From FairWiki
The Morris Canal has a fascinating history. The 90-mile long canal meandered across the state of New Jersey, connecting the coal mines in the west to the manufacturing centers in the east. It was extended 12 miles in 1836. Construction began in July 1825 with the first complete trip down the canal made in November 1831. The canal was famous for its use of 23 inclined planes to connect the differing elevations of the canal segments, with canal elevations totalling 1,674 feet. These planes would haul the canal boats up or down the hilly terrain using rails extending anywhere from 35 feet to 100 feet. If they had used locks rather than rails to go from one elevation to another, they would have needed to construct more than 200 8-foot locks at a prohibitive cost.
The canal boats were powered by two mules which would walk along the sides of the canal pulling the barges. A one-way trip would have taken 5 days. Originally the canal's surface width was 32 feet, with a bottom width of 20 feet, and a depth of 4 feet. In 1841 and 1845 it was widened to 40 feet surface width, 25 feet bottom width, and 5 feet depth.
By 1922 the canal had not been economically viable for decades, and many portions of it had become polluted. In 1924 some sections of the canal were drained, others became green-belt parks, and one section became the bed for the Newark City subway. In 1974 the canal became a registered national historic site and its history is preserved by the Canal Society of New Jersey, other local organizations, and many dedicated individuals.
Joseph Fairbanks was a stonemason who worked on the canal. After moving his family from New York state to New Jersey, he lived in Rockaway and Meads Basin (now Mountain View), which are both towns along the canal. Joseph's grandson,
John B Fairbanks, made a painting of a section of the canal, which is of the aqueduct at Mountain View, crossing the Pompton River. Here is an old photo of the same section of canal that John B painted. Barges would go across the river via this aqueduct. There is nothing left of the aqueduct, except a few stones along the bank, if you know where to look. Mead's Basin is well known to fans of the Morris Canal. A building/store that existed in canal days is still there. Today it's a restaurant with historic photos on the walls. This photo is provided courtesy of Linda of the Canal Society of New Jersey.
To read more about the Morris Canal, and view a virtual tour of the canal complete with old photos, click here.
