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The American Canal Society |
Welcome!
The American Canal Society is dedicated to Historic Canal Research, Preservation, Restoration, and Parks. The society was formed in 1972 to promote the wise use of America's many historic canal resources through research, preservation, restoration, recreation, and parks. The society acts as a national clearing house of canal information and co-operates with local, state, and international canal societies, groups, and individuals to identify historic canal resources, to publicize canal history, activities, activities, and problems, and to take action on threatened canals and sites.
AMERICAN CANALS, the society's illustrated quarterly, is an internationally distributed periodical covering canal news, history, activities, and practical information from America and around the world. It is a source of information and inspiration for canal buffs as well as for professional planners, historians, and archaeologists. Click here to see recent issues.
The American Canal Society's on going projects include a national inventory of American canals and canal sites, a series of regional canal guides and other publications, and committees focusing on canal boat design and construction, canal parks, canal engineering and maintenance, and navigable canal boating and restoration.
Canals and their locks, aqueducts and other "works of art" (as the canal engineers called them) are the ancient castles of the New World. They are monumental works, built for the ages, the product of time, sweat, even the lives of past generations. They represent the beginning of civil engineering and other commercial institutions. It is not an inheritance to be wasted. It is up to us to preserve the best of our past and to wisely use these historic resources. The "ditches" and towpaths of the past can be the quiet parkways of the present and future. We solicit your support and involvement.
To join us, please print and mail the membership form. Membership includes a subscription to American Canals.
We solicit your articles for publication in American Canals and your input for this web site. Please contact dgbarber@cs.com
In 2005, Euromapping published a map of the waterways of North America both current and historic. The first such map in over 90 years. It includes a guide to all the waterways shown plus other information. Copies are available on the Inland Waterways International web site.
NEW in 2011:, Euromapping has made the above map avaiable as a pdf file which can be purchased from their web site. The advantage of the digital copy, is that you can zoom in onspecific areas and see the great detail that may not be visible on the paper edition. You can also print out these zoomed in images. If you have the proper additional photo software, the zoomed in images can be used in Powerpoint presentations. Euromapping's web site is www.euromapping.com In the online shop, go to the digital section.
NEW in 2007: The ACS Canal Boat Committee established a certification program for authentic canal boat replicas. See the link below for more information.
Click on the links below for more information!
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Calendar - a partial listing of upcoming canal events (Updated 11/21/11)
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Canal Information & Data Sheets (Additions, revisions & blank forms for submission)
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Canal Links (New links added on occasion)
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Canal Boats you can cruise (Updated 10/22/10)
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Canal Structures
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Locks (how they work) Link to an Erie Canal web page
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Description of various canal features & structures
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Mason Marks a discussion of the mason marks found on masonry structures (New 1/8/11)
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Progress An update on the status of canals and navigations (Updated 10/28/10)
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Photos An extensive collection! With continual additions
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Restoration Information A page of information on restoration projects to aid those researching for new projects (Updated 3/27/11)
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40 year Index (1972 to 2011) for American Canals (Updated 10/12/11)
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Miscellaneous (Various items related to canals)
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eBooks (including links to Whitford's books on New York canals)
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U.S. Army Corps of Engineers district histories (Revised 11/15/11)
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Muskingum River Navigation (Ohio) (Revised 1/12/08) Includes 2008 information
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1/20/12 - Added link to Blackstone Canal photos to main Photos page
1/9/12 - Added photos of and separate section forWhitewater Canal (IN) to main Photos page
1/3/12 - Added photos of rebuilt Eureka, WI Lock on Fox- Wisconsin Waterway
12/31/11 - Updated Calendar
12/21/11 - Added to Erie Canal links
12/19/11 - Updated Calendar
12/5/11 - Revised Cincinnati & Whitewater Canal index and structure sheets
11/29/11 - Added revisions & structure sheets to Whitewater & Cincinnati & Whitewater Canals sheets
11/27/11 - Added to I&M Canal Lock 11 photos
11/21/11 - Updated Calendar
11/17/11 - Added recent (yesterday) photos of I&M Canal Lock 11
11/15/11 - Added recent photo of cleared prism upstream of I&M Canal Lock 11
10/12/11 - Updated indexes for American Canals through Fall, 2011
8/31/11 - Revised Blackstone Canal Lock list
8/29/11 - Revised Blackstone Canal Lock list
8/25/11 - Updated Calendar
8/16/11 - Added index page for Warsaw & Winona Lake Canals (IN)
8/14/11 - Added index page for Albany Santiam Canal (OR)
8/8/11 - Updated American Canal indexes to Volume 40, Number 3
8/6/11 - Updated Calendar
8/3/11 - Added photos of Sault Ste. Marie Locks (American & Canadian), and Magnetawan Lock, Huntsville Lock, and Port Carling Locks (2), all in Ontario plus photos of NY Erie Barge Canal at Lockport, Brockport, & Adams Basin plus photos of the Central Canal in Indianapolis, IN
8/1/11 - Added photos of Riley Lock, Gronauer Lock 2, and Wabash River Lock (IN)
7/31/11 - Added photos of Ohio & Erie Canal (OH) Lock 39 north & July, 2011 construction photos of Tinkers Creek Aqueduct
7/13/11 - Updated link for Blackstone Canal Conservancy on links page.
6/17/11 - Added photos and plans of Tinker's Creek Aqueduct (Ohio & Erie) (now under reconstruction) to photos pages
6/1/11 - Added second map and profile to index sheet on Cross Florida Barge Canal (FL)
5/30/11 - Completed adding photos of Enlarged Champlain Canal (NY). Added index sheet for Clam Lake Canal (MI)
5/28/11 - Retyped Champlain Canal index sheet and added structure table
5/27/11 -Photos of Champlain Canals and Glens Falls Feeder (NY) added
5/18/11 - Retyped and added to index sheets for Sacramento River & Bel Marin Keys Locks (CA)
5/15/11 - Retyped some Georgia, Tennessee, & West Virginia index sheets
5/14/11 - Revised index sheet for Savannah & Ogeechee Canal (GA)
5/13/11 - Updated Calendar
5/12/11 - Retyped and added to index page of Milan Canal (OH)
5/11/11 - Added index sheet for Trenton Feeder& retyped sheet for Columbus Feeder (OH)
5/9/11 - Added a few D&H Canal photos
5/8/11 - Revised the Brazil data sheet on the Tucurui Dam
5/5/11 - Updated schedule and rates for LaSalle (IL) canal boat.
5/3/11 - Updated Lehigh Canal photos to include scenes taken on 4/30/11 PCS tour of the Lower Division
Latest Updates:
This site was last updated on 01/20/12