Enfield Falls Canal | |
---|---|
Specifications | |
Length | 5.25 miles (8.45 km) |
Locks | 1 (north end); 3 (south end) |
Status | Closed |
Navigation authority | |
Enfield Falls Canal (Windsor Locks Canal) | |
Nearest city | Windsor Locks, Connecticut |
Area | 55 acres (22 ha) |
Built | 1829 |
Engineer | Canvass White |
NRHP reference No. | 76001998 [1] |
Added to NRHP | April 22, 1976 |
History | |
Construction began | 1827 |
Date completed | November 11, 1829 |
Geography | |
Start point | 41°59′12″N72°36′19″W / 41.9866°N 72.6053°W |
End point | 41°55′01″N72°37′29″W / 41.9169°N 72.6248°W |
Enfield Falls Canal (commonly known as the Windsor Locks Canal) is a canal that was built to circumvent the shallows at Enfield Falls (or Enfield Rapids) on the Connecticut River, between Hartford, Connecticut and Springfield, Massachusetts. It is situated along the west side of the river, adjacent to the towns of Suffield and Windsor Locks in Hartford County in the state of Connecticut, United States. Windsor Locks is named after the series of locks on the canal.
Prior to the opening of the canal, the scows or flat-bottomed boats which plied the Connecticut River could only ascend the falls by engaging local fallsmen to propel the craft forward utilizing set poles. One fallsman was required for each ton of cargo. Not only did the added labor costs make this method of overtaking the falls expensive, but the amount of cargo that could be transported was limited to approximately ten tons. Any additional freight had to be offloaded at Warehouse Point on the east bank and warehoused for later transport or carried around the falls by ox teams.
Construction of the canal commenced in 1827 and it was opened on November 11, 1829. The canal was 5+1⁄4 miles (8.4 km) long and had a vertical drop of 32 ft (9.8 m). The locks admitted craft up to 90 ft (27 m) long and 20 ft (6.1 m) wide. The canal was unique among canals of the era in that it was designed with structural reinforcement to facilitate steam tug boat traffic. The design of the canal included a massive head gate with apertures that could be opened and closed to precisely control water levels not only within the lock chambers but within the canal itself. The design feature supported the incorporator's dual intent to profit not only from tolls charged on canal traffic but from the sale of mill sites and the leasing of water rights to mill operators along the last mile of the canal bank.
Once the canal was opened, boats were able to carry much larger loads, and the anticipated steamboat services were introduced using newly designed vessels capable of passing through the lock chambers. Charles Dickens traveled along the canal on February 7, 1842. However, by 1844 the Hartford and Springfield Railroad had started operation, and navigation on the Connecticut River gradually reduced. The profits realized from the sale of water rights proved to be the more lucrative of the canal's two purposes.
Today the canal is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, but closed to navigation and privately owned by the Ahlstrom Corporation, [2] which has a manufacturing facility adjacent to the canal. [3] The locks themselves still exist, but have not been usable since the 1970s. [4] The towpath is open for hiking and cycling as the Windsor Locks Canal State Park Trail. The trail is generally open from April 1 through November 15. [5] The southernmost portion of the trail runs parallel to the J. R. Montgomery Company Industrial Complex. [6]
East Windsor is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region. The population was 11,190 at the 2020 census. The town has five villages: Broad Brook, Melrose, Scantic, Warehouse Point and Windsorville.
Enfield is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, first settled by John and Robert Pease of Salem, Massachusetts Bay Colony. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region. The population was 42,141 at the 2020 census. It is bordered by Longmeadow, Massachusetts, and East Longmeadow, Massachusetts, to the north, Somers to the east, East Windsor and Ellington to the south, and the Connecticut River to the west.
Windsor is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, and was the first English settlement in the state. It lies on the northern border of Connecticut's capital, Hartford. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region. The population of Windsor was 29,492 at the 2020 census.
The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for 406 miles (653 km) through four states. It rises 300 yards south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges at Long Island Sound. Its watershed encompasses 11,260 square miles (29,200 km2), covering parts of five U.S. states and one Canadian province, via 148 tributaries, 38 of which are major rivers. It produces 70% of Long Island Sound's fresh water, discharging at 18,400 cubic feet (520 m3) per second.
Windsor Locks is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region. As of the 2020 census, its population was 12,613. It is the site of Bradley International Airport, which serves the Greater Hartford-Springfield region and occupies approximately a third of the town. Windsor Locks is also the site of the New England Air Museum.
U.S. Route 5 (US 5) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway running through the New England states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont. Significant cities along the route include New Haven, Connecticut; Hartford, Connecticut; and Springfield, Massachusetts. From Hartford northward to St. Johnsbury, Vermont, the road closely follows the route of the Connecticut River.
