View source for Delaware and Raritan Canal

{{Distinguish|Delaware and Hudson Canal}}
{{For|the Delaware Canal in Pennsylvania|Pennsylvania Canal (Delaware Division)}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox NRHP
| name                           = Delaware and Raritan Canal
| nrhp_type                      = hd
| image                          = File:Delaware & Raritan Canal seen from footbridge.JPG
| image_size                     = 325px
| caption                        = A section of the canal as seen from a footbridge in 2013
| location                       = [[New Jersey]], U.S.
| nocat                          = yes
| area                           =
| built                          = 1834
| added                          = May 11, 1973
| refnum                         = 73001105
| visitation_num                 =
| visitation_year                =
| designated_other1_name         = New Jersey Register of Historic Places
| designated_other1_abbr         = NJRHP
| designated_other1_link         = New Jersey Register of Historic Places
| designated_other1_date         = November 30, 1972
| designated_other1_number       = 1600<ref name=NJRHP>{{cite web|title=New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places — Mercer County |url=http://www.state.nj.us/dep/hpo/1identify/nrsr_lists/Mercer.pdf |publisher=[[New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection]] — Historic Preservation Office |page=1 |date=November 28, 2016 }}</ref>
| designated_other1_num_position = bottom
| designated_other1_color        = #ffc94b
}}
The '''Delaware and Raritan Canal''' ('''D&R Canal''') is a [[canal]] in [[Central Jersey|central New Jersey]], built in the 1830s, that connects the [[Delaware River]] to the [[Raritan River]]. It was an efficient and reliable means of transportation of freight between [[Philadelphia]] and [[New York City]], transporting [[anthracite|anthracite coal]] from eastern [[Pennsylvania]] during much of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The canal allowed shippers to cut many miles off the existing route from the Pennsylvania [[Coal Region]] down the Delaware, around [[Cape May]], and up the occasionally treacherous [[Atlantic Ocean]] coast to [[New York City]].

==History==
[[File:Delaware and Raritan Canal, Final Lock, New Brunswick, NJ.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|The canal's terminus in [[New Brunswick, New Jersey]]]]
[[File:2014-05-12 11 08 06 View north along U.S. Route 1 (Trenton Freeway) from the overpass for Southard Street in Trenton City, Mercer County, New Jersey.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|This section of the [[U.S. Route 1 in New Jersey|Trenton Freeway]] was built directly over the canal, which still flows underneath]]
[[Image:D&R Canal.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|The canal lock with a dam constructed in place of the upper gate, 2005]]
[[File:Bridge Tender's House and Bridge, Blackwells Mills, NJ.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Bridge tender's house and bridge at [[Blackwells Mills, New Jersey]]]]

The idea of a canal between the Raritan and Delaware Rivers originated with [[William Penn]], the founder of Pennsylvania, who suggested it in the 1690s. Such a canal would shorten the journey from [[Philadelphia]] to [[New York City]] by 100 miles, and relieve the need for boats to venture into the Atlantic Ocean.<ref name=measure/>

===19th century===
In 1816, the New Jersey legislature created a commission of three people, including [[John Rutherfurd]], a former [[United States Senator]] and a major landowner in New Jersey, which was authorized to survey and map a proposed route for a canal. Rutherfurd engaged [[John Randel Jr.]] to do the survey; Rutherfurd knew Randel from his work on the New York City [[Commissioners' Plan of 1811]], for which Rutherfurd was one of the commissioners, and Randel was the chief surveyor. The route was to be "a level line as far as was practicable from Longbridge farm to the Delaware, and to the Raritan, in the shortest direction that the ground would admit, which line should be run with the greatest accuracy, and be esteemed the base line of the work."  Randel spent two months surveying this route and, with the aid of a millwright, estimating water flow. They came to the conclusion that the canal would require less than an eighteenth of the water passing through the local streams, which would still leave enough water flow for local mills.<ref>{{cite measure|pages=178-79}} quoting the 1817 ''Report of the Commissioners'' to the New Jersey State Legislature</ref> Despite Randel's report, and the clear advantage of having such a canal, the opposition to the project managed to keep anything from happening until 1830.<ref name=measure>{{cite measure|pages=183-84}}</ref>

