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ACSlogo 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 available as a pdf file which can be purchased from their web site. The advantage of the digital copy, is that you can zoom in on specific 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!

  • Officers & Directors

  • President's Letters

  • Membership Information

  • Calendar - a partial listing of upcoming canal events   (Updated 12/30/12)

  • World Canals Conferences

  • Canal Information & Data Sheets   (Additions, revisions & blank forms for submission)

  • Canal Links  (New links added on occasion)

  • Canal Buffs Hall of Fame

  • American Canal Guides

  • ACS Sales

  • Canal Boats you can cruise (Updated 10/22/12)

  • Canal Structures

    • Locks (how they work) Link to an Erie Canal web page

    • Description of various canal features & structures

    • Mason Marks a discussion of the mason marks found on masonry structures  (New 1/8/11)

  • Restorable Canals & Navigations

  • Progress  An update on the status of canals and navigations  (Updated 10/28/10)

  • Photos  An extensive collection! With continual additions

  • Restoration Information   A page of information on restoration projects to aid those researching for new projects (Updated 3/27/11)

  • 42 year Index (1972 to 2013) for American Canals  (Updated 2/8/13)

  • Canal Boat Certification

  • Archives (Added 3/5/13)

  • Miscellaneous  (Various items related to canals)

  • eBooks (including links to Whitford's books on New York canals)

  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers district histories  (Revised 11/15/11)

  • Muskingum River Navigation (Ohio) (Revised  1/12/08)  Includes 2008 information

    Latest Updates:

    • 5/20/13 - Added Joe Balynas photos of  I&M Canal, Nettle Creek Aqueduct and area of Lock 13 after recent flood damage
      4/10/13 - Added photos of Lock  6 (Lower Franklin) and dam in Kent, OH
      3/20/13 - Added January 2013 photos of Union Canal Locks 11E and 12E
      3/18/13 - Added structures page for Lake Cowichan Lock, Vancouver Island, British Columbia
      3/6/13 - Added U-fabboats to Restoration information page.
      3/5/13 - Added photos of Keweenaw Waterway to index page
      2/8/13 - Added Frank B. Thomson to Canal Buffs Hall of Fame, Updated indexes for American Canals through, Winter 2013
      1/14/13 - Updated link for Virginia Canal and Navigations Society
      12/30/12 - Updated Calendar
      12/20/12 - Revised data sheet for Lost Canal of the Raspadura (Colombia) in South America
      12/14/12 - Updated Calendar
      12/11/12 - Added index sheets for       Canal del Dique (Columbia) and Rio Paraiba (Brazil) to South America pages
      12/9/12 - Updated and added to South America index pages
      11/5/12 - Updated indexes for American Canals through, Fall 2012
      11/3/12 - Added photo of the new (2012) Lil' Diamond III on the Erie Canal at Herkimer, NY to the canal boats page
      10/1/12 - Added a post card view of Dunton Lock, Detroit Lakes, MN to the Dunton Locks photos
      8/22/12 - Added Public Archeological Laboratory of Pawtucket, RI to the Restoration experience list.
      8/4/12 - Revised Chambly Canal (QC) index page
      8/3/12 - Added data sheet for Temiskawa Waterway (Ontario & Quebec) & St. Ours Lock (QC)
      8/2/12 - Added data sheet for the Georgian Bay Ship Canal (Ontario & Quebec)
      8/1/12 - Added David Ross to the Canal Buffs Hall of Fame
      7/28/12 - Updated indexes for American Canals through Summer, 2012
      7/14/12 Added photos of Union Canal locks 7 & 8 east.
      6/29/12 - Slightly revised index page for the Wolfe Island Canal (Ontario). Added index pages for the Carillon, Chute a Blondeau, and Grenville Canals and Ste-Anne-de Bellevue and Vaudreuil Locks (Quebec)
      6/13/12 - Revised data sheet for Grand River Navigation (Ontario)
      6/11/12 - Added data sheets for Tay Canal &Wolfe Island Canal (Ontario) & LaColle Falls Lock & Dam (Saskatchewan)
      6/10/12 - Updated indexes for American Canals through Spring, 2012
      6/7/12 - Added data sheets for Chignecto Ship Railway, Grand River Navigation, Murray Canal (all Canada)
      5/4/12 - Updated Calendar
      4/20/12 - Added photos of O&E Canal in Newark, Groveport, Tinkers Creek & Lock 37 north; Whitewater Canal, Yellow Bank Lock to Connersville; Cincinnati & Whitewater Canal, Cleves Tunnel; Columbia, PA Outlet Lock
      3/29/12 - Added a data base of Selected Pennsylvania Canals to the PA Canal Index Sheets
      3/17/12 - Updated Calendar
      3/13/12 - Added photos of Yahara River Locks, WI
      2/13/12 - Updated indexes for American Canals through Winter, 2012
      1/30/12 - Updated Calendar
      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

    This site was last updated on 05/20/13