{"nrhp_refnum":"82001537","name":"Western Division of the PA Canal","other_names":["Ligonier Line of PA Canal"],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Along the Conemaugh River","address_restricted":false,"city":"Robinson","county":"Westmoreland County","state":"PA","lat":40.42534103200006,"lon":-79.22962496596823,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-11-14","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Engineering","Transportation"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"The Western Division of the Pennsylvania Canal, a 104.25-mile slackwater and towpath canal running from Johnstown to Pittsburgh through Cambria, Indiana, Westmoreland, Armstrong and Allegheny counties. The nomination covers the sections within Indiana and Westmoreland counties.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the canal was the major east-west transportation route across western Pennsylvania in its operating years, and that it shaped the settlement, commerce and industry of the towns along its course. It cites the engineering of the Conemaugh tunnel and aqueduct and the Lockport aqueduct and locks at Packsaddle Gap as major feats. It also notes that Saltsburg retains much of its canal-period character and that the canal channel there is largely unobstructed.","narrative":"Built as part of the Pennsylvania Main Line, the Western Division ran 104.25 miles from Johnstown to Pittsburgh, with construction beginning in September 1826 and through navigation in July 1829. Engineers Nathan Roberts, George Olmstead and Alonzo Livermore laid out the route, and Livermore's tunnel at Tunnelton, 817 feet long, was the first of its kind west of the Allegheny Mountains. The line crossed the Conemaugh River by stone aqueducts and climbed Chestnut Ridge at Packsaddle Gap with closely spaced locks. Freight from Blairsville to Pittsburgh fell from $8.00 per ton by wagon to $2.40 by canal. Salt from the Saltsburg works was among the first goods shipped east. The canal was abandoned in the early 1860s after the Allegheny aqueduct was destroyed in 1861 and railroads took over, but its channel and towns remain along the route.","period_of_significance":"1829-1861","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Abandoned in the early 1860s after the Allegheny aqueduct was destroyed in 1861; many features have disappeared, and Saltsburg's lock 8 has been torn down while the channel there remains clear.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:34.037851-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/82001537.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71998006","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":null},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/westmoreland-county/western-division-of-the-pa-canal-82001537/"}