THE TUNNEL:
Work on the Union Canal Tunnel began in May of 1825, with workers hand digging and using gun powder to blast through the ridge of argillaceous slate rock and veins of hard flinty limestone that separated Quittapahilla Creek and Clark’s Run. The canal was dug 80 feet below the summit of the ridge, at the slow pace of 5 yards per week. Under the direction of chief engineer Simeon Guilford and with John B. Ives as contractor, the original 729 feet of canal was completed in June 1827 at a cost of $30,404.29. The first boat to navigate the canal (on June 12, 1827) was The Alpha, from Tulpehocken, who had arrived the evening before, to await the opportunity. The canal was designed for mules to pull the loaded vessels thru the tunnel, while poles were used against the ceiling to keep the vessels away from the walls.
In 1858 traffic thru the canal increased, and the canal was enlarged to allow passage of larger vessels, while also reducing the length of the canal to 600 feet (at a cost of $8,280). Use of the 80 miles canal system continued for several decades, in a system where canal boats where pulled by mules who walked on specially designed paths along the canal. More than 100 locks on the canal helped lift vessels as the elevation of the river increased along the route. Competition from railroads, as well as several severe floods which caused extreme damage on several occasions, caused the canal to close in 1885. Portions of the 80 mile long canal were slowly filled or overgrown.
During the 1930s, the Civil Works Administration (CWA) was enlisted to restore the tunnel. When the project was completed, a marker was placed to commemorate the restoration work. A large boulder was pulled by a sled with horses from the South Mountain near Colebrook to hold the marker. The Eastern Real Estate Company, successor in title to the canal from the Union Canal Company, allowed the Lebanon County Historical Society to gain access to the property in December 1933 to begin steps to preserve the engineering monument. The Historical Society became interested in preserving the tunnel also.
The Historical Society purchased the property that contains the tunnel, in April 1950.
Designated a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1970.
Additional land was purchased in 1992 to the north of the canal, to be developed as a park.
On April 19, 1994 the Union Canal Tunnel was designated a National Historic Landmark by the Secretary of the Interior.
Between 1998-2000 renovations (including dredging, and restoring the north portal) were accomplished. The tunnel reopened for recreational vessel traffic in September 2000. Formal dedication of the park on the north side occurred in 2006.
THE CANAL:
The Canal was first proposed in 1690 by William Penn, who saw a canal as a means of increasing the financial opportunities by connecting two agricultural trading areas along the Schuykill and Susquehanna Rivers. The idea was deemed lucrative, but it took years for the idea to gained momentum. Between 1762 and 1770, David Rittenhouse and William Smith surveyed the area in the first steps to determine the best location for the canal to be constructed; this was the first canal ever surveyed in the United States. (http://myhometown-lebanonpa.com/Union%20Canal%20Tunnel.html). The project again stalled, until 1792 when the Schuylkill and Susquehanna Canal Co was chartered to start construction, and under the direction of William Weston, an English engineer, they were able to dig several miles of canal and construct 5 locks built between Myerstown and Lebanon before financing ran out. In 1793, President George Washington visited the area and ceremoniously turning the first shovel of dirt for the canal, but funding remained a challenge. The Pennsylvania State Legislature granted permission to raise funds by lottery for the creation of canals though out the state, ultimately raising $33 million. This is reported as the largest canal lottery in the history of the United States. Unfortunately, only $270,000 of the lottery funds were diverted to the Union Canal.
In 1811 the project was reorganized, now called Union Canal Company of Pennsylvania, and construction finally resumed. With Samual Mifflin as President of the company, the work was able to be completed in 1828. An additional branch was added in 1832, extending the canal from Water Works north to Pine Grove, to reach the coal fields in that area. Canvass White, who is well known for his work on the Erie Canal, was the chief engineer, and his assistant was Simeon Guilford, assisted with the complexities involved in the water pumping system needed to maintain water in the multiple levels of the canal. The cost of the canal was over six million dollars.
Sources:
www.lebanoncountypages.com/union-canal-tunnel-park
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myhometown-lebanonpa.com/Union%20Canal%20Tunnel.html
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myhometown-lebanonpa.com/Union%20Canal%20Tunnel.html
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