On February 4, 1830, the New Jersey legislature passed legislation that created the charter for the D&R Canal. The charter for the [[Camden and Amboy Rail Road and Transportation Company]] was passed the same day. The D&R charter allocated $1.5 million of stock for construction which was required to be completed within eight years. The canal was to be considered a public highway although the corporation would be allowed to collect tolls and transit duties for passengers and cargo transported along the canal.<ref name=commission>{{cite book|last1=Robertson|first1=Aaron|last2=Hulme|first2=James S.|last3=Wurts|first3=A.|title=Report of Commissioners Appointed to Investigate Charges Made Against the Directors of the Delaware and Raritan Canal and Camden and Amboy Railroad and Transportation Companies|date=1850|publisher=Philips and Boswell|location=Trenton, NJ}}</ref>

The canal was almost not dug due to the lack of [[Subscription (finance)|subscriptions]]. When that occurred, [[Robert F. Stockton]], the grandson of [[Richard Stockton (Continental Congressman)|Richard Stockton]], a signer of the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]], pledged his and his family's personal fortune to continue the work. The canal system was dug mostly by hand tools, mostly by Irish immigrants. Work began in 1830 and was completed in 1834, at an estimated cost of $2,830,000, equal to ${{Inflation|US|2830000|1834|fmt=c}} today. When the canal first opened, before the [[Steam power during the Industrial Revolution|steam engine]] was developed, teams of mules were used to tow canal boats through it.

The canal's greatest usage occurred during the 1860s and 1870s when it was used primarily to transport coal from Pennsylvania to New York City during the [[Industrial Revolution in the United States|American Industrial Revolution]]. On May 18, 1872, the D&R Canal Company was merged with several parallel railroads into the [[United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company]] and leased by the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]].

===20th century===
D&R Canal's importance waned as [[railroad]]s were used to perform, more rapidly, the same function as canals, but it remained in operation until 1932. Years later, the section between Trenton and Bordentown was filled for various road and rail projects, leaving the feeder waters to solely supply the main canal from [[Trenton, New Jersey]] north to New Brunswick. Two other sections of the canal were piped underground: one in Trenton when the [[U.S. Route 1 in New Jersey|Trenton Freeway]] was constructed in 1952, and the other in [[New Brunswick, New Jersey|New Brunswick]] when the Elmer Boyd Parkway Extension ([[New Jersey Route 18|Route 18]]) was constructed in 1984.

==Route==
The main section of the canal runs from [[Bordentown, New Jersey|Bordentown]] on the [[Delaware River]] to [[New Brunswick, New Jersey|New Brunswick]] on the Raritan. A feeder canal section (which feeds water into the main canal) stretches {{convert|22|mi|km}} northward from [[Trenton, New Jersey|Trenton]], upstream along the east bank of the Delaware to [[Bull's Island State Park|Bull's Island]] near [[Frenchtown, New Jersey|Frenchtown]]. The feeder canal collects water from higher elevations to the north, and feeds it to the highest section of the main canal, which flows generally north and east to the end, and had flowed south into the Crosswicks Creek at Bordentown. The total length of the entire canal system was approximately {{convert|66|mi|km}}. The main section was {{convert|44|mi|km}} long, {{convert|75|ft|m}} wide and {{convert|8|ft|m}} deep; the feeder was {{convert|22|mi|km}} long, {{convert|60|ft|m}} wide and {{convert|6|ft|m}} deep.

===Altered and abandoned sections===
The southern branch of the D&R Canal in Trenton was filled in by a [[Works_Progress_Administration|W.P.A.]] project along the Trenton Freeway (now [[U.S. Route 1 in New Jersey#Mercer County|U.S. Route 1]]) to Lalor Street, while the northeastern branch was covered over and continues to flow beneath the surface.<ref>{{Citation | vauthors=((Historic Sites Team)) | year=1973 | title=Delaware and Raritan Canal | publisher=NJDEP | url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/4332e4d4-30fb-42bc-ab4e-76c1a7d547e8 | access-date=8 February 2025}}</ref> The portion of the canal that provided access to the Delaware River in Bordentown is also abandoned. In Trenton it has been covered by [[New Jersey Route 129|Route 129]], which opened in 1996. Another section south of Trenton is located in [[Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey|Hamilton Township, New Jersey]] between the southern boundary of Trenton and the Crosswicks Creek.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tcnj.edu/~mluc/events/documents/DRProceedings.doc |title=The Delaware & Raritan Canal: The Past, The Present and the Promise |publisher=The Municipal Land User Center at [[The College of New Jersey]] |date=June 1, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205024341/http://www.tcnj.edu/~mluc/events/documents/DRProceedings.doc |archive-date=February 5, 2012 |access-date=February 11, 2016}}</ref>{{clear left}}The surviving,  easternmost lock is also severed from the canal by Route 18 in New Brunswick.

