set is shown on the maps with green ink. Once the red, and green, lines and stations had been established, the teams went back to run cross sections every 100 feet, or so, depending on the nature of the canal and what had to be removed or modified.

A big departure from the earlier maps was that each of the 24 sections were measured as one unit. The survey began at the east boundary line and worked to the western end. These measurements are show along the green line as small circles with a corresponding green numbering as needed to mark the location of structures, to aid the count, or bench marks. It appears that bench marks are noted as small triangles. So keep in mind that if you want to use these maps to locate a structure, the station count will reset to 0.00 23 times. I note this because in1905, Nobel Whitford also used the 100-foot-stations for measurements in his “Tables of Existing Structures On Canals.”^xii However, he used a continuous measurement beginning at the Hudson River.^xiii The blue lines are inferred by connecting the ends of the cross sections.

(diagram-003)

The 1896 maps. The blue line has been left out to make it easier to read.

As with the Hutchinson maps, these are very useful in showing the built and natural environs around the canal. The Archives listing says that, “In addition they show: city, town and county lines; streams, rivers, bodies of water and islands; property lines, along with names of owners and sometimes acreage of land; and streets, railroad lines, businesses and civic landmarks (ice companies, mills, cemeteries, etc.).” Basically anything within a couple blocks of the canal are seen.

The maps also are very useful in showing the route and some features from the Clinton’s Ditch canal. The older canal is represented with a combination of red and blue dashed lines, and/or black ink drawings that show a “shadow” of what once there. The use of shadow lines and ink wash seem to emphasize areas of note such as locks, basins, drydocks, etc. In addition, the maps include the 1834 cross section measurements with the old chain measurements converted to feet, and the older compass bearings. It does not include any of the linear measurements between the cross sections. Maybe this would have made the maps too busy, or perhaps Schillner felt it was unnecessary as anyone who needed them could simply pull out the old 1834 maps? The old canal does tend to wander off the Schillner maps in places where the two canal routes diverged, but it always comes back. It does appear that Clinton’s Ditch was added in the office and not surveyed.

Two of the 1896 maps of Clyde. If you look at the end of Lock Street, you can see the Clinton’s Ditch lock as a shadow. This is also the section of canal that was shown with the field book bench marks. Mack’s store is where the two maps are joined. (Merged by author, Roll 30 01_DSC0130.jpg and Roll 31 25_DSC0140.jpg. Cropped to fit.)

Although the work on the canal improvement was ordered to stop on March 8, 1898, the work on the maps continued as the state needed up-to-date maps. The Middle Division engineer noted that in addition to the work on the estimates, the survey teams were also gathering information that would be used by the State Board of Claims in defense of lawsuits that would very likely be lodged against the state for damages. He somewhat hopefully added that the survey data cold be used to; “create new set of canal maps, as there has been many changes in the canals since the enlargement which are not recorded on the maps now in use.”^xiv Maybe he knew something was in the works. In 1921, Anson Getman, wrote that in 1896, George L. Schillner had, “commenced a compilation of all maps of all lands which had been acquired for canal purposes to that time,” and that the Canal Law of 1894 ordered “the preparation of complete manuscript maps and field notes of every canal then or thereafter.”^xv So it certainly appears that Schillner and the others were working under two or more of these laws that were addressing different issues. You will also find these maps as being completed under Chapter 569, Laws of 1899. which was an act making appropriations for certain expenses of government and supplying deficiencies in former appropriations. One of the many projects listed was; “For the state engineer and surveyor, for completing new blue line maps of the Erie, Oswego and Champlain canals,…”

Getman noted that the work on the maps took 12 years, ending in 1908. Schillner’s name appears on other projects during this time, so the maps were not his only job. Getman also noted that the maps had not been certified by the State Engineer or approved by the canal board, so they “bear no endorsement.”

Getman might be the first person to add George Schillner’s name to the maps. Perhaps the maps were George’s pet project and the guys in the office just started to call them the Schillner maps? No one says. In 1939, the 1896 maps were introduced as evidence in the case Northern New York Power vs New York State, as the “Schillner Maps.”^xvi This is odd as there is no mention of the 1910 maps. But being used as evidence in a trial seems to show that the court accepted the maps as somewhat “certified.”

By the time the 1896 maps were complete, the state was deep into the Barge Canal project. The maps, as nice as they were, showed a canal system that was disappearing.

The 1910 Blue Line Maps

Amazing, for all the work that went into the 1896 maps, they were never certified by the state. Instead the state passed Chapter 199 of the Laws of 1910, which was; “An act to provide for the mapping of certain canal lands and the lands adjacent thereto belonging to the state.” This act was certainly in response to the pending abandonment of the old canals as the new Barge Canal was brought into use. Within a couple years, the state would be in the position to begin selling off these lands and they needed a certified legal survey and map that would become part of the record. The 1910 Annual Report notes states that the only “official” canal map was the 1834 Holmes Hutchinson map, and that the purpose of the 1910 Act was to re-establish the boundaries of the canals that were being enlarged into the Barge Canal system.^xvii

The Archives listing says; “This series consists of whiteprint copies of original survey maps, commonly referred to as “blue line maps,” of land appropriated by the State for canal purposes. The maps depict in minute detail lands acquired for canal purposes up to and including the time of construction of the Barge Canal. The Department of Public Works (earlier the State Engineer and Surveyor) produced and retained the original maps and submitted whiteprint copies to the Comptroller and Secretary of State. This set of maps was filed with the Comptroller. Laws of 1910 (Chapter 199) and 1917 (Chapter 51) authorized the production of “blue line maps” (the blue lines indicated boundaries of State-owned lands along the Erie, Champlain, Oswego, Black River, and Cayuga and Seneca canals) to minimize property disputes resulting from the construction of the Barge Canal. The maps depict inner angles of the towpaths on the old canal; property owned by the State prior to Barge Canal construction; property appropriated by the State for the Barge Canal project; locations of the old canal lines; location of the proposed Barge Canal; and various structures, roads, streets, and other landmarks and the names of owners of private property adjacent to the canal.”^xviii A quick count of the maps showed 1029 maps in 71 volumes. The scale used was one inch equals 100 feet. The maps have a key, which is needed as the volumes do not run in sequential order.

