Child Labor on the D&H Canal with Bill Merchant - Third Thursday Winter Lecture
The Delaware &
Hudson Canal Company was one of many 19th-century industrial enterprises that
relied on the labor of marginalized peoples - immigrants, people of color,
women, and children - to operate its Canal. In this program, Merchant will
present on the plight of the child laborers on the D&H Canal, which
stretched over one-hundred miles to bring anthracite coal from mines in
northeastern Pennsylvania to the Hudson River and into industrial markets.
According to National Park
Service, “Life on a canal boat was a ‘family business.’ Wives and children
worked 15-to-20-hour days along-side boatmen, eking out a meager existence with
‘the company.’ The D&H Canal affected life throughout the region. New towns
and industries (boat builders, glass works, foundries) sprang up along the
canal. Previous industries — lumber mills, paper mills, tanneries, stone
quarries — prospered with improved transportation. Others, like the Rosendale
natural cement industry, took advantage of the proximity of the D & H Canal.”
The D&H Canal
Historical Society and Museum has the mission to highlight the importance of
the D&H Canal and preserve its stories, landscapes, and artifacts. It does so by allowing visitors to interact
with extant artifacts and structures to give them a tangible sense of
historical perspective, providing educational resources for the community by
working with school groups, and by offering residents and visitors tours,
hikes, lectures, and books that focus on the Canal’s history and impact. The historical society serves the community
by developing the Mid-Hudson Regional Visitor Center to share information about
the area’s geography, hiking trails, museums, historical sites, and other
attractions. They promote greater use of
publicly accessible hiking paths that provide access to the extensive extant
remains of the Canal throughout its length, and to work with other
organizations to create a broader trail network.
Bill Merchant is
the Deputy Director for Collections, Historian & Curator at the D&H
Canal Historical Society and Museum in High
Falls, NY. Bill’s enthusiasm for the D&H Canal is infectious, his
thorough research into the social as well as engineering history of the system
is as enlightening as it is engaging.
Recently, Bill has done a tremendous work in providing the application
for the D&H Canal relisting as a National Historic Landmark. He and the
rest of the staff and volunteers of the D&H Historical Society, present
remarkable New York and National History in a fun and educational way. We highly
recommend following them on social media, checking out their YouTube Channel,
and DEFINITELY Visiting them in person at their new location.
D&H Canal Historical Society online:
D&H Canal Historical Society Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/DHCanalMuseum/
This program is offered for free by Schoharie
Crossing. If you’d like to provide a
monetary donation or become a member of the 501c3 Friends of Schoharie
Crossing, you can do so by visiting:
the-friends-of-schoharie-crossing.square.site
Schoharie Crossing:
https://parks.ny.gov/historic-sites/schohariecrossing
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Very interesting! A great great grand uncle supposedly worked the canal. Thank you
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