Geocache Identification Permit Approval Number: AMSP20191028172
Permit Expires on:10/28/22
The Morris Canal series of caches are placed along the canal towpath in partnership with the Waterloo Village Historic Site and the Canal Society of New Jersey to showcase the important early transportation across New Jersey. The Morris Canal connected the Delaware and Hudson Rivers and facilitated development of cities and industry in New York and New Jersey.
By 1870 over 4,000 miles of canals had been built in the eastern and Midwestern states. These formed a transportation network that played a major role in the westward expansion and the industrial and economic development that made the United States a great nation.
These canals were designed primarily for shallow-draft boats carrying up to 200 tons, and towed by mules and horses at speeds of two to four miles per hour. They transported mostly bulk freight such as coal, iron, minerals and stone products, lumber, farm products, and manufactured goods.
Canals in the United States
The need for canals at that time was great. Our country was young and expanding westward. Transportation was difficult and originally limited to the coastal waters and navigable portions of rivers. The Hudson River was navigable all the way to Albany, but the Delaware River was blocked by falls at Trenton.
Farm goods, raw materials, and minerals from inland areas were difficult to move to the coastal cities for consumption and export. Manufactured goods and supplies from the coastal cities and Europe were needed in the inland areas.
Despite the building of many early turnpikes, roads were unpaved and poor. They were often impassable in winter and muddy in wet weather. There were few bridges and most streams had to be forded.
While a pack mule could carry about 200 pounds and a large wagon could carry up to a ton, early canal boats could carry 25 tons. Accordingly, by the early 1800s, canals were the only practical means of moving large quantities of bulk materials.