by crank and manpower. Caulking was done with 
white pine strips, half an inch square, placed into 
grooves made for this purpose in the plank. Rushes 
were also used at times for caulking operations.?* The 
consumption of large quantities of lumber in the con- 
struction of these temporary boats soon became appar- 
ent and additional timber resources were of utmost 
importance. In 1823, navigation was extended up the 
Lehigh River approximately 16 miles to procure addi- 
tional supplies of lumber.** 
Public acceptance of anthracite seemed to emerge 
during the 1824—25 season. In the previous 3 years, the 
supply exceeded the demand and a quantity of coal 
remained on hand at the end of each winter. However, 
the entire stock of anthracite in 1825 was sold by the 
31st of December.** Shipments of anthracite down the 
Lehigh River tripled between 1824 and 1825. 
During 1825, the company circulated a pamphlet 
containing facts illustrative of the character of Lehigh 
coal (Appendix III). Signed statements from black- 
smiths, foundries, rolling mills, distilleries, and home 
and industrial users were included to indicate the 
various and efficient uses of Lehigh coal.” 
The variety of industries presented is an indication 
of the extensive efforts by the company to prove the 
value of their product. Grates and furnaces for burning 
anthracite were also being manufactured by this time. 
Jacob F. Walter, a grate manufacturer in Philadelphia, 
was instrumental in this promotional effort.*° Walter 
received a patent on his grate design on June 8, 1827. 
By 1826, the wagon road from the mines to the river 
landing at Mauch Chunk was in need of improvements 
to handle the increased demand for coal. As this road 
* Hazard’s Register of Pennsylvania (vol. 6, no. 18, Octo- 
ber 30, 1830; Philadelphia: W. F. Geddes, 1830), p. 275. 
*S Lehigh History, op. cit., p. 14. 
** Anthracite shipments from the Schuylkill field began with 
the completion of the Schuylkill Navigation in 1825. 
* LyMAN AND RatstTon, Facts Illustrative of the Character 
of the Anthracite (Boston: T. R. Marvin, 1825), p. 9. “We 
have used the Lehigh coal several years past to heat bar iron 
for our rolling mill at Bridgetown, Cumberland county, New 
Jersey ; prior to the introduction of this, we used the Richmond 
coal for the same purpose, and from experience thus obtained, 
we are satisfied that for this purpose, one bushel of the former 
is worth at least two of the latter.” ‘Philadelphia, May 19, 
1824, Benjamin and David Reeves.” 
* RICHARDSON, op. cit., p. 66. Throughout the literature, 
this surname is given both as ‘Walter’ and ‘‘Walters’’; the 
former predominates. 
PAPER 72: ANTHRACITE IN THE LEHIGH VALLEY 
had always presented a constant maintenance problem, 
the managers decided to construct the railroad. 
The railroad from Mauch Chunk to the mines at 
Summit Hill was started in January 1827, and was in 
operation by May.** Total length was 9 miles with 
gravity descent from the mines to the river. This rail- 
road was the first in the country constructed for the 
movement of coal.** Some characteristics of the Mauch 
Chunk railroad were: 
1. The cross ties were laid 4 feet apart on a stone 
foundation. The rails, from England, were rolled 
iron bars, three eighths of an inch thick, one and one- 
half inches wide and mounted on wooden timbers. 
2. The cars carried one and one-half tons of coal and 
descended the road usually in groups of fourteen. 
Each group was attended by two men who regu- 
lated the rate of descent. The empty cars weighed 
1,600 pounds. 
3. The descending trip took 30 minutes and the 
ascending trip took 3 hours. 
4. Cost of the road amounted to $38,726 or about 
$3,050 per mile.*° 
During 1827, the managers had the Lehigh Naviga- 
tion surveyed by Canvas White *° to estimate the cost 
of enlargement and the conversion of the present sys- 
tem to canal and slackwater navigation between 
Mauch Chunk and Easton. As a result, the dimensions 
of the navigation were fixed at 60 feet wide on the 
surface and 5 feet deep; the locks were to be 100 feet 
long and 22 feet wide adapted to handle boats with 
a capacity of 120 tons. 
The Pennsylvania Canal Commissioners met in the 
fall of 1827 for the purpose of proceeding with the 
construction of the Delaware Division of the Pennsyl- 
vania Canal. The managers of the Lehigh Navigation 
tried to convince the commissioners to follow the 
Lehigh’s design, but the commissioners were convinced 
7 Tye LenicH Coat aNnp NAvIGATION Company, Annual 
Report for 1827 (Philadelphia: S. W. Conrad, 1828), p. 4. 
Hereafter referred to as L.C.N.C. 
°° One earlier road, 3 miles in length, was in use by the 
Quincy Railroad in Massachusetts for hauling granite from 
their quarry to loading docks on the Neponset River. Davip 
STEVENSON, Sketch of the Civil Engineering of North America 
(London: John Weale, 1838), p. 238. 
°T,.C.N.C., Annual Report for 1827 
Conrad, 1828), p. 7. 
*° A prominent engineer previousl; 
struction of the Erie Canal. 
Philadelphia: S. W. 
employed in the con- 
99 