===Locks and spillways===
[[canal lock|Locks]] were used to overcome elevation differences along the D&R canal. Many of the locks are still present along the canal route; however, the lock gates have been replaced on the upstream side with small [[dam]]s and water [[outfall]]s. The downstream gates have been removed, so the water in the locks is level with the water on the downstream side. Some of the locks have been buried or removed due to construction projects in the vicinity of the canal.

A number of [[spillway]]s, which drained excess water from the canal into nearby waterways during periods of heavy flow, are located along the canal route. Spillways are evident as a dip in the [[towpath]] along the canal. Some have paving stones spaced closely enough for mules to walk, but are impassable for bicycles.

==Associated rivers==
*[[Delaware River]]: Feeds the Delaware and Raritan Canal via a feeder canal that approaches from the north along the east bank of the Delaware River, starting at [[Bull's Island Recreation Area|Bulls Island]], to the southern terminus of the D&R Canal near Trenton.
*[[Millstone River]]: Parallels the Delaware and Raritan Canal from [[Princeton, New Jersey|Princeton]] north to [[Manville, New Jersey|Manville]].
*[[Raritan River]]: Parallels the Delaware and Raritan Canal from Manville north and east to New Brunswick. The northern terminus of the Delaware and Raritan Canal is in New Brunswick.

==Landmark==
The Delaware and Raritan Canal was added to the [[National Register of Historic Places]] on May 11, 1973.<ref name="nrhpnom">{{cite journal
|url={{NRHP url|id=73001105}}
|title=NRHP Nomination: Delaware and Raritan Canal
|last1=Historic Sites Survey Team
|date=May 11, 1973
|publisher=National Park Service}}
{{cite journal
|url={{NRHP url|id=73001105|photos=y}}
|title=Accompanying 17 photos, from 1971.}}</ref>  The many historic canal houses where the bridge tenders have lived (such as the [[Blackwells Mills Canal House]] and the [[Port Mercer Canal House]]) were listed as [[contributing properties]].

==State Park==
{{Main|Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park}}

In 1974, most of the canal system was declared a New Jersey state park. It is used for canoeing, kayaking, and fishing. [[D&R Canal Trail|A graded natural-surface trail]] along the side of the canal, which was the tow path that mules used to tow barges on the canal before steam powered barges, is now used for hiking, jogging, bicycling, and horseback riding. Some {{convert|36|mi|km}} of the main canal, and all {{convert|22|mi|km}} of the feeder canal, still exist. The feeder canal along the Delaware, being a former railroad rather than a towpath, is especially suited to bicycling. The park is operated and maintained by the [[New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry]].

The canal is accessible from many points along its route, with small parking areas providing access at most road crossings. One of the most scenic and popular sections of the D&R Canal state park is the segment along [[Lake Carnegie (New Jersey)|Lake Carnegie]] in [[Princeton, New Jersey]], which features the canal on one side of the [[D&R Canal Trail|path]] and the lake on the other side. Another attractive section borders the [[Colonial Park Arboretum and Gardens]] in [[East Millstone, New Jersey|East Millstone]].

When the canal was used for transportation, New Jersey's landscape was mostly rural, and its primary business was agriculture.  In the words of Howard Green, research director of the [[New Jersey Historical Commission]], "Now it is one of the most beloved parks in the state, a sinewy, snake-like greenway through one of the most heavily populated parts of the world. It has gone from being the machine in the garden, to being garden in the machine."

== Folklore ==
From 1972 onward, the canal developed a local legend. Residents of [[Griggstown, New Jersey|Griggstown]], [[Franklin Township, Somerset County, New Jersey|Franklin Township]] claimed to have seen a feral [[Cattle|cow]] along the canal and the parallel Millstone River,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shackleford |first=James |date=2011-08-15 |title=The Legend of the Ghost Cow |url=https://patch.com/new-jersey/southbrunswick/the-legend-of-the-ghost-cow |access-date=2023-06-01 |website=South Brunswick, NJ Patch |language=en}}</ref> said to be the ghost of one of many cows herded across and along the canal. The folklore endured for 30 years when, on November 23, 2002, an actual bull was found in a ditch, and was pulled out by local authorities only to be subsequently euthanized shortly afterward.<ref>Chirco, Vicki. [https://www.nj.gov/dep/parksandforests/education/docs/hh-Griggstown%20Cow%20at%20D&R%20Canal.pdf ''The Legend of the Griggstown Cow"''], [[New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry]]. Accessed June 1, 2023.</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery class="center" widths="275" heights="250">

