{"nrhp_refnum":"80003553","name":"Lehigh Canal","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Walnutport to Allentown Section","address_restricted":false,"city":"Allentown and vicinity","county":"Lehigh County","state":"PA","lat":40.684831238000044,"lon":-75.50863650001494,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-08-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Transportation"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A canal system along the north bank of the Lehigh River, this section running from Lock 25 at the southern boundary of Walnutport to Dam 7 at Allentown, Lehigh and Northampton Counties, Pennsylvania. Construction began in 1819 and through navigation opened in 1829.","why_significant":"The nomination argues that the canal was built to move anthracite coal from the Mauch Chunk area to Easton and Philadelphia, and that it helped form the towns and industry along the Lehigh River. This section passes through several small communities and retains the remaining original dams and aqueduct remains of the system. Its features are generally deteriorated, but much original fabric survives.","narrative":"Built as a transportation waterway, the Lehigh Canal ran along the north bank of the Lehigh River between Walnutport and Allentown in this section. Construction began in 1819 and through navigation opened in 1829. Its purpose was to carry anthracite coal from the Mauch Chunk area to Easton, where it could be shipped on the Delaware River or the Delaware Canal to Philadelphia. The route includes 13 locks, 3 guard locks, 3 aqueducts and 3 dams, along with three surviving lock keepers' houses. Lock 26 has intact cut stone walls, and the Bertsch Creek aqueduct is described as perhaps the best remaining example of a Lehigh Canal aqueduct. The canal passes through small communities such as Lockport, Trechlers, Northampton and Catasauqua, which developed alongside it. Coal was the main cargo, though slate, flagstone, timber and farm products were also carried. Shipping on the canal stopped in 1931.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"Josiah White (preliminary survey and initial scope engineering); Canvass White (chief civil engineer)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Most features in this section are deteriorated or overgrown; several dams were breached and the canal was last used for commercial traffic in 1931.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:33.886044-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/80003553.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71994493","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":null},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/lehigh-county/lehigh-canal-80003553/"}