Free The Delaware Canal by Marie Murphy Duess Page A

Bridge, a charming village connected from Pennsylvania to New Jersey in 1814 by a suspension bridge. There is no lock for the canal at Centre Bridge and so it was not a regular meeting place of canal men, as they rarely stopped between locks. But the area was a favorite of some of the American impressionists who set up studios and purchased homes in the picturesque surroundings. The Centre Bridge Inn is entwined with the history of the canal simply because of its proximity, and when the present owners, Tina and Jerry Horan, purchased the Centre Bridge Inn, they were given a lease to run the New Hope Canal Boat Company, which provides interpretive boat rides for passengers between Centre Bridge and New Hope. Drawn by mule teams—Dot, Dolly, Joe and Daffodil—these rides include a boat captain who explains what life along the canal was like in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. When not being used for interpretive presentations, the boats convey small private parties from the restaurant to give passengers a feel for what it was like when the canal was used for recreational purposes on Sundays. Not unlike many of the establishments along the Delaware River that have been hit hard by recent floods, the Horans have worked nonstop in partnership with the Delaware Canal State Park to keep the canal repaired and maintained.
    Located about one and a half miles north of Centre Bridge was a place called the Cake and Beer House, where boatmen stopped for the night, stabled their mules and ate.

    The Centre Bridge Inn continues to offer respite to weary travelers—inside and on canal barges built and operated to keep the history of the canal alive. Courtesy of Center Bridge Inn and New Hope Canal Boat Company .
    The Black Bass Hotel (once called the Lumberville House) was also famous for feeding and accommodating canal men, along with lumbermen who worked in the mills there. Lumberville was founded by Colonel George Wall, an officer in the Continental army, and even before the Delaware Canal was built, Lumberville was a thriving locale due to the abundance of fine trees—white pine, spruce, hemlock, oak, beech and chestnut—used for shipbuilding and houses. In the early days, the logs were cut, hauled to the river and floated down to Philadelphia from Lumberville. When mills were established to cut the wood for easier transportation and sale, the lumber was loaded on boats and brought to its destination by the canal. Because of the town’s proximity to the river, some of the original businesses located along the main river road had to be eliminated to make room for the canal, and the doors of houses that fronted the river were relocated to the back of their homes in order to gain access to the redirected road. 43
    The LC&N stored blasting powder and other supplies at the Black Bass, which almost resulted in a tragedy when the hotel caught fire one night. If it had not been for the courage of the owner, Major Anthony Fry, who ran into the burning building to remove the explosives, it would have been blown to pieces along with some of the town. Today, despite the many floods it has endured, this establishment is a renowned bed-and-breakfast, hosting guests from all over the world.
    Jacob Oberacker ran an establishment called the Delaware House in Erwinna, and it became one of the canallers’ favorite stops. Oberacker provided a change of mules, beer, salt cakes (similar to soft pretzels) and a bed for the night. Today it is called the Golden Pheasant Inn and is on the National Registry of Historic Places. Its owners, Barbara and Michel Faure, continue to serve travelers in this charming bed-and-breakfast. Sitting on the outdoor terrace overlooking the canal, it is easy to envision what it was like during the height of the canal era.
    Benjamin Riegel founded a town and built a tavern along the Delaware Canal in 1838. Soon after, Canal Street in Riegelsville became one of the largest industrial