The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1896-04-30
BEFORE THE RAILROAD ERA.
Pennsylvania Canal Was an Important
Factor In Transportation.

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Factor In Transportation.
And what primitive transportation
they did have in those old days OF 40.
to be sure! Railroads there were in the
east, and had been for full 20 years,
but not here. Pittsburgh was a far
western town then, of but 10000 in
habitants. The patient, plodding, tow
path mule was good enough for tho
Pittsburgher of 46, who peacefully and
contentedly wendell his way to Johns
town in 30 hours and was well salts
fed if he landed in Philadelphia in
something less than week. To us of
the post-bellum generation this is hard
to realize. The canal boat and the mule
seem relics of the misty past almost as
unreal as the Indian with his toma-
hawk and birch canoe. And yet there
is many a hale and hearty citizen, still
In his prime, to whom they are vivid
and well-remembered realities.
Practically all the commerce of Pitts
burgh 80 years ago was carried over the
western branch of that famous water
way called the Pennsylvania canal. It's
western terminus was Pittsburgh, its
eastern Johnstown, the route between
the two places being as follows: Cross
ing the Allegheny river by an aqueduct
at the foot of what is now Eleventh
street, then up the west bank of the
Allegheny to Freeport, then across the
river again by an aqueduct, up the
KishlSiminetas river to Salisbury,
thence up the Conemaugh to Johns
town.
The route of the canal in this city
can be traced, though not a vestige OF
it now remains. The basin, where most
of the loading was done, was practic-
ally the end of the canal, though a tun-
mel which passed under the city almost
in the line of the present Panhandle
tunnel carried the canal through to the
Monongahela. There were many small
canal boats, which were used to bring
in the products of numerous market
gardeners whose farms were scattered
along the fertile lowlands beside the
Allegheny river. These market boats
were called 'Fannies;" just why, is not
apparent. Possibly, in earlier times,
when the first of these boats came
into use, some charming, smiling Fan
ny used to sit at the tiller and guide her
fathers load of pumpkins and pota.
toes into the city on market day. The
''Fannies" were hauled by one horse.
But the pride of the old canal was its
packet boats. The handsome craft
would not cut much of a figure beside
the Virginia of to-day, but they We're
looked upon as something elegant i'll
the '4Os. This was one of the two great
highways to the east, this canal and Il
much-traveled highway it was, too, con-
sidering the scanty population west OF
the mountains in those days. People
coming up the Ohio from Cincinnati or
elsewhere usually preferred to keep the
river, and continued up the Mononga-
hela to Brownville, and there took the
famous old national pike to Cumber-
land. Cumberland had railroad then,
and so the journey to the seaboard was
easy from that point.
But to return to the packet boats.
They We're 20 to so feet long and were
drawn by four horses. They were not
much unlike the canal boats we see to-
day,when we see them at all, but neater
and more pretentious, as was fitting
for the first-class patronage they en-
joyed. Many blushing bride and
groom there was that took that jour
ney to the east.
And what a journey it was. On, up
through the hills. by and over many
stream, to the foot of the Allegheny
mountains; then across that formi-
dable barrier, down into pleasant east
ern valleys, and again by the pictur-
csque canal on to the brim of the
mighty Susquehanna. Here one
seemed to be getting into some sort OF
permanent civilizations; from here the
iron horse made the rest of the route
easy, and at last one was actually
landed at the famous city of brotherly
love, far away at the other end of the
state, 400-mile journey.a journey,
like matrimony, not to be entered into
lightly or unadvisedly, but after ma
ture consideration. 1t was truly great
event, that voyage to the east.-Pitts-
burgh Dispatch.