1975 map of canal system in Lowell, Massachusetts

A Power canal refers to 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 ...

used for hydraulic power generation, rather than for transport of

watercraft Any vehicle used in or on water as well as underwater, including boats, ships, hovercraft and submarines, is a watercraft, also known as a water vessel or waterborne vessel. A watercraft usually has a propulsive capability (whether by sail, ...

. The power canal was a major factor in the

Industrial revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

in the 19th century. Most early power canals were

mill race A mill race, millrace or millrun, mill lade (Scotland) or mill leat (Southwest England) is the current of water that turns a water wheel, or the channel ( sluice) conducting water to or from a water wheel. Compared with the broad waters of a mi ...

s used mechanically to transfer power directly from falling water to machinery in mill buildings. Later, the hydraulic power generated electricity locally for the same mill factories. These power canals were often filled in as electricity (transported by power lines) replaced the need for local water power, and road transport needs or city expansion needs reclaimed the land. Some hydraulic power canals were transformed into local

electric generator In electricity generation, a generator is a device that converts motive power (mechanical energy) or fuel-based power (chemical energy) into electric power for use in an external circuit. Sources of mechanical energy include steam turbines, gas ...

s, but most were closed. Remains of power canals can be seen in old

mill town A mill town, also known as factory town or mill village, is typically a settlement that developed around one or more mills or factories, usually cotton mills or factories producing textiles. Europe Italy * ''Crespi d'Adda'', UNESCO World Her ...

s and are often protected as historical structures today.

United States

California

California Powder Works California Powder Works was the first American explosive powder manufacturing company west of the Rocky Mountains. When the outbreak of the Civil War cut off supplies of gunpowder to California's mining and road-building industries, a local manufac ...

(1864-1914)

Maine

Cumberland and Oxford Canal The Cumberland and Oxford Canal was opened in 1832 to connect the largest lakes of southern Maine with the seaport of Portland, Maine. The canal followed the Presumpscot River from Sebago Lake through the towns of Standish, Windham, Gorham, and ...

(1871-1905) was originally a transport canal from 1832

Massachusetts

Holyoke Canal System The Holyoke Canal System is a system of power canals in Holyoke, Massachusetts. It is split into three canals based on elevation and distance from the inlet at the Holyoke Dam- the First Level Canal, Second Level Canal, and Third Level Canal. Cons ...

(1827) *

Merrimack Canal The Merrimack Canal is a power canal in Lowell, Massachusetts. The canal, dug in the 1820s, begins at the Pawtucket Canal just above Swamp Locks, and empties into the Merrimack River near the Boott Cotton Mills. The Merrimack Canal was the fi ...

(1820s) *

Lowell Power Canal System and Pawtucket Gatehouse The Lowell Power Canal System is the largest power canal system in the United States, at 5.6 miles in length. It is operating through six major canals on two levels, controlled by numerous gates. The system was begun in the 1790s, beginning ...

(1821) *

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 ...

(1869) was originally a transport canal from 1798

Michigan

Edison Sault Power Canal The Edison Sault Power Canal supplies the Saint Marys Falls Hydropower Plant, a Cloverland Electric Cooperative hydroelectric plant, in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Excavation of the power canal began in September 1898 and was completed in June ...

New Hampshire

Nashua power canal The Nashua Manufacturing Company Historic District in Nashua, New Hampshire, is a historic district that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1987. It encompasses an area just west of downtown Nashua, roughly located ...

(1826), part of

Mine Falls Park Mine Falls Park is a park in the city of Nashua, New Hampshire, United States. Located in the heart of the city, it was purchased in 1969 from the Nashua, New Hampshire Foundation with city and federal Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) mo ...

Amoskeag Falls The Amoskeag Falls are a set of waterfalls on the Merrimack River in Manchester, New Hampshire, United States. History "Amoskeag" derives from the Pennacook Native American word "Namoskeag", which roughly translates as "good fishing place". He ...

power canal originally dug for transport in 1807

New York

Niagara Falls Hydraulic Power and Manufacturing Company Niagara Falls Hydraulic Power & Manufacturing Company was an American company, based in Niagara Falls, New York that was the first company to generate hydroelectric power from Niagara Falls in 1882. The company built upon several predecessor co ...

(1862) *

Rockland Mill Complex Rockland Mill Complex is a national historic district located at Rockland in Sullivan County, New York. The district includes four contributing buildings and three contributing structures. They include the grist mill (ca. 1850) containing much o ...

(c.1850)

Ohio

* Great Western Powder Works (1877)

New Zealand

Tekapo Canal {{disambiguation * Tekapo River, flows occasionally through the Mackenzie Basin, Canterbury, in New Zealand's South Island, * Lake Tekapo (town), small town (township) located at the southern end of the lake of the same name in the inland South Isla ...

Pukaki Canal Pukaki was an 18th-century chief of the Arawa iwi of New Zealand. His portrait appears on the New Zealand 20 cent coin minted from 1990 to 2008. The name has been used for several New Zealand items: *Pukaki, one of the volcanic cones of the Auck ...

Ohau Canal Ohau or Ōhau may refer to the following in New Zealand: * Ben Ohau, a mountain in the South Island * Ben Ohau Range * Lake Ōhau * Lake Ohau Alpine Village * Ōhau River (Canterbury) * Ōhau River (Manawatū-Whanganui) * Ohau (skifield) * Ohau A p ...

Notes

{{reflist Canals History of New England