Home » Researchers » Ask Lance

Do you have any information or history of the canal that was part of the Beaver River that empties into the Ohio River at Rochester, PA?

Thank you very much for your recent e-mail inquiry. The canal in question is the Beaver Division of the Pennsylvania State Canal System. This canal was 31 miles in length and ended in the Shenango River at New Castle, PA. From New Castle boats could follow the Erie Extension north to Erie, PA. Begun in 1831 and completed in 1836, the Beaver Division remained in operation until 1871. For detailed information on this and other Pennsylvania canals, see William H. Shank's "The Amazing Pennsylvania Canals". Mr. Shank's book can be purchased on our website, www.canals.org.

What were some of the common terms (slang) used by people who worked on the canals for: boats, mules, locks, workers, captains, canal families, navigational terms?

Slang terms varied from state to state and canal to canal. There is no comprehensive dictionary of canal boat slang. However, here are some obvious examples. On some canals, the young boy or girl that walked the mule teams was called a mule driver or mule tender. On the Erie Canal, these individuals were called hogies. Since many of them would eat large sandwiches, their nickname was transferred to their food. the best source for canal slang is a book by Thomas Swiftwater Hahn and Emory L. Kemp, Canal Terminology of the United States, (Morgantown, WV: Institute for the History of Technology and Industrial Archaeology, 1998). This volume is available at our website from our online store.