1827-1885 Union Canal Tunnel near Lebanon, PA; the Oldest Extant Transportation Tunnel in USA

(Satellite)

Uncovering PA posted four photos with the comment: "Did you know that the oldest existing transportation tunnel in the US can be found in Lebanon, PA? https://uncoveringpa.com/union-canal-tunnel"

Ryan Alexander: They have canal rides.

Wyatt Smolick: The first existing transportation tunnel in the US actually wasn't too far away on the Schuylkill Canal near Auburn, PA, but unfortunately was reduced to an open cut over the years of its operation.

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I fired up Google Earth to find a satellite image that didn't have leaves so that I could find the north portal.

Google Earth, Feb 2018

Work began in 1792, but that attempt failed financially after five locks were built. Work began again in 1821 and completed in 1828. And a branch canal was finished in 1830 to tap some coal fields and to feed some more water to the Summit Level. "The 107 locks of the Canal were built too small (8½’ x 75′) and could not accommodate the larger boats from the Pennsylvania Canal and the Schuylkill Canal. Enlargement took place in the 1850s, increasing lock size to 17′ x 90′." [LebanonCountyHistory]

"From 1827 to 1885 the Union Canal linked the commercial centers of Harrisburg, Reading, and by extension, the port of Philadelphia....Dug through the ridge dividing the waters of the Quittapahilla Creek [Susquehanna River watershed] and Clark’s Run [Schuylkill River watershed], the tunnel was originally 729 feet long. Drilling was done by hand and blasting with gunpowder through argillaceous slate rock with veins of hard flinty limestone 80 feet below the summit of the ridge....Boats were poled through the tunnel against the ceiling, while the mules were led over the top of the ridge." [LebanonCountyHistory_tunnel]

This 5:05 video talked about the geology instead of the history, so I didn't finish it.

lebtown, Credit Bob Frye
Aquisition of the right-of-way was the first use of eminent domain in the country's history. The canal reduced the travel time from Philadelphia to Harrisburg from three weeks to five days. That is a trip that is now less than 2.5 hours. Back then, Philadelphia was still the biggest market in the USA, and the canal helped move anthracite coal to that market. A Conestoga wagon pulled by six horses or mules could pull 5 to 10 tons. A canal boat pulled by just one mule could haul 50 tons. The 81-mile (130km) canal has 93 locks. (107 locks may have been the original canal, whereas 93 locks may be after it was enlarged.) The summit, Lebanon, was 311' (95m) higher than Reading and 192' (59m) higher than Middletown. For comparison the 68 miles of the Delaware Division Canal from Easton to Bristol has just 24 locks.

UncoveringPA, Public Domain
This webpage is a person visiting the canal and park rather than a history.