File:D&R Canal Lawrenceville.jpg|Rural area
File:Canal in Lambertville.JPG|The feeder canal, [[Lambertville, New Jersey]]
File:Lambertville, New Jersey-Delaware and Raritan Canal.jpg|Another view from Lambertville
File:Raritan Canal at South Bound Brook.jpg|alt=Raritan Canal at South Bound Brook|Raritan Canal at South Bound Brook
File:Delaware & Raritan Canal, Old Lock & Spilllway, Ewing, NJ.jpg|Parking area, lock, spillway and trail of the [[Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park]], [[Ewing Township, NJ]]
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[Raritan Landing]]
*[[Pennsylvania Canal (Delaware Division)]]

==References==
'''Notes'''
{{Reflist}}

'''Bibliography'''
* ''Delaware & Raritan Canal State Park'', brochure, New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry, State Park Service, July 2002

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*[http://www.dandrcanal.com/ Delaware and Raritan Canal Commission]
*[http://www.njwsa.org/uploads/1/0/8/0/108064771/raritanbasinhydro.png The Delaware & Raritan Canal Transmission Complex] - The D&R Canal is still used by the State of New Jersey to transport water resources to population centers.
*{{HABS |survey=NJ-713 |id=nj1716 |title=Delaware & Raritan Canal Lock}}
*{{HAER |survey=NJ-60-A |id=nj0108 |title=Delaware & Raritan Canal, Lock}}
*{{HAER |survey=NJ-60-B |id=nj1011 |title=Delaware & Raritan Canal, Locktender's House |link=no}}
*{{HAER |survey=NJ-61 |id=nj1012 |title=Delaware & Raritan Canal, Outlet Locks |link=no}}
*{{HAER |survey=NJ-62 |id=nj1013 |title=Delaware & Raritan Canal, Lock 6A |link=no}}
*{{HAER |survey=NJ-67 |id=nj1091 |title=Delaware & Raritan Canal, Six Mile Run Culvert |link=no}}
*{{HAER |survey=NJ-68 |id=nj1092 |title=Delaware & Raritan Canal, Ten Mile Run Culvert |link=no}}
*{{HAER |survey=NJ-129 |id=nj1718 |title=Delaware & Raritan Canal, Lock 4 |link=no}}

{{GeoGroup}}
*{{coord|40.1517|-74.7161|region:US-NJ_type:river|display=inline|name=Southern terminus of main canal}} - Southern terminus of canal
*{{coord|40.4886|-74.4340|region:US-NJ_type:river|display=inline|name=Northern terminus of main canal}} - Northern terminus of canal
*{{coord|40.4152|-75.0467|region:US-NJ_type:river|display=inline|name=Northern terminus of feeder canal}} - Northern terminus of feeder canal

{{s-start}}
{{succession box|
before=&nbsp;|
title=The Delaware and Raritan Canal Company|
years=chartered February 4, 1830<br />merged May 18, 1872|
after=[[The United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company]]
}}
{{s-end}}

{{Princeton, New Jersey}}
{{New Jersey Parks}}
{{NRHP in Mercer County, New Jersey}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Delaware and Raritan Canal| ]]
[[Category:Canals in New Jersey]]
[[Category:Canals opened in 1834]]
[[Category:East Coast Greenway]]
[[Category:Historic American Buildings Survey in New Jersey]]
[[Category:Historic American Engineering Record in New Jersey]]
[[Category:Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in New Jersey]]
[[Category:Historic districts in Princeton, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Transportation buildings and structures in Hunterdon County, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Transportation buildings and structures in Mercer County, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Transportation buildings and structures in Middlesex County, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Transportation buildings and structures in Somerset County, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Predecessors of the Pennsylvania Railroad]]
[[Category:Non-railway predecessors of railway companies]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Hunterdon County, New Jersey]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Mercer County, New Jersey]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Middlesex County, New Jersey]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Somerset County, New Jersey]]
[[Category:New Jersey Register of Historic Places]]
[[Category:Canals on the National Register of Historic Places in New Jersey]]
[[Category:Delaware River]]
[[Category:Raritan River]]