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Pennsylvania
Canal (page
1)
Although Leechburg has been known for the
last 100 years primarily as a Western
Pennsylvania "steel and coal" town, the
community actually owes its start to the
Pennsylvania Canal (for an interesting but
lengthly account of how the Canal affected
the commerce of Pittsburgh, see
http://pghbridges.com/articles/canals/canal_history_boucher.htm).
Had it not been for
the canal, a gigantic public project built
by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
linking the Harrisburg area with
Pittsburgh, the factors that later
combined to develop Leechburg as a small
industrial center may have never evolved.
Several other towns along the Kiskiminetas
and Allegheny Rivers trace their
beginnings to the canal, including
Blairsville, Saltsburg and Freeport.
Leechburg, a small,
isolated village until the building of the
canal in the 1820's and 30's, became an
important port on the canal. A significant
facility -- a large dam -- was built here
which slackwatered the Kiski River seven
miles upstream to Apollo. Later several
canal shipping companies operated out of
Leechburg and important boatyards and
docks were located here. [next]
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