Beaver and Erie Canal facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Beaver and Erie Canal
Map of historic Pennsylvania canals
Specifications
Locks	137
Status	Historic, abandoned
History
Original owner	Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Construction began	1831
Date completed	1844
Date closed	1872
Geography
Start point	Beaver, Pennsylvania
End point	Erie, Pennsylvania
Branch(es)	Beaver, Shenango, and Conneaut Divisions
Branch of	Pennsylvania Canal
Connects to	Ohio River, Sandy and Beaver Canal, Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal, French Creek Feeder, Lake Erie
Designations:
Pennsylvania Historical Marker
Designated:	1948

The Beaver and Erie Canal was an important waterway in Pennsylvania. It was also known as the Erie Extension Canal. This canal was a big part of the Pennsylvania Canal system. It had three main sections: the Beaver, Shenango, and Conneaut Divisions.

The canal stretched for about 136 miles (219 km). It ran north to south through western Pennsylvania. It connected the Ohio River to Lake Erie. The canal passed through several counties, including Beaver, Lawrence, Mercer, Crawford, and Erie.

The canal started where the Beaver River meets the Ohio River. This spot is near Beaver, about 20 miles (32 km) from Pittsburgh. The canal ended in the city of Erie. To handle the changing land height, the canal used 137 locks. These locks helped boats move up and down a total of 977 feet (298 m).

Building the Beaver and Erie Canal

Why was this canal built? It was meant to create a transportation path across northwestern Pennsylvania. This path would link Lake Erie with the Ohio River. It also connected to other major canals. One was the Main Line of Public Works, which joined Philadelphia to Pittsburgh. Another was the Erie Canal in New York, which connected Albany, New York, to Lake Erie.

How the Canal Was Built

Work on the Beaver Division started in 1831. This part of the canal was 31 miles (50 km) long. It ran from Beaver along the Beaver River and the Shenango River to Pulaski.

In 1836, construction began on the Shenango Division. This section extended 61 miles (98 km) from Pulaski to Conneaut Lake. Then, in 1838, plans were made for the Conneaut Division. This final part was 45 miles (72 km) long and went all the way to Erie.

The Erie Canal Company took over the Conneaut Division in 1843. They finished building it in 1844. That year, the entire 136-mile canal opened for boats.

Connecting to Other Waterways

The Beaver and Erie Canal connected to two other important canals. One was the Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal. This canal started in New Castle, which the Beaver and Erie Canal served. It ran 91 miles (146 km) west to the Ohio and Erie Canal in Ohio.

Another connection was the French Creek Feeder. This canal brought extra water into Conneaut Lake. It also provided a way for boats to travel. The French Creek Feeder was 25 miles (40 km) long. It started near Meadville. From there, it connected to the Franklin Line canal, which was 22 miles (35 km) long. The Franklin Line ran along French Creek to Franklin.

At its southern end, the Beaver and Erie Canal linked to the Ohio River. This river led to Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh was a major hub for the main transportation system of that time, the Main Line of Public Works.

Why the Canal Closed

The Beaver and Erie Canal brought new business to towns like Conneautville. They shipped timber and hay to Pittsburgh. The canal was very busy at first. However, it was hard to keep in good working order.

Over time, railroads became more popular. They offered faster and easier transportation. This competition hurt the canal business. In 1872, an aqueduct (a bridge that carries water) over Elk Creek broke. This damage, along with the rise of railroads, led to the canal being closed down.

What's Left Today?

Even though the canal is gone, you can still find parts of it. Some sections exist near Shenango River Lake, close to Hermitage. You can also see well-preserved remains of Lock Number 10 in Sharpsville. This lock is about 0.5 miles (0.8 km) south of the Shenango Dam.

A hiking path called the Shenango Trail follows the old canal towpath. This path is about 8 miles (13 km) long. It runs along the east side of the Shenango River.

You can learn more about the canal at the Greenville Canal Museum in Greenville. The museum has canal artifacts and a model of a canal boat called the Rufus S. Reed. Some canal structures also remain in Bridgewater, at the canal's southern end. These are part of the Bridgewater Historic District.

The French Creek Feeder Canal

Conneaut Lake, which fed the Beaver and Erie Canal, didn't always have enough water. It mainly got water from springs and small streams. To solve this, the state built a special canal called the French Creek Feeder.

This feeder canal started from a dam built on the Bemus farm. This farm was 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Meadville. Water from the dam was higher than the lake. So, it flowed south through Meadville. It even crossed French Creek using an aqueduct at Shaw's Landing. At this spot, locks allowed boats to move between the canal and the creek. After the landing, the canal turned northwest and flowed into Conneaut Lake.

Engineers also raised the Conneaut Lake dam by 11 feet (3.4 m). They added another short canal to pump water to the Beaver and Erie Canal. The French Creek Feeder reached Meadville in 1828 and Conneaut Lake in 1834.

After the Beaver and Erie Canal closed, the dam at Conneaut Lake was lowered. The French Creek Feeder was also abandoned. However, a small part of it still flowed through Meadville for a while. The Crawford County Historical Society has saved a small section of this feeder canal.

The Franklin Line Canal

Downstream from Meadville was the town of Franklin. This town was where French Creek met the Allegheny River. Merchants in Franklin worried that the new canals would take away their business. So, they convinced the state to build a system of locks and dams on French Creek. This was below Shaw's Landing at Meadville.

This new canal, called the Franklin Line, opened in 1833. It made it easier for boats to travel between Franklin and Meadville. But it made things harder for rafts, which used river currents and were too big for the locks. Even large boats had trouble with the locks. Also, the creek often didn't have enough water for them. In 1837, a big flood badly damaged the system. Because of this, the Franklin Line was allowed to fall apart.

Pymatuning Swamp and the Canal

The canal passed through what is now Pymatuning State Park. It used a 3-mile (4.8 km) long causeway (a raised road or path across wet ground). This causeway was built through the Pymatuning Swamp by the Erie Canal Company. Building it actually helped create the 600-acre (2.4 km2) Pymatuning Reservoir west of the canal.

Images for kids

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  French Creek at Franklin in 2012