Pennsylvania, colonial and federal : a history, 1608-1903 . it may be said that the cost to Colonel Shoemaker in haul-ing his first nine wagon loads of coal from Pottsville to Philadel-phia was $28 per ton; to-day the cost of transportation by railbetween the same points is $ per ton. All early efforts in tak-ing ct)ai to market by wagon were unprofitable, while boat navi-gation on the rivers, although less expensive than wagon trans-portation, was hazardous, and shippers frequently calculated onthe loss of some of their l^oats and cargoes. A little later canalswere buiU, at great cost, an
Pennsylvania, colonial and federal : a history, 1608-1903 . it may be said that the cost to Colonel Shoemaker in haul-ing his first nine wagon loads of coal from Pottsville to Philadel-phia was $28 per ton; to-day the cost of transportation by railbetween the same points is $ per ton. All early efforts in tak-ing ct)ai to market by wagon were unprofitable, while boat navi-gation on the rivers, although less expensive than wagon trans-portation, was hazardous, and shippers frequently calculated onthe loss of some of their l^oats and cargoes. A little later canalswere buiU, at great cost, and while they afforded comparativelysafe sliipping facilities, and for many years did an immense busi-ness, they failed to give entirely satisfactory results, and eventu-ally were superseded by the railroad. Sixty years ago, under 399 Pennsylvania Colonial and Federal conditions, the journey from Scranton to Philadelphiarequired almost three days; to-day the same distance is traveledin a little more than four hours. In early times coal from the. Btirned anthracite coal in grate, 1808. Repro-duced by courtesy of Oscar Jewell Harvey Lackawanna and Carbondale districts was sent to New York bythe Delaware and Hudson canal from Honesdale to the Hudsonriver, io8 miles; by railroad, i8 miles, and by river navigation,91 miles; total, 217 miles. From the Wyoming district ship- 400 Natural Resources ments were sent down the Susquehanna to tide water at Havredc Grace, a (H stance of 194 miles. In i8|6 as many as 643 miles of water-ways had been openedto con\ey anthracite coal to market. The State of New Yorkaided the Delaware and Hudson and Pennsylvania helpedother companies to build canals. The cost of transportation onthe canal was, in 1826, cents per ton mile; in 1843. ^-^Scents; in 1845, ^ ^^^^ P^^ mile. In 1833, complaint having beenmade of the high price charged for the transportation of coal bythe canal companies, the State attempted to limit their powers ineither min
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookidpennsylvania, bookyear1903