Before the survey crews were assigned, the office of the state engineer made “survey” of what records they already had on file. In addition to the 1834 maps and field books, the 1869 maps were examined, and the “rolled maps” and ‘Nine Million’ surveys, which were called the “most valuable compilation existing,” but were also not considered to be of much value.^xix One of the issues was that the older surveys and maps used compass bearings that were magnetic and not off the true meridian. And as the canal was so long, other factors such as the curvature of the earth had to be accounted for. All new surveys had to be conducted to re-establish the red and blue lines.

As they conducted the surveys, the teams used three-quarter inch iron pins to mark points on the blue line boundaries, and brass monuments to mark the red line. The brass plate had “ears” that were embedded into a concrete column that was eight inches round by 54 inches long. These were buried in the towpath along the red line. The top of the monument said; N.Y.S. – CANAL RED LINE MONUMENT, with blank spaces where the survey team would use a hand punch to add the station measurement and offset. (Sadly most of these have ended up in collectors hands over the years. Any that remained were plowed up by the contractors during the construction of the Empire State Trail.)

Two of the red line monuments in the collection of the Lock 52 Historical Society of Port Byron, NY.

By comparing the 1896 and 1910 maps, certain stations can be found on both, however the noted measurements do differ. Plus, the 1910 maps used two methods to establish base, red and blue lines, and the title page should be consulted if you are taking a deep dive into the measurements. The big difference between the Hutchinson and Schillner maps, and the 1910 maps, is that the blue line was surveyed and monuments placed so that; “Blue line points can be relocated by using the data shown on the map.”

The 1910 maps vary in what canal side features are shown. For instance, the little village of Pattersonville is noted, but few buildings are seen, while 3 miles away, the details for the village of Rotterdam Junction are a bit more robust. The maps also take an interesting approach to the new Barge Canal. The new Barge Canal Lock 10, dam 6 is shown fully constructed, however Lock 8, dam 4 is not even noted, and Lock 11, dam 7 merely shows up as dam piers.^xx This is a bit odd as the work on the maps went on into the 1920s, so they certainly had time to update the maps and show the full lock and dam structures.

The 1910 Blue Line map of Rotterdam Junction. Lock 25 can be seen. (Set A BK_1_62.jpg)

The work went on for over 14 years. In the Annual Report of 1924, the State Engineer wrote that the work was almost complete. He said, “It is not a simple process, however, to prepare these lands for sale. Extensive surveys have to be made, maps must be prepared, and in these activities precautions taken which will insure accuracy of the surveys and correct descriptions of the lands. In preparing for the surveys it is necessary to examine old maps and deeds back to the first canals of the state, nearly one hundred years ago, when surveying and mapping was not the exact science it is today. In addition to the men required to examine the titles and plot the lands, survey parties are required to define the lands in the field, and others to prepare blue line maps for the Canal Board and to follow these with abandonment maps and descriptions. To survey one mile of old canal in a month is a good average rate of progress for a field surveying party.”^xxi However, he added that the costs of mapping were not as high as continued maintenance of the old canal lands.

For those who wish to know everything about the maps, you might be wondering what the crosses with the numbers might be. I asked someone who used to use these maps in his day to day job, and he thought it might be part of a quadrant system that was tied to a master map. But he honestly wasn’t sure.

In Conclusion

If you have made it this far, congratulations, for you are a real map geek!

I picked these four map sets as they offer the most comprehensive view of the canals, its structures and canal side neighborhoods. However, the New York State Archives listing of maps is very extensive. There are over 140 volumes of maps in B0292 alone, with a great many of these dated between 1850 and 1880. So even if one of these sets missed a canal you are interested in, there is likely a map of it in the collection. Also, remember that other repositories will often have these maps, so be sure to check with the Canal Society of New York State or the Erie Canal Museum.

Steven Talbot has a great mapping webpage at Enlarged Erie Canal Map Viewer and he also helped me out with this article, so please take a look at what we has done.

And if you are a surveyor, and I got something wrong, please contact me!

Here is a comparison showing Sprakers, NY, with three of the four maps.

The Hutchinson map of Sprakers. The canal crossed Flat Creek on a small slack-water pool . You can see where Ferry and Clinton Streets ran up to the basin. (crop of 97 Erie HH Map Root & Canajoharie)

The Schillner map of Sprakers. The canal runs across the page while Flat creek runs from bottom to top. The canal crosses the creek on Aqueduct 9 and Enlarged Lock 31 is just to the right. Just above the lock is the boundary line that divides sections 4 and 5. The old line of Clinton’s Ditch can be seen curving across the top and note the outline of the basin. The line of the West Shore railroad runs across the bottom of the map. (Roll 10 Root and Canajoharie- 19_DSC9115.jpg)

The 1910 Blue Line Maps of Sprakers. The large circles note the location of bench-marks, and the map contains many measurements and compass headings. It also makes note of the old Clinton’s Ditch locks, something that the Schillner maps missed. (crop of Set FF BK3_110.jpg)

iJohn B. Jervis. The Reminiscences of John B. Jervis; Engineer of the Old Croton. Syracuse University Press. 1971

iiWilliam C. Young. Reminiscences of Surveys of The Erie Canal In 1816-17. Canal Enlargement In New York State. Buffalo Historical Society Publications, Vol. 13. 1909. Page 333.

