The South Hadley Canal was a

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...

along the

Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges at Long Island ...

South Hadley, Massachusetts South Hadley (, ) is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 18,150 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. South Hadley is home to Mount Holyoke Colleg ...

. It was the earliest navigable canal in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, with operation commencing in 1795. * It has been listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

as the South Hadley Canal Historic District. The canal dates to February 1792, when leading citizens of western

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

proposed to build a canal around the Great Falls at South Hadley, a drop in the

that blocked boat transport. At that time, all cargo needed to be unloaded for of land transport around the falls, driving river transport cost for a bushel of wheat from

Northampton, Massachusetts The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of Northampton (including its outer villages, Florence and Leeds) was 29,571. Northampton is known as an acade ...

, to

Windsor, Connecticut Windsor is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, and was the first English settlement in the state. It lies on the northern border of Connecticut's capital, Hartford. The population of Windsor was 29,492 at the 2020 census. Po ...

, to more than double its transport costs by sea from Hartford to Boston.

John Hancock John Hancock ( – October 8, 1793) was an American Founding Father, merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of the ...

, then Governor of Massachusetts, signed the charter which incorporated the Proprietors of the Locks and Canals on the Connecticut River. Their corporate seal bore the motto "SIC TRANSIT - Public & Private Good". Flatboat used in South Hadley Canal

Funds were raised both locally and internationally, with four Dutch investment houses owning slightly over 50% of the stock. The canal was built by some 240 local workers. In April 1795 it opened to commercial traffic. (Nearby

Turners Falls Canal The Turners Falls Canal, also historically known as the Montague Canal, was a canal along the Connecticut River in Montague, Massachusetts. It was reconstructed in 1869. The canal was first completed in 1798 by the Proprietors of the Upper Locks ...

opened three years later.) First year revenue came to $3,109 at 75 cents per ton. By 1816 tolls had grown to over $16,000. In 1826 the ''Barnet'', the first steamboat to operate on the Connecticut River, passed through the South Hadley Canal on its way to

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

. However, by 1843 competing railroads had begun to erode income, and the canal closed as uneconomical in 1862. Rather than use locks, the canal was built with an unusual "

inclined plane An inclined plane, also known as a ramp, is a flat supporting surface tilted at an angle from the vertical direction, with one end higher than the other, used as an aid for raising or lowering a load. The inclined plane is one of the six clas ...

" to transport by flatboats over the falls. The inclined plane appears to have been pioneered on England's

Ketley Canal The Ketley Canal was a tub boat canal that ran for about from Oakengates to Ketley works in Shropshire, England. The canal was built about 1788 and featured the first Canal inclined plane, inclined plane in Britain. The main cargo of the canal ...

in 1788. This was its first use in American canals, and served as a pattern for others including the

Morris Canal The Morris Canal (1829–1924) was a common carrier anthracite coal canal across northern New Jersey that connected the two industrial canals at Easton, Pennsylvania across the Delaware River from its western terminus at Phillipsburg, New Jers ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. On the South Hadley Canal's inclined plane, the boat was first maneuvered into a special cart, then hauled up or down a ramp built of solid stone, long by wide, covered with strong wood planks, and having a slope of 13.5 degrees. Lifting power was supplied by two overshot

waterwheel A water wheel is a machine for converting the energy of flowing or falling water into useful forms of power, often in a watermill. A water wheel consists of a wheel (usually constructed from wood or metal), with a number of blades or buckets ...

s in diameter, one on each side of the inclined plane, connected to the cart with chains. The cart had unequal wheel sizes to keep the boat level during transport. Total transport time was about 15 minutes. In 1805, after about 10 years of use, however, the inclined plane was replaced by a series of five locks when it was necessary to deepen the canal. Today The Bicentennial Canal Park serves as a historic memorial, preserving the historical remnants of the canal. The overlook deck provides vistas of the

Mount Tom Range The Mount Tom Range is a traprock mountain range located in the Connecticut River Valley of Massachusetts. It is part of the Metacomet Ridge that extends from Long Island Sound near New Haven, Connecticut, north through the Connecticut River Valle ...

and the

Holyoke Gas & Electric Holyoke Gas & Electric (HG&E), formally known as the City of Holyoke Gas & Electric Department (HGED), is a municipal electric, gas, and telecommunications utility primarily serving Holyoke and Southampton, Massachusetts, one of two in Massachus ...

maintains Texon Park, Lower Riverside Park, and Gatehouse Park along the Holyoke dam. Lower Riverside Park overlooks the site of the former inclined plane and lock system, remnants of which are still visible today.

References

South Hadley Canal Committee

Mass Moments: First Steamboat Passes through South Hadley Canal

Holyoke Water Power Company
* Barrett, Robert, ''Proprietors of the Locks and Canals: A History of the South Hadley Canal'', 2nd edition, Holyoke, Massachusetts: Holyoke Water Power Company, 1985. * Dwight, Timothy, ''Travels in New-England and New York'', Vol. I, pp. 286–288, William Baynes and Son, London, 1823.

External links

* {{coord, 42, 13, 15, N, 72, 36, 33, W, display=title Transportation buildings and structures in Hampshire County, Massachusetts Canals in Massachusetts Bodies of water of Hampshire County, Massachusetts Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Hampshire County, Massachusetts Canals opened in 1795 Canals on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts

See also

References

External links