CANAL HOUSE
Canal House
By Sheila McCarthy Yorks
Juniata Sentinel, Mifflintown, PA
September 10, 2008
When tracing local history, one can't ignore the background surrounding the first major transportation system that formed a way from Mifflintown through the "Long Narrows" to Lewistown � the canal.
A booklet, provided to libraries and other organizations, was recently published by Heberling Associates, Inc., the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration, which details the history of the canal in the Lewistown Narrows, measures taken to document the remains of the canal and the process of constructing a canal park near Mifflintown.
According to Scott Heberling, of Heberling Associates, Inc., the company has been specializing in performing archaeological and historical studies since 1983. Those projects have included the Juniata River Canal study done for PennDOT in an area where canal remains still exist.
This particular project resulted in Heberling working with the design team of EADS Group Inc. of Altoona to design a canal park at the site near Mifflintown. Walsh Construction completed the actual construction of the park.
This isn't Heberling's first project involving the Pennsylvania Canal system, as many of their projects have involved the canal's main line connecting Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, says Scott Heberling, who has been researching and writing about the canal for about 25 years. The section of the Main Line of both Mifflin and Juniata counties was part of the Lower Division of the Juniata.
The brochure documenting the history and restoration of the canal locks, entitled "Canal in the Mountains: The Juniata Main Line Canal in the Lewistown Narrows," gives many accounts of the canal's history.
In 1826, Canvass White, a prominent canal engineer stood on a rock at the edge of the Juniata River at the end of a hot summer day, perplexed at what he saw before him -- the Juniata River through a narrow gap in the mountains, with cliffs dropping hundreds of feet until they reached the river's edge. But, against all odds, he and his crew began creation of the canal system that led through the "Long Narrows."
When DeWitt Clinton Jr. was appointed as chief engineer on this portion of the canal in May of 1827, it was determined that two lift locks would be necessary at the upper end of the Narrows and one at the lower end.
The canal along the Narrows portion of the Juniata River was constructed in 1828-29, and most of the work was done by Irish immigrants. The booklet lists wages in 1827, as $11-12 per month, including tools, drink and boarding. In 1928, wages went up to $15-18 per month due to sickness creating a shortage of laborers. The task was done very swiftly in only a few years even though workers had use of only picks, shovels and wheelbarrows. Water was let into the local portion of the canal for the first time in September of 1829, and in early November navigation began.
During the 36-week boating season, the Main Line Canal was busy with boats passing every 15-20 minutes. Many inns and taverns along the route were frequented by these boaters. Packet boats for passengers, transportation boats for freight and a combination boat all made their way through the Narrows via the canal. The canal operated until 1889 when most of it was destroyed by a flood.
The most recent research on the canal began during a Lewistown Narrows highway project in 1987 by Heberling who mapped and photographed the remains found in the Narrows. Major studies of the canal took place in 1997 when the preliminary design for he highway's recent reconstruction project began. Since the canal is a historic resource, it was eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. Federal and state laws required it to be taken into consideration during the reconstruction process, and impacts had to be minimal. According to Heberling, completion of the highway did require the filling and destruction of some parts of the canal, but other parts were able to be preserved.
In order to mitigate those impacts that were unavoidable, the entire canal section was documented to National Park Standards, and a public canal park was developed in order to preserve the canal section that was able to be saved. This was outlined in an agreement between the Federal Highway Administration, PennDOT and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission [PHMC].
The canal park design was developed in consultation with the PHMC during the preliminary design phase of the project. The park's design included the excavation and stabilization of Lift Lock No. 13, a 1.5- mile towpath hiking trail between the canal park and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission [PFBC] access area, a restored lock keeper's house, which could be adapted as a museum or office, a picnic area and signs interpreting the historical canal remains.
Lift Lock No. 13 had been located at Macedonia Run and due to much of it still remaining at the site it became the centerpiece of the canal park. Waste-weirs, sluices with sliding wooden gates, were built into the side of the towpath bank, providing a means of removing excess water from the canal. Two waste-weirs were in the Narrows. One was located at the Macedonia Run, and remains of this one are situated at the entrance to the park's trail, with an interpretive sign located there explaining its operation.
The park's construction began in the summer of 2007 and was completed in June of 2008. The lock excavation and restoration took place between October 2007 and March of 2008. Archaeological studies took place during the earlier research on the canal and lock, and Heberling says that during the large-scale excavation process, there were many surprises.
The entire wooden floor of the lock was completely intact and in excellent condition, as were portions of the wooden lock gates and cast-iron gate valves. All were documented. The wooden elements were covered with a layer of sand to keep them away from air and from being saturated with water. The collapsed portions of the stone walls of the lock were reconstructed by Pyle Brothers, Inc., local stone masons. One of the cast-iron lock valves was saved for the possibility of exhibiting it in the park museum.
For the most part, and considering all the things that could have gone wrong, the excavation and reconstruction went well, noted Heberling. Once the lock was stabilized, the other components of the park were completed. These include the exterior of the lock keeper's house, parking lot, picnic area, trail, lock observation platform and interpretive signs.
The house was built in 1860 in connection with local iron-mining operations. Between 1860 and 1889 it also housed the lock keeper, whose responsibility was the lift lock adjacent to the house. This stone house replaced an earlier log house that was on the same site that had also housed the lock keeper. In the 1930s, the house was extensively altered, and a restaurant was built next door. The small outbuildings were built at the same time [garage and small tool shed or spring house].
As part of the project, EADS is developing a foldout brochure that will be distributed at the site. It gives a history of the site and a map and trail guide.
The booklet "Canal in the Mountains: The Juniata Main Line Canal in the Lewistown Narrows," a publication in PennDOT's Byways to the Past series, is now available. Copies are being distributed locally. Those who are interested in a free copy of this color booklet may request one by writing to Heberling Associates, Inc., PO Box 376, Alexandria, PA 16611.
All written content and photos �2001-2009 Juniata County Historical Society, all rights reserved.