iiiA0848. Canal system survey maps (“Holmes Hutchinson maps”), 1832-1843. 19 cu. ft. (26 volumes) The maps are available on the NYS Archives website. Search for the series number.

ivB0292, in various volumes; 31, 38, 43, 47, 57, 67, 75, 100.

vB0253. Barge Canal sectional maps (“Schillner Maps”), ca. 1896. ca. 132 cu. ft. (71 maps)

viA0867. Whiteprint copies of maps of lands permanently appropriated by the State for canal purposes (“blue line maps”), 1917-1948. 28 cu. ft. (69 portfolios containing ca. 850 maps)

viiFor those who are interested, Philip L. Lord, Jr., wrote an excellent book on reading old surveys and how they were conducted. Mills on the Tsatsawassa, The State Education Department, 1983.

viiiWhat the Blue Line Is. The Argus, Albany, NY. April 23, 1891. Page 4.

ixHenry Gannett. The Mapping of New York State. Journal of the American Geographical Society of New York, Vol. XXVII, 1895. Page 22,

xThe full text of Chapter 79 can be found in the Annual Report of the State Engineer and Surveyor, Fiscal Year Ending September 30, 1895, Wynkoop Hallenbeck Crawford and Company, Albany, 1896, pages 6 – 11.

xi The NYS Archives mistakenly says that Schillner measured the canal using the surveyors 66-foot-chain.

xiiWhitford, 1905, Vol 2, Page 1069.

xiiiIt is easy to convert these stations to feet or miles by using ((station x 100)) / 5280). (Example- Station 528.89 times 100 equals 52889 feet divided by 5280 equals 10.02 miles.)

xivAnnual Report of the State Engineer and Surveyor, For the year 1896. page 450.

xvAnson Getman, Principles and Sources of Title To Real Property, Matthew Bender and Company, Albany, 1921. Page 53.

xviNorthern New York Power Corporation vs State of New York, Court of Appeals, 1939, Exhibit No. 116, “Certified copy of Map on file in the Department of the State Engineer and Surveyor, and commonly known as the 1896 or Schillner Map.”

xviiReport of Resurveying the Blue Line, Annual Report of the State Engineer and Surveyor, J.B. Lyon and Company, Albany, 1911. Page 282

xviiiFA05. The Mighty Chain: A Guide to Canal Records in the New York State Archives. 1992

xixReport of Resurveying the Blue Line, Annual Report of the State Engineer and Surveyor, J.B. Lyon and Company, Albany, 1911. Page 282

xx1910 Blue Line Maps, Volume A.

xxi Annual Report of the State Engineer and Surveyor. For the year 1924. Page 32

Canal Comments – A Hike Along the Sandy and Beaver by Terry K. Woods

On April 6, 2022, Terry sent out this column. He introduced it by writing;

In going through my listing of columns, I noticed that I haven’t had one for awhile on the Sandy & Beaver, so I’ve resurrected these notes from a hike made in early June 1971, where I made a momentous discovery (to me) and also got terribly lost – fortunately the only time I did.

Max Gard did a tremendous job putting out his book on the Sandy & Beaver in 1952 before a lot of the data on the exact route of that canal became available. It is still a very accurate history. But I soon discovered when hiking the western division that Max’s guide, in several places, didn’t make sense. Then in the early 1990s, I believe someone “discovered” in the moldering files of an 1854 Lisbon newspaper, a listing of the parcels the Sandy & Beaver Canal had been auctioned off in to pay part of their debts. Now it, and Max’s guide are twin bibles to any hiker of the Sandy & Beaver canal. But I didn’t have the list of parcels then, so all I had was Max’s guide and my own sense of direction. Which failed me utterly during that hike in 1971.

That hike took place before I had seen the parcels, and when I discovered, what I later identified as Dam 9, and a stretch of canal of about a mile in slack water, I didn’t know what to make of it. There are still, even with the list of parcels and miles and miles of hiking that division, several sections that I can’t figure out, but I wrote a guide to the western division and made it available in the mid 1990s.

In the meantime, HEADWAY to you all!!!!!!!

SANDY & BEAVER HIKE

June 06, 1971^ⁱ

This hike was the first time, I believe, I was into this section of the western division of the Sandy & Beaver Canal. I was still driving my 1964 ½ Ford Mustang so I probably parked it at the Crossroads Shopping Center at the north-east corner of Route 800 and Route #183. There was an access road of some kind down into the flats just a bit south of that intersection toward the east. I may have taken it, as I did on a lot of subsequent hikes.

A section of the 1912 Historical Topographic Map Collection. Terry would have parked just to the right of the 939 at the top center and walked east along the creek.

Everything was very wet and mucky down in this area which had been only minimally disturbed by the construction of the “new” (1935) concrete Route 800 bridge across the Big Sandy Creek. The bridge was a result of the construction in the mid 1930s of several flood control dams in the area. One was built across the Big Sandy east of Bolivar and another one across the Tuscarawas north of Dover.

The hike at first wasn’t that strenuous once I got through the muck and wet to the canal towpath. There was a gas pipeline buried in the towpath and legends of “pipe-line walkers” over the years scanning the line for problems had left a clear trail for me. I got about 2 ½ miles in, at the point where the gas pipe line crossed from the right bank of the creek to the left. The canal had been quite evident all along here, and it contained a lock site (#28) that I don’t believe I noticed in this hike.

