The Morris Canal 1824 – 1924
Morris Canal Greenway
The Morris Canal was an engineering marvel of its time. A system of 23 lift locks and 23 inclined planes enabled the canal to overcome more elevation change than any other transportation canal ever built. Large changes in elevation were overcome using the canal’s famous inclined planes which were short, water powered marine railways on which canal boats were pulled up or let down hillsides. The locks operated like water elevators, overcoming smaller changes in elevation. Mules were the power source that pulled the boats across the state in five days.
The Morris Canal was crucial to the economy and development of northern New Jersey from the time of the waterway’s construction until after the Civil War. Running from Phillipsburg to Jersey City, the canal linked the anthracite coal fields of northern Pennsylvania with northern New Jersey’s iron industry, major industrial cities, and the New York area markets. Open from 1831 to 1924, the canal carried anthracite coal, iron ore, timber, limestone, and agricultural products.
The Morris Canal overcame 1,674 feet of elevation change, more than any other transportation canal in the world!
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Morris Canal Greenway
The Morris Canal Greenway encompasses part of the historic Morris Canal’s alignment and is a cooperative effort of the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry, the Canal Society of New Jersey, the Village of Waterloo and the Friends of the Morris Canal. The Greenway’s purpose is to preserve the remains of the Morris Canal and its associated natural environment, to interpret canal sites to the public, and to offer recreational opportunities. As you walk the Greenway, you will see the remains of canal features, including inclined planes, locks, canal bed, and historic industries and communities directly related to the Morris Canal’s operation.
Marker can be reached from the intersection of Emmans Road and Canal Street, on the left when traveling north.
Courtesy hmdb.org
