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The Delaware Division of the Pennsylvania Canal, more commonly called the Delaware Canal, runs from the Lehigh River at Easton (home of The National Canal Museum and terminal end of the Lehigh Canal) south to Bristol. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania built the Delaware canal as part of its Main Line of Internal Improvements to carry anthracite coal, limestone, cement, and lumber from the northeastern reaches of Pennsylvania to Philadelphia. The Pennsylvania Canal system was spurred by the early success of the Erie Canal in New York State, which had opened in 1825. First opened in 1832, it still has most of its original locks, aqueducts, and overflows.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/delaware/del.htm )〕 According to the National Park Service, it was the ''"longest-lived canal in the country"''.〔 The canal runs parallel to the Delaware River from Easton, Pennsylvania where over the years, it was fed millions of tons of anthracite from the privately developed Lehigh Canal to transport them to the city and port of Philadelphia; the canal's line of travel is generally within sight of the river. ==History== The Delaware Canal originally was in length. Width is approximately 〔 and depth is approximately . Construction, which was done entirely with hand tools using primarily imported labor from Ireland, started in 1829. The state sold the canal to the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company in 1858. But competition from the railroad led to a decline in barge traffic. By the 1920s, anthracite coal was waning as a source of fuel. The last commercial through traffic traveled the canal in October 1931 and the bankrupt Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company sold the canal back to the state for a nominal fee. In 1933, a private group called The Delaware Valley Protective Association〔http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:0n14xVmyZ70J:www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateParks/parks/delawarecanal/landuse/u1lesson10lp.doc+delaware+valley+protective+association&cd=9&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us〕 (DVPA) was founded to protect the canal as a historic asset. The DVPA persuaded the state to resume maintenance of the canal in 1940, when its towpath became Theodore Roosevelt State Park. The berms were restored and the canal was refilled with water. Through the 1940s and 1950s, the canal was left mostly untouched. In the early 1960s, however, Pennsylvania officials explored plans to pave over the canal and create a road for cars. Local residents fought for the canal's protection. In 1964, Bucks County historian and DVPA member Willis M. Rivinus wrote the first ''Guide to the Delaware Canal''〔Guide to the Delaware Canal, Willis M. Rivinus, photographs by Louis Comfort Tiffany, Route maps by Edith C. Smith, New Hope, PA, 1964, 1967, 1972, 1978, 1984, 1989, 1993, 2004〕 to call attention to the canal's value. Through the 1960s and 1970s, the DVPA and other influential citizens sought to secure federal landmark status to protect the Canal. In 1974, the Canal was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1976, it was designated a National Historic Landmark,〔http://www.nps.gov/history/nhl/designations/Lists/PA01.pdf〕 helping to guarantee its preservation. The towpath itself was named an official National Recreation Trail. In 1988, the U.S. government created the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, covering a 165-mile north-south swath of eastern Pennsylvania that includes the Delaware Canal.〔''The Complete Guide to the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor'', Lehigh River Foundation, Bethlehem, PA, 1994〕 In 1989, Theodore Roosevelt State Park was renamed Delaware Canal State Park. However, public funding for the canal often has been inadequate and, as in other parts of the country, private non-profit groups have been created to fill the void. In 1983, Bucks County resident Betty Orlemann organized the Friends of the Delaware Canal (FODC),〔http://www.fodc.org〕 now the canal's largest fund-raising and volunteer group. (The DVPA no longer exists). Under long-time executive director Susan Taylor, the FODC also functions as a watchdog group, ensuring goals are to met to make the towpath trail walkable over its entire length and to eventually get the canal fully watered from Easton to Bristol. Portions of the Delaware Canal towpath were washed away or damaged during successive floods in 2004, 2005 and 2006. A number of sections of the towpath were closed and impassable, including a long stretch north of Washington Crossing and sections south of Riegelsville. In February 2008, a section of the towpath collapsed and of the canal lost water.〔http://infoaboutdelaware.com/general-news/23-miles-of-delaware-canal-loses-water-in-towpath-collapse-wilkes-barre-times-leader〕 Through funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (PA DCNR) currently is refurbishing the washed out sections of the canal. As of October 2009, according to Delaware Canal State Park manager Rick Dalton, 75 percent of the towpath had been restored and was expected to be fully walkable by summer 2010. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Pennsylvania Canal (Delaware Division)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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