OCTOBER 2008 » book review

Canal Stories

Canals
by Robert J. Kapsch
W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., New York, NY; 2004
356 pp.; clothbound; 800 b/w illus. with CD-ROM; $75
ISBN 0-393-73088-3

Reviewed by Annabel Hsin

When first built, the Erie Canal was 362 miles long, 40 ft. wide and four ft. deep. It connected the Hudson River to Lake Erie and had more than 80 masonry locks. The project was completed on October 26, 1825, and was considered an engineering phenomenon, opening the country west of the Appalachian mountains and making boom towns of Buffalo, Syracuse and others. Today the canal is an historic resource and tourist attraction.

The story of the Erie Canal is one of many told by Robert J. Kapsch in Canals, the second title published in the Norton/Library of Congress Visual Sourcebooks in Architecture, Design & Engineering series, which also includes Public Markets, Dams, Theaters, Barns (see Period Homes, November 2007), Lighthouses, and Bridges (see Traditional Building, October 2007 for a review of both titles). The series makes use of the library's unmatched collection of books, recordings, photographs, maps and manuscripts. Each title in the series comes with a CD-ROM containing images of illustrations used in the books and direct links to the library's catalogs and image files. Kapsch worked as project engineer on restoration projects on the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal and this gives great depth to the book.

Canals is divided into an introduction, "American Canals," followed by four chapters: "Canals Across America," "Canal Structures," "Morris Canal" and "Chesapeake & Ohio Canal." Each chapter starts with a page briefly outlining the history associated with the chapter and explains the organization of the illustrations, which comprise maps, photos, plans and artwork, some of which date back to the early 1800s. Often, the chapters let the illustrations tell the story and each image is carefully annotated with the subject, location, date, photographer and also the Library of Congress call number to help locate the image online.

"American Canals" is one of the highlights of the book. It tells the story of how Americans adopted, from Europe, the idea of using canals as a means of transportation and supply. A brief section focuses on the engineering, construction, operation and structures of a canal, along with a list of all the canals constructed in America since 1835. The rise and fall of the canal industry is retold in great detail, and Kapsch explains how railroads affected the industry.

The last two chapters are devoted to the Morris Canal and the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal. The Morris Canal was built over the northern New Jersey hills to transport anthracite from the Delaware River in Phillipsburg to the Hudson River in Jersey City. It was constructed in the 1820s and was 102 miles long. A total of 23 inclined planes were used to haul canal boats over the canal summit and their use made the Morris Canal an engineering marvel. Nonetheless, the canal couldn't compete with the success of railroads and in 1922 its ownership was passed to the State of New Jersey; most of its structures were largely dismantled and the canal was abandoned.

Today, with the exception of a few structures in the rural areas of New Jersey, the canal no longer exists. Kapsch brings it back to life with more than 150 photos, mapping out its length. Unlike the Morris Canal, the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal survived. The canal was adopted by the U.S. government in the 1930s and is currently a national park. Again, Kapsch saves the reader a visit by mapping each mile in photos.

The book's extensive bibliography serves as a useful research tool, with over 80 titles listed. The list is separated into titled sections, such as: "Engineering, Construction and Technology," "Canals of New England," "Canals of the Mid-Atlantic," and "Canals of the South" for ease of reference. A glossary provides simple definitions of canal terms (although the language in the book is rarely technical).

Canals is not only an enjoyable coffee table book, but also a valuable research tool for designers and engineers. It documents great feats of engineering and craft and acts as a timely reminder of the value of our nation's infrastructure. TB

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