© Emily Fuller 2008
The Manayunk Canal served as an important link in the operation of
the SNS between the Delaware, Schuylkill, and Susquehanna Rivers.
Its combination of water power and canal transportation propelled
Manayunk as an industrial power, and pushed the City of Philadelphia
to the top of the industrial revolution. Today the canal still functions to
meet some industrial needs.
Manayunk was planned by the Schuylkill Navigation Company (SNC)
in 1821 on land owned by the company. SNC also sold canal water
to Manayunk businesses to supplement income for navigational tools.
By 1824, businesses in the canal area rejected the proposed name of
“Udoravia” and the common name “Flat Rock” for a simplified version
of the Native American name Manayunk. By the mid 1800’s, Manayunk’s population was nearly 7,000, including many Polish immigrants
employed by the textile mills.
The Manayunk Canal began at the Flat Rock Dam and ended at outlet locks 69 and 70. Initially, mules were ferried across the river on board
the boats, but later a towpath bridge was constructed over the river
directly below the combine locks.
During the 19th century, Manayunk became an industrial power within
Philadelphia. Before 1810, nine mills were built. By 1819, the Manayunk
Canal was completed to navigate around the flat rock falls and manufacture water power. Although the Erie Canal is awarded the distinction as the first large inland waterway in the United States, the SNS (a
private enterprise) was completed five months before the Erie Canal (a
public work of the State of New York).
oldest anthracite navigation system in the country to carry stormwater
as well as meet the community’s recreational needs. As the only mile
of intact canal with both the upper and lower locks of the larger 108
mile original system, the Manayunk Canal is eligible for the National
Register of Historic Places and the area is located within the Manayunk
Historic District.
The word “Manayunk,” which has its origins in the language of the
Lenni Lenape, means “where we go to drink.” For the Native Americans, the water of the Schuylkill River in this area satisfied their thirst.
During the 1800s, the Manayunk Canal was constructed parallel to the
Schuylkill River as a part of the larger Schuylkill Navigation System (SNS)
that brought anthracite coal (hard coal with the fewest impurities) to
Philadelphia. Today, the Manayunk Canal is one of two surviving segments of hand-dug canal (the other segment is in Montclare) in the
History
Main Street, Manayunk, Pa. c.1916
A floodplain functions best when left undisturbed. However, where
disturbance is unavoidable, every precaution should be taken to insure the
safety of people and property.
Floodplains also filter water helping to improve water quality. When soil is
eroded, it can move into fish habitats and human drinking water sources.
Preserving floodplains not only protect us from more serious flooding but
also can mean less sedimentation in our streams and rivers, keeping water
clear and clean.
Flooding can damage businesses, transportation routes, and utilities.
Floodplains protect other areas from flooding by absorbing flood waters
into the soil and vegetation. Floodplains also provide wildlife habitat,
recreational sites for boating, hiking, fishing, and wildlife observation.
All imges optained via Google Images
except where noted.
Development
Friends of the Manayunk Canal have
installed stations along the canal equipped
with plastic bags and trash bins to
encourage people to clean up after their
pets. Please be a responsible pet owner and
utilize these stands to clean up after your pet!
include any improvements to the Towpath adjacent to the canal.
The City of Philadelphia is performing improvements to the Manayunk
Canal, which would include minor restoration work on the upper locks
and Sluice house, bank stabilization as well as removal of sediment to
increase water flow into and through the canal. This project will not
Manayunk Canal Restoration Project
A 130-160 unit condo development by Dranoff Properties.
Venice Island Lofts
A 280 unit condo development proposed by Neducsin Properties, in
which initial plans show up to 80% of the area between Leverington
Avenue and Green Lane on Venice Island being covered with
impervious surface.
Venice One Project
Condo development proposed by Realen Properties Associates, who
originally announced that they planned to build 270 units on the site
of Connelly Containers, a number which was then reduced to 205 in
November 2005.
Cotton Street Landing Project
While the entire length of Venice Island has been and continues to
be under intense development pressure, the lower section of the
island, from Cotton Street to the island’s southern tip below Lock
Street, is slated as the location for a Philadelphia Water Department
retention basin. The construction of this water retention basin has been
mandated by the EPA to help to prevent raw sewage from flowing
untreated into the Schuylkill River during storm and flood events. The
project will about take two years to complete. Construction would
require the demolition of all of the current recreational facilities located
on this portion of the island. If adequate funding is raised, new,
improved recreation facilities are planned.
Lower Venice Island
For more information about the Friends
of the Manayunk Canal and upcoming
events visit:
http://www.manayunkcanal.org/
A flood is defined as a general but temporary condition of partial or
complete inundation of normally dry land areas from the overflow of
streams, rivers, or other waters. Therefore, floodplains are the areas along
rivers or streams that have been or may be expected to be submerged
by floodwaters in a 100-year frequency flood (probability of occurring
once every one hundred years). Floodways are defined as a channel for
diverting floodwaters and are likely to be the place were the waters are
the deepest and the fastest. Venice Island is located in the floodway of
the Schuylkill River.
Floodplains and
Floodways
AWalk
Along the
Manayunk
Canal’s
Towpath
© Emily Fuller 2008