SUMMIT, NJ — Joseph Macasek, chairman of the Canal Society of New Jersey, will speak at the Tuesday, April 19 meeting of Summit Old Guard. He will talk about the important role played by Morris Canal during the 19th Century.
Completed in 1831, this 102-mile long canal was built to transport anthracite coal, iron ore and other goods from the Pennsylvania mines to the growing New York market.
Through a series of water powered inclined planes, locks and aqueducts built above and across rivers, the Morris Canal was the world’s biggest hill climber. It had an up-and-down elevation change of 1,674 feet from the eastern terminus on the Hudson River at Jersey City to the Delaware River at Phillipsburg. Using original documents, Macasek will explain how the canal worked, and who built the canal’s famed inclined planes.
All age 50-plus active men are invited to attend the Tuesday morning meetings of the Summit Area Old Guard. Meetings are held at New Providence Municipal Center, 360 Elkwood Ave., New Providence. A coffee hour starts at 9:15 a.m., followed by a 10 a.m. business meeting brightened by singing and humor. The speaker begins at 10:30 a.m.
For more information call Jim Hewitt at 908-233-5507 or visit www.summitoldguard.org.