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One of three locks on the Lewisburg Crosscut
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When the canal was planned for the Susquehanna Valley, Engineer Francis Rawle surveyed both banks of the river. It was determined that running the canal along the east branch would cost more than $300,000 less than running it along the west branch. "Jubilation in Milton and Watsontown was matched by Lewisburg's despair."
Paul Matrey tells me he's often amazed by William Cameron's political muscle at the time. Cameron owned a Shamokin colliery, and had stakes in bridge, rails and canals.
The cross-cut canal dam (1833 - Pennsylvania Canal), built by sinking timbers into the riverbed, created slackwater, just below the dam. The slackwater was used for taking canal boats to the opposite side. Canal boats were the trucks, of their day. William Cameron financed, and provided work crews, for it's building.
"Talk about political muscle. The cross-cut canal dam, located at the base of St. Louis St., on the river, was built by William Cameron's crews (about 30 years prior to the covered bridge). William Cameron's home was located at Market and Second Sts. His bank was directly across Second St.. His hotel was diagonally across Market St., from his home. Interestingly, he was on the site location committee which chose the site of the Union County Courthouse, which was placed at the intersection of St. Louis St. (cross-cut canal) and S. Second St. (hotel, bank, home)." - Paul Matrey
There are remains from the Canal in the Montandon Marsh, but they are located on private property. The Merill Linn Conservancy occasionally obtains permission for guided hikes through the area.
When the canal opened from Muncy to Northumberland, goods were carried at a third of the cost of transporting them by wagon. Lewisburg was in danger of losing their import export trade to their rival on the east bank of the river.
Men from Lewisburg constantly petitioned for a cross cut to connect them to the canal. A survey by Francis Rawle showed that a cross cut canal route to Lewisburg could be built for $25, 226.
Henry Frick of Northumberland continued to oppose the addition. In 1831, the Lewisburg Canal was attached to a bill in front of the house. The canal issue was excluded from the bill, then re-added. Then it was sent to the senate, where it was removed again. The house then rejected the senate amendments, and the canal was put back. On March 21, 1831, the bill including the Lewisburg Canal was signed by a reluctant Governor. Lewisburg celebrated with cannon fire.
In Linn's annals of The Buffalo Valley he wrote "March 22, news of passage of the improvement act, and its signature by the Governor, which includes the Lewisburg Cross -Cut, reached Lewisburg. The town was illuminated, cannon fired, and toasts drank."
The Cross Cut Is Completed
On October 26, 1833, the Lewisburg Cross Cut was completed. According to Rupp's history, the "cross-cut or side-cut extends from Lewisburg to the pool formed by a dam in the river, and thus communicated with the state canal. This cut is about three fourths of a mile long and has contributed much towards the briskness of business in Lewisburg."
"When at last the cross-cut was completed, thus bringing the canal to Lewisburg, a large crowd turned out on October 26 1833 to witness the first flow of water through the canal. It was an enthusiastic crowd, and in the spirit of the times a meeting was proposed a the house of Col. Christian Schroyer for a public expression of sentiment relative [speeches were given] to those who had been concerned in procuring the improvement." At the close of the meeting a large parade was formed, and in the evening there was a display of fireworks.
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"After a number of delays and the expenditure of just over $30,000, the cross-cut canal, consisting of a ditch two-thirds of a mile in length, three locks changing elevation 21 feet, and a culvert of four and one-half feet to carry the canal over the Montandon wetlands, was officially opened in October of 1833. On the appointed day a crowd gathered at Montandon and followed the flow of the water to its outlet at the river. Public celebration toasts were offered to “internal improvements”; “the cross-cut”; Canal Commissioner John Mitchell; Robert Faris, the engineer; Canal Superintendent William Parsons; William Packer, Superintendent of the West Branch Division; Samuel J. Packer, who had led the battle for the cross-cut as a state legislator; and Governor George Wolf, who had reluctantly signed the swollen Improvement Bill. Before winter closed, several barges had been drawn into the port of Lewisburg via the completed canal.
