Morris
Canal & Banking Company: Microfilm Collection
Brief
History of the Canal
Seeking
to improve transportation between the coal mines of Pennsylvania,
the iron forges of Morris County, and the great marketplace
of New York City, the state legislature chartered the "Morris
Canal and Banking Company" in 1824 to build an artificial
waterway between the Hudson and Delaware rivers. When completed
in 1837, the canal measured 109 miles in length and over 1,000
feet in elevation, and contained 23 inclined planes and 34
locks. Unfortunately, the company went bankrupt soon thereafter
due to construction cost overruns and the depression of the
late 1830s. Reorganized under new ownership, the canal company
prospered briefly. Total tonnage hauled increased from 58,259
in 1845 to a peak of over 900,000 in 1866. However, newly
built railroads began to cut deeply into the canal's business.
The company felt obligated to lease the entire canal to the
Lehigh Valley Railroad Company (LVRR), which used the right-of-way
to construct an extension to its rail network in Pennsylvania.
By the late 1880s, long-distance traffic on the Morris Canal
had ceased altogether.
As evidence
mounted of the canal's obsolescence, the LVRR began to press
for the right to abandon its money-losing canal operation.
In 1923, after years of dickering between a variety of competing
interests, the state arranged a settlement transferring all
property, stock, bonds, and rights of the canal company to
the State of New Jersey, with the exception of valuable real
estate in Phillipsburg and Jersey City, which was retained
by LVRR. The state then sold most of the canal property and
dismantled corresponding canal works. It continues to administer
property at several lakes and reservoirs for use as park land
and water supply resources.
Microfilm
Collection Description
The New
Jersey State Archives has inventoried and microfilmed its
entire collection of canal company and related records. The
microfilm set consists of the following functional record
subgroups:
Minutes
and legislation (7 reels), 1828-1973: contains minutes
of the company's board of directors and of the board's committees;
also includes copies of relevant state legislation.
Deeds
and other land records (20 reels), 1820s-1950s: documents
all land purchases made by the company in constructing the
canal and subsequent sales by the state in dismantling it.
Stock
and loan records, 1837-1954 (42 reels): records the original
sale and transfer of boat loans and company stock, and the
payment of interest or dividends thereon.
Operational
records, 1836-1936 (20 reels): consists of the shipping
and financial records of LVRR pertaining to the canal, and
documentation relating to canal traffic, boat weights, water
levels, and the operation of locks.
Records
relating to canal abandonment, 1903-1974 (32 reels): contains
records pertaining to the investigation and subsequent dismantling
of the canal; also includes photographs and news-clippings
relating to the canal.
Maps
and drawings, 1840-1969 (8 reels): consists of boundary
maps of the canal and related properties, canal profiles,
and engineering drawings of locks, inclined plans, and other
machinery.
| Morris
Canal & Banking Company: Microfilm Collection ~ Order
Form |
| The
collection can be purchased either in its entirety (129
reels of 35mm film) or by subgroup, as described above.
Purchasers of the entire collection will also receive
a printed Guide to the Morris Canal and Banking Company
Microfilm Collection, which otherwise will be sold for
$10.00. The Guide contains descriptions and file inventories
for all record series, including an indexed, item-by-item
list of all the maps. |
| |
| Microfilm
Subgroups: |
Quantity |
#
of Reels |
Total
Reels |
Cost |
| Minutes and
legislation |
______
@ |
7
reels = |
__________ |
|
| Deeds and
other land records |
______
@ |
20
Reels = |
__________ |
|
| Stock and
loan records |
______
@ |
42
Reels = |
__________ |
|
| Operational
records |
______
@ |
20
Reels = |
__________ |
|
| Records relating
to canal abandonment |
______
@ |
32
Reels = |
__________ |
|
| Maps and drawings
|
______
@ |
8
Reels = |
__________ |
|
| Entire
collection |
______
@ |
129
Reels = |
__________ |
|
Total
# reels ordered: |
$35.00
x |
________
= |
$______ |
Guide
to the Morris Canal & Banking Company Microfilm
Collection
|
________
x |
$10.00
= |
$______ |
| Total
purchase: |
$______ |
| |
| Make
checks payable to: New Jersey General Treasury;
libraries and other institutions may submit purchase orders. |
| |
Print
this page; fill out this form; and mail order to:
New Jersey State Archives
225 West State Street, Level 2
PO Box 307
Trenton NJ 08625-0307
|
| Contact
Information: |
| to
be determined |
225
West State Street-Level 2
P.O. Box 307
Trenton, NJ 08625-0307
|
|
|
| |
|
|