Just a little bit prior to this pipe-line crossing point was an ‘L’ shaped earth wall with heavy stone rip-rap on the creek side of the canal’s towpath that was mentioned in Max Gard’s Guide to the Sandy &Beaver Canal. It was in remarkably good condition and the action of the “L”, on the west end of the wall had ‘shoved’ the creek a bit to the south and away from the canal. I was thrilled at the discovery.

At that time I also thought I had “discovered” a lock site, (Max had mentioned Lock #28 was also in this area). Just to the north east of the earthen wall, was a site that had all the characteristics of a long-abandoned canal lock, narrow channel with higher earth walls, and numerous small bits of stone scattered about the channel. I later did find the location of Lock #28 was a good distance west, and I have never determined just what this site was, if anything.

The memorable part of this hike, though, was that, shortly after continuing on toward the east from this spot, I got terribly disoriented and “turned around”, and dismally LOST! East of this point there didn’t appear to be the clear trail of the pipe-line walkers that I had been following all the way in from Route #800. I was forced to leave the line of canal and move slightly to my right (south) and skirt the creek. Then, in trying to move back north to pick up the canal line again, I ran into, almost literally, an earthen embankment with some stone rip-rap running in front of me, but running at an angle that didn’t say, “canal embankment”.

I got to the top of this embankment and found a water filled channel in front of me running off to my right and left. I seem to remember following it to my right for a short distance and discovering it ended at a fast moving stream – the Big Sandy! What was that doing here? That discovery completely turned me around. If I had been following the canal, this embankment should have paralleled the canal, not run into it!

I retraced my steps and got to a point where I could cross the channel and I tried to move as directly east as I could. But I found nothing except a tree-choked area, with the towpath embankment turned into an 1899 railroad line^ⁱⁱ, no old canal channel, nothing but this embankment and a flat, tree-filled expanse.

But, I did hear the sound of what I thought was a “one-lung” gasoline motor, chugging away slowly, but steadily somewhere to my left front and above me – up on that ridge to my left somewhere. I turned to my left and began climbing a rather steep embankment. I kept climbing and the “chug, chug, chug” kept chuging. I had quite a climb, but I finally achieved my objective, an automatic and unattended oil pumping station. AND, there was an access road leading away from it. I was overjoyed. An access road probably would lead me to a real road and I could find out where I was in relation to the shopping center and my car. I followed it. It was a long trek, but down-hill and I believed north. Finally, I came out to a site I was familiar with – an octagon-shaped building that I had passed several times. It was located on the north side of Route #183, maybe three miles east of the Cross-Roads Shopping Center!

So now I knew where I was and could at least now head in the right direction to retrieve my car. I did finally reach the shopping center and my Mustang. I got into it, gratefully and tired. And went home!

I’ve made a number of additional hikes into that area over the years and discovered that the embankment was actually the remains of the Sandy & Beaver’s western division Dam No. 9 and that east of that point, for nearly a mile, the canal had been in slack water, so the only evidence of it was a towpath/railroad bed hugging the line of the steep hillside to the north. And that towpath/railroad bed hadn’t been very easy to see with all the trees in the area.

Still, I’ve never forgotten that particular hike and that particular feeling of being completely lost with my sense of direction utterly gone. Fortunately, that is a feeling I never had again while hiking.

i These notes are being typed in February of 2020, ,many, many years after the original hike, from a few memories and several references to this hike in subsequent hike notes.

ii The line of canal from just east of Sandyville toward the east (with a sidecut branch to Magnolia) was covered by a Baltimore & Ohio branch line constructed in 1899 to service the Magnolia Coal Company and also [provided a “combine Car” passenger service to a “station: adjacent to the Elson Mill in Magnolia. This branch line was operational until 1922.

Ronald D. Reid Map of Eastern Ohio and Western Pennsylvania Canals

I found this map in a collection and I thought it was quite a decent map. Ron is a very good canal historian and this reflects his research. I searched for it on the web but didn’t see anyone offering it, so I contacted Ron and asked if we could post it. And he said sure. Thank you Ron.

I am not certain about the canal of the future. Was that in the works at one time? I will add this to the maps section on the homepage.

This map was drawn by Ronald Reid, P.E. in 1983.

Canal Comments – The Nimishillen and Sandy Canal by Terry K. Woods

Ed Note- The ACS has been gifted some of Terry’s files, including some of his hand written research notes, slides and books. One of the items was about 50 slides of the Nimishillen and Sandy, or the N&S. I didn’t know much about this never completed canal, but as Terry lived in Canton, he certainly did. So I knew I would find a Canal Comments about it in my Terry Woods file. I have added some of his images where I can identify his captions with what can be seen on the ground. So all the photos and maps are my addition to Terry’s column, and any mistakes in their captions are mine.

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Here was Terry’s email introduction to his article;

At a recent canal buff’s breakfast in Massillon, Jim G**** commented that a member (I believe) of the McKinley Children’s Museum will be giving a talk in early May on the Nimishillen & Sandy Canal. That was a proposed canal and slack-water navigation from about present Walnut Street and 6th St. N.W. in Canton to the Sandy & Beaver east of Sandyville.

The canal construction was begun in 1835 and stopped due to the economic Panic of 1837. When times were better around 1845, the Canton canal promoters had reset their sights on the resurrected Pennsylvania and Ohio Railroad project.

I have done a great deal of research on the N & S project and have debunked some of the local history of it. I also can’t remember the name of the Canton businessman who was on the Canal Commissioners in 1836. I may have to dig out my N & S Research box. Jim’s mention of the new talk made me get out some of my research. Here, again, is the history, as brief as it is, on the Nimishillen & Sandy Canal.