The cross-cut stimulated a land boom along its banks. Churchville, a “town” of 100 lots was surveyed
and offered for sale. It died on the vine, but this was not the case in Lewisburg, where the canal stimulated mercantile activity long dormant: “Business is becoming quite lively .. . produce is departing daily . . . houses are going up" Union County Pennsylvania, by Charles McCool Snyder
In 1841, the canal commissioners report shows that the canal was in disrepair, and goods had to be transported across the toll bridge to reach the canal on the east side of the river. It would be several years before repairs were made.
Churchville - The Town That The Canal Didn't Build
On March 30 1833, Francis & Jeremiah Church laid out a town, directly across the river from Lewisburg. The proposed map showed 160 numbered lots, with named streets and alleys, running along the south side of the cross cut canal. Had churchville been built, it would today stretch from May's Drive In towards the town of Montandon. Today this area is woods and wetlands.
A month after the town was laid out, Francis and Jeremiah began advertising lots that would be available at a public sale later that month.
The church brothers were not from Lewisburg, but were "property speculators", who traveled around the country where they purchased land, divided it into lots, and sold it.
Jeremiah Church kept a journal, which can be found online here:
In it he writes:
The next town we made our appearance in was Lewisburg , formerly called Derrstown . We there made a purchase of one hundred and twenty - five acres of land , of Gen . Green , at forty - five dollars per acre , laying on both sides of the cross - cut , from the end of the bridge to the Pennsylvania canal , opposite the town of Lewisburg .
Having been in the habit of making towns , we concluded that we could make one most any where , and we thought we would try a small one in opposition to the one on the other side of the river — Lewisburg .
However , we did not frighten them much as a rival , but we got their feelings raised and blood up , so that they bought of us at beautiful prices . There was one gentleman who purchased seventeen acres at one hundred dollars per acre , the next day after we had bought it at forty - five .
We laid out the balance into streets , alleys , and out - lots , and called it Churchville . We sold out the whole purchase in two weeks , and made some money , but not much of a town .
It was a very pleasant place for a town , but there were no houses built in it but one , I believe , and that was a hotel ; and in order to let the people know that that was the town of Churchville , the proprietor of the house had the name written on a large sign - “ CHURCHVILLE HOTEL , ” and I am very thankful to the gentleman for keeping up appearances .
Bell, in his history of Northumberland County, writes of Churchville:
“This effort to establish a town no doubt indicated considerable enterprise on the part of the projectors, but the place failed to materialize, owing in all probability to the fact that the country was not so thickly settled at that time as to require an intermediate trading point between Milton and Northumberland.”
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When The Susquehanna Valley Had A Canal - The West Branch
THE CROSS CUT CANAL
This is a branch of the Pennsylvania Canal which passes up on the east side of the river. The Cross Cut is nearly one half of a mile in length to the river and here a dam gives the depth of water necessary for boats to cross to Lewisburg. It was completed by the state in 1833 and until the Northern Central railroad was made in 1855 it was the only high way of traffic for the towns along the river and is such was used a great deal. The railroad took the most of this traffic and when finally the L & T road entered Lewisburg in 1865 the Cross Cut was abandoned entirely. There is some talk of reopening it for shipping Soft coal the railroad bringing that commodity to East Lewisburg and then loading it on boats but there is nothing definite about it .
Centennial History of Lewisburg by I.H. Mauser
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First a highway, then a canal bypassed Lewisburg on the east side of
the Susquehanna River. But the town refused to become a sleepy village
cut off from primary transportation networks. When the Pennsylvania
Canal went through in 1828, Lewisburg business owners petitioned the
State legislature to build a cross-cut canal a few hundred yards south
of the present Susquehanna River Bridge. The first canal boat crossed
the river in December 1855* As a major commercial artery, it provided
an economic stimulus to Lewisburg. The Lewisburg to Mifflinburg
turnpike, built circa 1850 when Lewisburg had a population of 924,
offered another boost to settlement and trade (FHWA 1984 Cultural
Resources Survey).
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