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Manuscript Group 174
HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF BERKS COUNTY DEPOSIT of
RECORDS OF THE UNION CANAL COMPANY OF PENNSYLVANIA
1792-1885
19 cu. ft.

** Note: These materials have been returned to the Historical Society of Berks County.

Surveys for a canal that would connect the Schuylkill and Susquehanna rivers, a project many years earlier proposed by William Penn, were undertaken in 1769. Forced into the background during the Revolution, plans were revived in the early 1790's and an actual start in construction was made in 1794. Problems developed, however, and the venture failed. Finally, in 1811, more favorable conditions were evident, a charter to build the waterway was issued to the newly formed Union Canal Company and definite operations were initiated. Completed in 1827, the Union Canal reached from Middletown on the Susquehanna to Reading on the Schuylkill. Papers include records of two of the Union Canal Company's predecessors, the Delaware and Schuylkill Canal Company and the Schuylkill and Susquehanna Canal Company.



BUSINESS RECORDS
SURVEY AND LEVEL BOOKS
LEGAL PAPERS
ACCOUNTS
VARIOUS


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