Although fascinating, canal history remains one of the hidden stories of America's past. Yet canals were integral to the country's growth, providing the first long-distance "highways" that penetrated America's interior. Their importance was short-lived but came at a time when the United States was establishing itself as an industrial power. Without canals and their ability to transfer natural resources, manufactured products, and thousands of immigrants seeking a new life, America's transition from a farm-based economy to one based on heavy industry would have been delayed by several decades.
"The Handsomest Train in the World"
by NCM Digital Collections and Engagement Specialist, Emily Rose Clayton
For over twenty years, the canals…
The 1948 Presidential Campaign: Editorial Cartoonist Reg Manning in the Allentown Morning Call
Posted January 20, 2021 by Daphne MayerThe 1948 Presidential Campaign: Editorial Cartoonist Reg Manning in the Allentown Morning Call
by NCM Historian Martha Capwell Fox
This cartoon appeared…
The “Switzerland of America” – Ephemera from the Switchback Railway
Posted January 11, 2021 by Daphne MayerThe "Switzerland of America" - Ephemera from the Switchback Railroad
by Digital Collections and Engagement Specialist, Emily Rose Clayton
One hundred years…
Traditional New Year's Greetings
by NCM Historian Martha Capwell-Fox
What New Year’s symbols did you see last week? Top-hatted babies, noise-makers, and…
Weston Dodson Calendar Art
By NCM Historian Martha Capwell-Fox
Click on any of the images below to enlarge
Many of us carry our…
The Canal Symposium Made and Recorded History
by NCM Historian Martha Capwell-Fox
'Twas the night before the Canal History and Technology Symposium,…
"Putz" Houses: A Pennsylvania Holiday Tradition
by Martha Capwell-Fox
Sometimes, dads buy the most inappropriate gifts for their babies.
Hockey skates.
Two-wheel bikes.
These charming…
Frequent, ferocious floods seemed to come one after another on the Lehigh River in the early years of the 20th…