THE NIMISHILLEN & SANDY CANAL^ⁱ

Canton Ohio, the Stark County Seat, has been the undisputed industrial, population, and political leader of the area since it was founded in 1805. In December 1826, however, eight miles west of Canton, a new town called Massillon was founded on the banks of the recently approved Ohio Canal and, for a time, threatened to replace Canton as the county’s most prosperous and influential community.

You can see a bit of the old canal in this 1901 Topo map of Canton. The “forks” of the Nimishillen can be seen in the lower left where the two branches come together.

Canton’s merchants wanted to get in on some of that booming canal trade, so in the early 1830s, after a proposed eight-mile long horse drawn railroad to the canal at Massillon from Canton had been dismissed as an impossible engineering feat, the Nimishillen & Sandy Navigation Company was formed. A charter was issued in 1831 authorizing the Company to build a branch canal and/or slack-water navigation from Canton to some point on the Ohio Canal at or near Bolivar. A Mr. Fields made the original survey for the N & S.

It was planned to route the canal south from the village of Canton for a mile or so till the Forks of the Nimishillen were reached, then down the valley of that creek for eleven miles to the Big Sandy, then down its valley for seven miles to Bolivar and the Ohio Canal. When the route of the Sandy & Beaver Canal was finalized, the Canton group altered their plans and decided to tap into the S. & B. just above the junction of the Nimishillen and Big Sandy Creeks.

Max Gard’s map of the Sandy and Beaver Canal show where the junction would have been. We have the Sandy and Beaver maps available under the Maps tab on the home page.

Work was begun on the Sandy & Beaver Canal in November, 1834 and the first meeting of the infant Nimishillen & Sandy Navigation Company was held on December 25, 1834, where the directors were appointed. A slate of officers was elected on the 27th and Joshua Malin, a man with canal engineering experience in the east and a resident engineer on the Sandy & Beaver project, was hired as Chief Engineer. He had the first division of four-and-a-half miles located by January 30, 1835. Two reservoir sites were located just north of Canton. Malin was confident that either of these reservoirs would be sufficient to supply the canal with water until it reached the Forks.

Terry labeled this intersection at Rex Ave and 9th as the possible site of one of the reservoirs, c 2003.

Contracts for the first ten sections were let by May 15, 1835 and the southern-most five sections by June 20, 1836. Oddly enough, there is no record of the central division of five-and-a-half miles (11 sections) ever being let for contract. There is some indication, though, that a slack-water navigation had been constructed and was operating between Congress Furnace (North Industry) and a forge in (East) Sparta during the 1820s up until about 1833.

Initially, considerable work was accomplished on all the contracted sections of the Nimishillen and Sandy Canal. A local canal contractor, Cyrus Prentus, with a gigantic plow and a number of teams of oxen on call managed, at an official earth turning ceremony in Canton, to cut a channel down the east side of Walnut street through town “large enough to float a small boat”.

Looking up Walnut from railroad. The Nimishillen is just to the south of here, c 2003.

Looking along southwest along Market Street, canal was to the right, c 2003.

The navigation company was quite optimistic about its future. Statements were made early in 1835 pledging that the company would complete its canal to Bolivar even if the Sandy & Beaver Canal Company did not. In October, 1835, meetings were held in Ravenna about extending the N. & S. Canal north to connect with the P. & O. Canal, thus shortening the distance from Bolivar to the east by twelve to fifteen miles.

When the N & S. Canal company was organized late in 1834, its directors fully expected the canal to be finished and operating within two years. By the fall of 1836, however, the outlook was not nearly so bright. The Sandy & Beaver Canal Company was out of money and about to suspend operations. To make matters worse, a combination of cholera and lack of funds caused the P. O. Canal Company to shut down during the last quarter of 1836. With both the P. & O. and S. & B. canals maybe gone for good and their own canal not yet finished, Canton lost hope of being on a shortcut to the east. At best, Canton would be thirty water miles from Massillon and the Ohio Canal, an almost insurmountable handicap.

One of the canal company’s directors (???????) got himself appointed to the Ohio Canal Commissioners and lobbied to have the State take over the N & S Canal. That proposal was presented to the legislature for approval; and passed before that body twice before being defeated during its third (and final) reading in 1836.

This was labeled as being located on the site of Hazlett’s old tanning yard and that the canal was in the rear. This might be the corner of Walnut and East 7th. c 2003.

The Panic of 1837 undoubtedly put a stop to the efforts of the Nimishillen & Sandy Navigation Company, but just how much was accomplished before the final shutdown isn’t precisely known. It is believed that the canal was finished, or nearly so, from its northern terminus to the forks of the Nimishillen. Neither of the reservoirs appear to have been built, though, as that section was never even filled with water. If an earlier, improved waterway existed between the North Industry works and the Sparta Forge, it would have been abandoned around 1833, when both the iron works were closed.

Efforts by the canal company in the early 1840s to find a route for the N & S north to connect with the P & O Canal failed when surveys were unable to provide a feasible water route from Canton to the north.

This bank behind the South Canton High School was once part of the N&S. c 2003.

Sections 8, 9 & 10 of the N & S were refurbished and used as the race to the Browning, or Goodwill Mill in North Industry for some 25 years. And evidence remains of the canal channel being excavated from just below Sparta south, though any intersection with the Sandy & Beaver was covered by the new and higher railroad embankment constructed in 1935.

Some historians believe that the Star Mill (at Raynoldsville), south of Canton, used the old Nimishillen & Sandy Canal channel as a race, but an official map of the county dated, 1837, shows a separate channel for the mill race on the east side of the creek and the canal channel on the west. These same historians also believe that the mill in East Sparta used the bed of the old N & S Canal as a mill race, but that has not yet been confirmed. Again, the 1837 Stark County map shows the canal on the left bank of the creek past the site of East Sparta.