The Middlesex Canal was a 27-mile (44-kilometer) barge canal connecting the Merrimack River with the port of Boston. When operational it was 30 feet wide, and 3 feet deep, with 20 locks, each 80 feet long and between 10 and 11 feet wide. It also had eight aqueducts.
Route 159 is a 21.14-mile-long (34.02 km) state highway connecting the Hartford and Springfield areas in the U.S. states of Connecticut and Massachusetts. It begins as the northern extension of Main Street in Hartford and proceeds northward along the west bank of the Connecticut River towards Agawam, Massachusetts. The route ends at the junction of Route 147 and Route 75 in Agawam center just south of the West Springfield city line. The route was originally designated as U.S. Route 5A in 1932 and was renumbered to its modern designation in October 1968.
Route 75 in the U.S. states of Connecticut and Massachusetts is a 17.5-mile-long (28.2 km) scenic route connecting the Hartford, Connecticut, and Springfield, Massachusetts, areas. The route begins at Route 159 in the town of Windsor, Connecticut, and ends at the junction of Route 159/Route 147 in the city of Agawam, Massachusetts.
The Lehigh Canal is a navigable canal that begins at the mouth of Nesquehoning Creek on the Lehigh River in the Lehigh Valley and Northeastern regions of Pennsylvania. It was built in two sections over a span of 20 years beginning in 1818. The lower section spanned the distance between Easton and present-day Jim Thorpe. In Easton, the canal met the Pennsylvania Canal's Delaware Division and Morris Canals, which allowed anthracite coal and other goods to be transported further up the U.S. East Coast. At its height, the Lehigh Canal was 72 miles (116 km) long.
The South Hadley Canal was a canal along the Connecticut River in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It was the earliest navigable canal in the United States, with operation commencing in 1795. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the South Hadley Canal Historic District.
The Hartford Line is a commuter rail service between New Haven, Connecticut, and Springfield, Massachusetts, using the Amtrak-owned New Haven–Springfield Line. The project is a joint venture between the states of Connecticut and Massachusetts, with support from the federal government as well. CT Rail-branded trains provide service along the corridor, and riders can use Hartford Line tickets to travel on board most Amtrak trains along the corridor at the same prices. The service launched on June 16, 2018.
Windsor Locks station is an Amtrak and CT Rail train station in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, on the New Haven–Springfield Line. It is served by four Amtrak services - the Hartford Line shuttles, Northeast Regional, Valley Flyer, and Vermonter - as well as CT Rail Hartford Line commuter rail trains.
U.S. Route 5 (US 5), a north–south United States Numbered Highway that is generally paralleled by Interstate 91 (I-91), begins at the city of New Haven in Connecticut and heads north through western Massachusetts and eastern Vermont to the international border with Canada. Within Connecticut, US 5 proceeds north from New Haven and passes through Meriden and Hartford toward Springfield, Massachusetts.
The Landsford Canal is a navigation channel that opened in 1823 with the purpose of bypassing rapids along the Catawba River to allow efficient freight transport and rapid travel between nearby communities and settlements along the rural frontiers of the era. It had five locks operating over a stretch of two miles (3.2 km) with an elevation change overall of 32–34 feet (9.8–10.4 m). It was part of the inland navigation system from the 'Up Country' to Charleston, built systematically from 1819, and the navigations are today the centerpiece of Canal State Park:
The Canal State Park consists of three sets of locks, a mill site, miller's house, and a lockkeeper's house—all in various forms of decay and ruins.
Windsor Locks Canal State Park Trail is a public recreation area that parallels the Connecticut River for 4.5 miles (7.2 km) between Suffield and Windsor Locks, Connecticut. The modern paved surface covers the original dirt towpath of the historic Enfield Falls Canal. The park is used for fishing, hiking, and biking.
The Noden-Reed Museum is a historic house museum at 58 West Street in Windsor Locks, Connecticut. It includes the David Pinney House and Barn, and is a surviving reminder of the town's agricultural past. It is administered by the local historical society, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Bellows Falls Canal is a canal constructed to allow boat traffic to bypass Great Falls on the Connecticut River in Bellows Falls, Vermont. It was constructed by the Bellows Falls Canal Company and was one of the first canals in the United States. It was used for transport, to power mills, and later for hydroelectric power. The Bellows Falls Downtown Historic District includes the canal.
The J. R. Montgomery Company Industrial Complex is a historic factory complex located on an island between the Enfield Falls Canal and the Connecticut River in Windsor Locks, Connecticut. It is next to the Windsor Locks Canal State Park Trail. The site has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2017.