From the Coalfields to the Hudson: A History of the Delaware & Hudson Canal, Second Edition

In photographs and paintings, the Delaware & Hudson Canal appears calm and unruffled. Canal boys, their faces shaded by wide-brimmed straw hats, lead mules leisurely down the towpath. Occasionally the boatmen break the monotony with harmless pranks or brawls. This charming picture is not entirely false, but there is another dimension to the D&H Company, a corporation struggling to succeed in a hostile and risky business. Except in its final years, the history of the canal was marked by a series of crises or conflicts, each of which threatened the survival of the company. Constant insecurity wore out the D&H managers, but as the company met its challenges in the formative years of American capitalism, it created a model for later enterprises. Now, a century after the last boatload of anthracite floated down the D&H Canal, this book gives a new and fuller perspective on this remarkable venture.

Although he had written several books on railroads and mining, Larry Lowenthal’s choice of the D&H as a subject was largely unintentional.  A historian with the National Park Service for many years, he was asked to write a brief summary and evaluation of the canal in Ulster County.  As he became acquainted with the subject and learned of the existence of previously untapped sources, he gradually became convinced that a new and comprehensive look at the D&H was needed.

Second Edition with Supplement