Terry labeled this as an unnamed old mill that may have used the old canal as a mill race. c 1969.

In Canton, the ditch down Walnut Street remained open for years and East Tuscarawas Street was still crossing it on a “temporary” type bridge as late as 1884 or 85. Finally, the canal in Canton was filled in, the mills in North Industry and East Sparta burned or were torn down and the Nimishillen & Sandy Canal was forgotten. Except for a very few of us.

This old bank is on the what was once the Hazlett Block. It is located at 126 Central Plaza. The area looks a bit different today. c 2003.

i An earlier, shorter, version of this article appeared in The Sandy Valley PRESS-NEWS, July 03, 1975.

Terry’s Canal Data page on the N&S can be found here.

American Canals Offers Tributes to Terry Woods, and to Thomas Grasso

Over the past year, the canal community lost these two wonderful men who were also fine researchers, advocates, and educators.

Terry Woods was one the old guard experts on Ohio and Pennsylvania canals. He was the author of many books, articles and columns. Thomas Grasso was the expert on all things New York, but I doubt that there were many canals, domestic or world-wide, that Tom didn’t know about. In addition to their own work, both served as members of the board and as presidents of their state canal societies, writing guidebooks and leading trips. The loss of these men has been deeply felt by all who knew them.

Over the last two issues, the American Canals newsletter has offered tributes to both men and just in case you didn’t know who they were, we are offering the newsletters here as pdf files. Feel free to download if you wish.

american-canals.spring-web-2022 Download

american-canals.summer-2022.web-based Download

American Canals has been published for 50 years and they cover a great variety of topics. The issues between 1972 and 2020 can be found on this website as free downloads. if you are researching a topic, the index can help you find your subject.

Barge Canal Construction Equipment, The Steam Shovel

Steam shovel on Contract 1. This might be a Marion model improved A.

The steam shovel was perhaps the most ubiquitous machine on construction and mining sites between 1880 and 1930. The earliest steam shovel dates back to 1835 when William Otis designed what was called a railroad shovel. The machine, which included a steam boiler, various steam engines, dipper arm assembly, fuel and water, weighed several tons.(1) At the time the only large construction projects that could use such a machine were in railroad construction so the shovel was mounted to a flatcar and set on standard gauge railroad wheels. The shovel could also be mounted to a barge and used as a dredge but that came later.

This shovel loads a train on Contract 12.

The Otis patent ran out in the 1870s, and this allowed many companies to begin the manufacture of their own machines. Well known brands were the Osgood, Marion, Bucyrus, Barnhart, and American steam shovels. Osgood shovels were produced in Troy, NY, while Marion, Bucyrus and Barnhart were all Ohio companies. Improvements were made to the shovels as they got sturdier, heavier and more powerful.

A Vulcan is working at Lock 8 in Rotterdam on Contract 8. This contractor would late abandon this project due to the quicksand.

Shovels were soon at work on railroad projects, canal construction, mining and quarrying, basically anywhere large quantities of materials had to be excavated. But as this is about canal construction, lets take a look at how they were used.

The crew of the Model 60 and the steam trail pose for the photographer at Cranesville.

Because the shovels were mounted to railroad trucks and moved on rails, the shovel could only cut level swaths. The shovel would be moved around the site by men laying out temporary rails. Once at the cut, the shovel would extend it’s outriggers for stability then begin excavate to its front and sides. The machine could cut about three times it’s width. All spoils had to be loaded into hopper cars that were set on a narrow gauge railroad. Once the area was cleared to its front, the track team would lay out a new section of tracks and the shovel would slowly crawl forward. If the job was large enough to warrant more than one machine, a second machine would begin to remove earth on a lower terrace, following behind the first. The tracks also helped to distribute the weight of the machine allowing them to work in wetter areas, however as they were not easy or quick to move, there are many photographs of shovels sitting in flooded work sites.

We get a good look at the bottom of the shovel after this one turned over. Note the chain drive.

Shovels could also be mounted to barges and used as dipper dredges. Many of these were site built with the machinery being shipped to the job site and the barge being constructed from locally sourced lumber. Once the job was done the machinery was removed and the barge discarded. (2)

This Bucyrus shovel is being used to move blasted rock. Not the men loading the skips in the foreground.

Although good at handling gravel, sand and other aggregate materials, they were not good at moving larger rock. Many times you will find the shovel being used to load skips that were moved by cranes or cable ways.

On Contract 6. The shovel is loading an inclined tipple.

As they were developed, steam shovels were fitted out with crawler tracks. The only existing shovel of this configuration can be seen in Leroy, NY where a Marion Model 91 sits in a field. Once the internal combustion engine and hydraulic drives began to be used in construction machinery, the days of the steam shovel numbered. One man could do the work of 4 or 5, and once mounted to crawler tracks instead of railroad tracks, the mobility of the machine made it more useful. Today the hydraulic excavator, a distant cousin of the steam shovel, can be found on almost every job site.

If you are interested in seeing these machines at work, check out the videos of construction of the Panama Canal. Bucyrus and Marion both supplied shovels to this work and were certain to make movies about it. With the clouds and steam and smoke, they make for interesting viewing. Of course the most famous steam shovel might be the Bucyrus in which President Roosevelt posed along the Cublra Cut in the Panama Canal.

There is a very good history of steam shovels at Heritage Machines.

Steam shovels were slow to move and were often caught in flooded situations.

This was a year after the flooded shovel. Note the dredge and steam pumps. The Marion Model 60 appears to be cold.

(1) A handy hint is that the model number refers to the weight of the shovel, thus a Marion 60 weighed about 60 tons.

Note the young girl sitting on the chair used by the man who operates the dipper.

