The Farmington Canal, also known as the New Haven and Northampton Canal, was a major private

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flo ...

built in the early 19th century to provide water transportation from

New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...

into the interior of

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

and beyond.G. M. Guignino, The Farmington Canal 1822-1847: An Attempt At Internal Improvement, Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute
/ref> Its Massachusetts segment was known as the Hampshire and Hampden Canal. With the advent of

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

s, it was quickly converted to a railroad in the mid-19th century and in recent years has been converted to a multi-use trail (a rails-to-trails project) after being abandoned for years. The entire length of the canal right of way in Connecticut (covering 25 segments and a total area of 247.6 acres) from Suffield to New Haven was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1985 under the name "Farmington Canal-New Haven and Northampton Canal". The 1984 NRHP nomination document provides a detailed history, and describes 45 separate bridges, aqueducts,

weir A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

s and other surviving features. and The Farmington Canal Lock in Cheshire, Connecticut, and the Farmington Canal Lock No. 13 in Hamden, Connecticut were listed separately on the

(NRHP) in 1973 and 1982, respectively. Those are locks 12 and 13 out of 28 original locks on the canal.

Canal and railroad

Ground was broken for the canal in 1825 and by 1828 the canal was open from

Farmington Farmington may refer to: Places Canada *Farmington, British Columbia * Farmington, Nova Scotia (disambiguation) United States *Farmington, Arkansas *Farmington, California *Farmington, Connecticut *Farmington, Delaware * Farmington, Georgia * ...

. By 1835 the complete route to Northampton was finished and operating. The canal, however, was never successful financially. Competition with railroads threatened the canal. The

New Haven and Northampton Company The New Haven and Northampton Railroad (founded as the New Haven and Northampton Company, also known as the Canal Line) was a railroad originally built alongside a canal between 1847 and 1850 in Connecticut. Leased by the New York and New Haven ...

was built along the canal's right of way in 1848. Joseph Earl Sheffield was involved with the financing of both the canal and railroad. This railroad merged with the

New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to December 31, 1968. Founded by the merger of ...

in 1887. Portions of the railway were in use up until the 1980s. A two-mile section from the Main/Whiting Street intersection in Plainville to Townline Road sees limited use.

Aqueduct

The canal makers reached a problem at the "great level" (the level stretch of land between locks 8 and 9, which was the longest distance of the canal at the same water level; once the Farmington river was reached, the canal was about 50 feet above river level, and the canal and river could not merge, so the aqueduct was built. The 280-foot aqueduct was spanned with 7 arches, spaced 40 feet apart. The pillars that remained after the canal closed were noted as a state landmark in the 50s, but the 1955 flood damaged the pillars beyond repair, and they were removed in 1956–58. The aqueduct's remnants are now preserved as part of the Farmington Land Trust.

The Whitings basin

The Whitings basin, or Bristol basin, was located in Plainville, between Whiting Street and West Main Street. Edna Whiting built a general store, and had doors leading directly to the canal for drop offs. Whiting's general store sold a variety of jelly, spices, grains, etc. Other notable items that passed through and were dropped off at Bristol basin were the original

Eli Terry Eli Terry Sr. (April 13, 1772 – February 24, 1852) was an inventor and clockmaker in Connecticut. He received a United States patent for a shelf clock mechanism. He introduced mass production to the art of clockmaking, which made clocks a ...

clock weights, for the notable pillar and scroll clock.

Locks

Locks 1-8 have been demolished. Lock 12 is restored and has movable lock gates to simulate function but does not actually function as a lock because there is not enough water flow to fill the lock, and the lock gates do not seal well enough to allow the lock to fill and raise the water level. The lock keeper's house at gate 12 has also been restored. Lock 13 is in the woods and overgrown. The lock keeper's house for lock 13 is no longer standing; the foundation and well remain behind the lock. Lock 14 is still recognizable; however, walls have collapsed, and the inside of lock 14 is dry. The lock keeper's house is still standing, and plans to convert it for municipal services building are planned.personal encounters with the canal locks, and paper work printed at each station among the canal locks

Trail

During the 1990s, the railroad right-of-way was converted to a rail trail for recreational use. The Farmington Canal Trail runs from downtown New Haven to Northampton,

, closely following the path of Route 10.

References

External links

Farmington Valley Greenway
and the Farmington Valley Trails Council (FVTC)
Farmington Canal Rail-to-Trail Association

Farmington Canal Greenway Vision Trail
{{Authority control Canals in Connecticut Canals on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut Buildings and structures in New Haven, Connecticut Transportation in New Haven, Connecticut Economy of New Haven, Connecticut Predecessors of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Non-railway predecessors of railway companies Canals opened in 1835 National Register of Historic Places in Hartford County, Connecticut National Register of Historic Places in New Haven, Connecticut Transportation buildings and structures in New Haven County, Connecticut