This image is the cover for the book Schuylkill Canal, Images of America

Schuylkill Canal, Images of America

In 1825, the Schuylkill Navigation Company completed a waterway of 108 miles, linking Port Carbon to Philadelphia. The waterway, known as the Schuylkill Navigation but commonly referred to today as the Schuylkill Canal, consisted of a system of interconnected canals (often called reaches), locks, and slack-water pools to transport anthracite coal. Before that time, Philadelphia depended on the import of coal from Europe. The Schuylkill Canal was operational until 1931, around the time of the collapse of commercial traffic in the navigation. Only two watered stretches of the canal remain today: the approximately 2.5 miles of the original 3.5 miles of Oakes Reach between Oaks and Mont Clare and the one-mile reach in Manayunk. While these areas are no longer used for navigation, they are enjoyed recreationally by many in the surrounding communities.

Karen Rodemich Roman

Initially a volunteer with the Schuylkill Canal Association (SCA), Karen Rodemich Roman now serves on the association's board of directors. Professionally, she is an editor/writer for the health care industry. She has compiled the photographs for this book from the SCA's photographic archives, as well as other local sources, in an effort to convey the history and importance of the Schuylkill Canal.

Arcadia Publishing