(Photo above is of the restoration in 1982)
Construction on the Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal was begun in 1836 and completed in 1840. The 45 miles of canal ran from Wrightsville, PA to the top of the Chesapeake Bay at Havre de Grace, MD. It interconnected with nearly 4,000 miles of other canals throughout the Midwest and Eastern United States and opened central Pennsylvania to convenient trade with Philadelphia and Baltimore. A total of 29 locks, 19 in Pennsylvania and 10 in Maryland, raised or lowered canal boats a total of 233 feet to compensate for the elevation difference.
The boats were pulled by mules. Lumber, farm products, and especially coal were the primary cargoes transported via the canal during its heyday in the 1860s and 1870s.
With the advent of the railroad, the role of canals began to decline. Railroads were faster, cheaper to maintain, and could operate year round. In fact, the Reading Railroad acquired the canal in the 1870s, eventually selling it to an agent of the Philadelphia Electric Company in 1902 for the future construction of the Conowingo Dam. Thus ended the active life of the S&T Canal and the canal era in Havre de Grace.
For the next 70 years, the building and grounds, owned by Philadelphia Electric, rented the house as apartments. The power company leased the property to the City of Havre de Grace in 1970. At that point, a group of dedicated and tenacious volunteers took over the historic building from the City and incorporated themselves as the home of the Susquehanna Museum of Havre de Grace - a museum dedicated to the history of the City.
In 1982 the building received funding and underwent significant restoration and officially opened to the public.
Finally, in 2020, the museum changed its mission to reflect what the museum was best known for - the history Susquehanna & Tidewater Canal. Since then, with a narrowed and focused mission, the museum has begun upgrading its exhibits and has re-branded itself as
the museum of the entire S&T Canal telling the stories of people, politics, and economics along its 45 mile stretch.