(2) The images used in this post are from the New York State Archives, Barge Canal Construction Photos, 11833.

Canal Comments- The Ohio Canal and the 1918 Flu Epidemic

by Terry K Woods.

Today’s column is another one taken from personal interviews. This one was taken by me and the interview has first hand information. Still, I had to take many of the statements ‘out of context.’ Waldo Streby, the man I interviewed, would change the subject, get back to it, then sometimes talk about something else. This column is made up of bits Waldo told me on two different occasions.

I think it came out well. And it tells us something that not many know, that the canal between the feeder above Canal Fulton down to Navarre was repaired after the 1913 flood for hydraulic purposes. That is one of the reasons part of that section was chosen in 1938 to become Ohio’s first State Canal Park – it had been repaired just 20 years previously.

I REMEMBER THE OHIO CANAL; THE OHIO CANAL AND THE 1918 FLU EPIDEMIC^ⁱ

“During the 1918 Flu Epidemic, they closed the Canal Fulton schools. As I remember it, it was for two weeks. A lot of people were die’n, ya know. It was a real terrible mess. So, ah, they closed the schools down and this Johnny Moore^ⁱⁱ who was one of our neighbors – he was Superintendent of the Canal in the area right south of Akron, to, a, . . Navarre – down ta Navarre – took care of the canal – lived just a few houses up from where we lived, stopped and asked whether one of the boys could help him out – – work for him since the schools were gonna be shut down. Well, sure, I was available. My brother was available. He had a paper route, but I was available. Johnny McGee, Moore’s Grandson, lived just across the street from where we lived. Then there was several other boys. Fella name of Greenhole, – and I just forget who the rest of em were. Anyway, my brother, my next oldest brother, Lowell, we all went ta work for him down at Navarre. He had a job down there.

“Ya see, immediately after the 1913 flood, just within a year or so, these, these companies that wanted the water, the Steel Mills down ta Massillon, especially, wanted some fresh water, clean water. So they offered to pay so much to the County – er, the State – to fix up the banks, ya see and get the water down to em.^ⁱⁱⁱ So that was, – they had ta repair the banks all along where it was needed ta get the water down to where it was needed.

“They had ta even . . They even had ta repair some of the banks down by the lock there at Canal Fulton. But all that was done with some of Johnny Moore’s regular help – his crew. Then he had a crew. Well, as they finished it, they put water in the canal, see, and a, they, a, as they went down the line, there was a small leak at Massillon. And that was done. Now in 1918, the only leak was down – back in, in Navarre, ya see.

“When we were kids, we’d help Johnny Moore lots of times. Rode the State Boat down there ta below Massillon, out there by the Asylum. Remember there was a, – along the Canal, – of course it used ta be, before that, – when we were kids, Johnny McKee and I, we used ta go down there a lot of times, ride on the State Boat to cut grass and things, cutten grass and stuff. And, these guys, from the Asylum, used ta come down and talk to us, ya know – interesting people.

“But that leak at Navarre, during the 1918 Flue Epidemic, was the only time we worked at as part of Johnny Moore’s crew, right back of where the bakery, -where the bakery is down there now. Course its all filled with dirt now. You can’t see where the canal was. But, anyhow, there was a, a, lock there and a, a drain – – so the flood had washed, washed away part of the bank away, right bank of the canal. And Johnny Moore hired a, a, fellow – with a team and a slip-scraper. Moore didn’t have many, much equipment then. He hired him, with a team, ta go down ‘n drag in this dirt, ya know, ta rebuild the dike, – towpath bank. They always called it the dike, ya know. The dike. And of course we had a couple weeks work there.

“That was some of the last alterations of the canal done by, – the State. Now, after that, ya know, , that most of the alterations around the canal was done by a contractor or by a, a, someone – – a, for instance, up around Akron, – was a lot of changes made, but, in most cases, it was done by someone what was goin ta benefit by the changes. For instance, the Firestone Tire & Rubber Company made a lot of changes back around where they had their Golf Course. And a down at a, where the road usta cross over – the canal. That’s now route #93 that goes up through there. There’s where some of the water, well, all of the water came out of Portage Lakes. Came out there, – out of Long Lake, and a, they changed the canal, or the river, that went through the Firestone properties.

“Oh, I’m, oh yeah. Navarre. Whole canal’s filled in down there by Navarre now. That’s where we worked, cleaning it out. About two weeks. Took us down in a car, and back ta Fulton each night. Wouldn’t, we didn’t go down ta Navarre on the boat. He took us back and forth with a car. Eh, we could park, park up there above the hill there, back of the bakery, see. Then we had ta go down the hill, on back ta the lock. Couldn’t get the boat much past – -. They parked it up there where the old cemetery is in Massillon. There was a lot of water come down Cemetery Run. Build up a bar. You couldn’t get the boat past that, ya see, so they pulled the thing out and put the boat back of where, not the Hull farm, I guess it was the Cole Farm.

“After we fixed that last leak, the canal had water all the way down. Filled up, but just a, like a ditch. Water came down like through a ditch. So after we did that work in Navarre there was water in the canal clear down ta Navarre. But no boats.”

i From two taped interviews (1989 and 1990) with Waldo Streby at his home in North Canton Ohio by Terry K Woods.

ii John Moore was the last State Boat Captain in the Canal Fulton area. He maintained this position as late as 1927.

iii More than likely, these steel companies south of the Canal Fulton Feeder had water power leases with the State, so wherever these leases were of enough importance, the State repaired the canal sufficiently after the 1913 flood to maintain the leases requirements.

Barge Canal Construction Equipment- The Cable Way

Of the many machines we see in the construction of the “modern era” canals, the cable way (it is also seen as one word, cableway) is likely the least noticed. However it is one of the few machines that has survived the through the years and is still in use today. The cable way was the true multi-tasker of the construction site.

