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We are doing some work on the site to make it more user-friendly so please come back as we progress (or help by checking the information!).

The map of North America is “clickable” with each state having it’s own page. This will allow you to click on a state to see what canals were, or are there, and what can be found today. States that are green have some sort of canal or navigation. If we missed something, let us know.

New York State is an example of where we are heading with this update. Other states will simply show the old “Canal Index Pages” for now until we get them updated.  

Here is what you will find.

Each state link will take you to a page with information about canal history, a map of the canals, a list of groups and organizations that are working to preserve and protect our historic canals, and our canal index pages which is an ongoing project to document canal sites. If you think of something else that should be added, drop us a email or comment. We are happy to add any group to the list. 

What is a Navigation?

Basically a navigation is a waterway that uses the natural course of a river or lake instead of a artificial man-constructed channel or canal. It is more a technical term for canal nerds, but it helps to describe what you will or would have seen. For instance the Erie Canal used to be a real canal, hand dug between Albany and Buffalo. Today the Erie Canal is a mix of river channels, lakes and constructed canals. The eastern half of the state is a navigation whereas the western is a canal. 

A note for all states and provinces. We do have interactive map (Google Maps based) that will help you find many of the local parks, museums, and odd-ball canal sites. We also have a map for boat rides on canals, lakes and rivers. Just scroll to your location to see what is nearby.

For now, here is the old Home Page info.

So while we are changing things, here is the old website info. 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.

Since 1972, the Society has published AMERICAN CANALS, the society’s illustrated quarterly. It 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 an index of all 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 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 support the American Canal Society, please visit the membership page. Membership includes a subscription to American Canals.

We solicit your articles for publication in American Canals and your input for this web site.

Questions? You can reach us at; americancanals@gmail.com , or on Facebook or Instagram using @AmericanCanals.