If things panned out differently in the 19^th century, the Delaware Canal could have called Newtown home, writes Carl LaVo for the Bucks County Courier Times.  

When the Erie Canal in New York State exploded its economy due to its ability to deliver products to the Midwestern United States, Pennsylvania Governor George Wolf did not want to see the commonwealth left behind. 

In 1827, the state legislature approved a network of 1,200 miles of interconnected canals that would connect Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Lake Erie.  

Bristol residents vied for their borough to be along the route, but Newtown had an alternative plan. The proposed canal was supposed to follow Neshaminy Creek in Croydon to the confluence of Newtown Creek.  

From there it would follow the tributary to Upper Makefield, then running along the Delaware River from New Hope until reaching Easton. 

Two teams of surveyors plotted both Bristol’s and Newtown’s proposed routes and found that Newtown’s elevation was 100 feet higher than Easton’s.  

The elevation difference would require boats leaving Easton to be raised with a system of locks and then lowered through more locks.  

As a result, the groundbreaking in Bristol took place in 1827.  

Read more about the history of the Delaware Canal and its influence in Bristol in The Bucks County Courier Times.