A cable way is a very basic machine with two towers, a hoisting engine with a steam plant to power it, wire rope (cable), and a traveling carriage that ran along the cables.

The cableway in use at the construction of Lock 32, Oct 1910. All the construction images are from the NYS Archives, Barge Canal Construction collection 11833.

Depending on what work needed to be completed, the contractor would build tall wooden towers so that the cable spanned the construction site. If the bases were mounted on flanged wheels on rails, the cableway could have movement in all three dimensions; side to side, back and forth, and up and down.

The Lidgerwood cable way carriage. As the carriage traveled away from the tower, the long pieces on the right would deploy and support the smaller cables. You can see these on the first image. As the carriage returned, the horn (with the point) would pick them up and store them.

Cable ways were very good at spanning deep cuts such as along the Chicago Sanitary Canal or in Lockport on the NYS Barge Canal.

All we see of the cable way is the carriage and large rock skip that is being returned to the work site to be loaded by the steam shovel. Many times multiple skips would be in use and they would simply unhook the empty and hook onto the full one.

They were useful on sites with soft soils such as along the Hennepin Canal for dredging out muck and quicksand. They were useful on lock and dam sites that spanned deep or wide rivers and would “fly” in building materials and buckets of concrete. They were also very useful on sites where there might be blasting as the cable wouldn’t be damaged and could be left in place unlike a steam shovel or other large equipment. Depending on the diameter of the main cable, the cable way could lift and move tons of materials at one time.

The Cable way is used to move materials across the Mohawk River at Lock 9, Dam 5 in Rotterdam Junction. Work has just begun in 1909.

Much of the lock is complete and work has moved to the piers of the dam, June 1910.

Work is basically complete and the work site has been cleaned up, Dec 1911.

Many manufacturers made cable way equipment as most of it consisted of the basic steam engine and hoisting machine that were used in many applications. In the Barge Canal photos you often see it described as the Lidgerwood cable way, but other manufacturers were Flory and Mundy.

Here the cable way is being used to shape the canal banks. It has been fitted with a clam-shell type dredging bucket. Note the caption says “Lidgerwood Cable Way.” Also note the piles of field stone on the base of the tower that was used as ballast.

A typical construction site with the cable way, a steam shovel in the cut, and a jib pole is seen west of Lockport at the site of a guard gate, Nov 1910.

Changes to the Website

Over the past year, I have been struggling with how to make the website useful for those who are looking for information about North America’s historic and present day canals and navigations. Certainly the site has a wealth of information if you can find it. I recently updated the stock of the American Canals newsletters with all the issues between 1972 and 2020. I updated the index so now you can simply search for a word or author and have an answer to which issue has what you need. We have been playing with the canal sites and the canal boat rides maps for a couple years and I find them very helpful, especially when I am visiting a new place and I want to know what might be nearby. And we have the canal index pages, which even with the odd name, can be very useful in their documentation of a site or canal.

The biggest hurdle is the website itself. I adopted the site from David Barber (the previous president) and have been trying to work within the confines of the sites architecture. There is so much information here and so many links that redoing it all is a daunting task that I don’t wish to take on. So each change has to work within what we have.

Then I got to thinking about a map of North America with each state/province “clickable.” When you click on the state you would be presented with a updated page that would have information about the current and abandoned canals, what state, local, or regional groups might be working to preserve the canals or canal sites, and of course the canal index pages.

So you will now see a map of North America on the home page.

When you click on a state you will open a page about the state. Hopefully this helps to stream-line things for everyone and improves the functionality of the site. As I update the state pages, they will be linked to the map and the state will turn green. If it is light-blue it has yet to be completed. States with no canals will be grey. When all the state pages have been revised, the clunky drop-down menu will go away.

Let me know what you think. And if you can, check your state’s page to see what and who should be added.

The Earl Giles Collection – The Speeceville Lock

Earl took these photos of the Speeceville lock in May of 1970. I had to look up Speeceville and I found it just south of the confluence of the Juniata and Susquehanna rivers. It’s not even marked on the map, but it is about half way between Dauphin and Clark Ferry. It is where you see the word Pennsylvania along the river. You could zoom by on Rt 22 and never realize that it was there.

Earl had made this copy of the lock. As you can see it is dated 1954.

In May 1970 the lock was is in fair condition.

I am not certain that this was the lock or if Earl was taking a photo of the rock wall. It is labeled as Speeceville.

I tried to find this lock on Google Maps but didn’t see it. However there is a fair amount of the old canal to be seen here are Speeceville along Towpath Road.

At Clark Ferry (or is it Clark’s) the Main Line canal crossed from the east to the west side of the river and crossed over (through?) Duncan Island then headed north up the west bank from there. The Juniata Division of the canal began at this point and continued to follow the Juniata River west. We have seen Earl’s photos from Amity Hall which is just upstream from this river confluence in prior posts.

Although the canal was abandoned and shown as a dashed blue line when this map was made, it does show the routes as they divided at the head of Duncan Island.

By the time Earl was taking photos the old covered bridge at Clark Ferry had been replaced, so the best he could do was to make copies. I am certain better copies can be found now days.

The Longest Covered Bridge in the World!

Looking west at the confluence of the two rivers. The bridge on the right crosses the Susquehanna and the bridge on the left crosses the Juniata. The Pennsylvania Main Line Canal can be seen in the foreground. Up bound boats would have crossed the Susquehanna River just upstream of here on the slackwater created by the dam and then headed north or west. The bit of land between the two bridges is Duncan Island.

If anyone knows if the old lock is still intact drop us a line.