The Canaler's Life

The Canaler's Life (HM22IG)

Location: Easton, PA 18042 Northampton County
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Country: United States of America
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N 40° 39.756', W 75° 14.307'

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Inscription

1829 - 1942

"One thing, you were never bothered with insomnia. You rose about 3:30 a.m. and you wouldn't retire until 11:00 p.m.."
Joseph A. Lum
Mule driver
Imagine working 18 hours a day, six days a week! Canalers stopped only when the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company's locks closed: 10:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m., plus all day Sunday. (The company paid canalers by tons delivered, not by the day.) Fifty-three locks slowed boats down but frozen winters stopped traffic completely.
Canal boats held up to 100 tons of anthracite (hard coal) within their hull. A tiny cabin housed the captain, sometimes even his entire family. Captains steered mule-powered boats between loading and delivery points, living on the boat the entire season. They traded anthracite for food, supplies and services while "locking through" canal communities. This not only made good use of "down" time, but eliminated the need for shopping time.
Two mules, single file, furnished enough power to keep the boat moving. An older son or hired hand kept the mules "on track" and properly fed (every 4 hours, typically). Canalers preferred mules to horses. They believed mules demonstrated more intelligence and strength.
Mules provided power for canal boats for more than a century, pulling boats along the towpath the entire
time the canal was in operation.
[Photo caption reads]
A canal, a [?] and a team of mules - a bygone way of life.
Details
HM NumberHM22IG
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Placed ByDelaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, Bethlehem City and Township, and Carbon County
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Friday, November 3rd, 2017 at 4:01pm PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)18T E 479844 N 4501330
Decimal Degrees40.66260000, -75.23845000
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 40° 39.756', W 75° 14.307'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds40° 39' 45.36" N, 75° 14' 18.42" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)610, 484
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 2710 Hugh Moore Park Rd, Easton PA 18042, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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