Bellows Falls Canal
Bellows Falls Canal is a canal constructed to allow boat traffic to bypass Bellows Falls on the Connecticut River in Bellows Falls, Vermont.[1] It was constructed by the Bellows Falls Canal Company and was one of the first canals in the United States.[2] It was used for transport, to power mills, and later for hydroelectric power. The Bellows Falls Downtown Historic District includes the canal.

The Library of Congress has a dry plate negative of the canal from 1907.[3] A historical marker on Bridge Street in Bellows Falls, Vermont commemorates the canal's history.[4]
History

A British-owned company was chartered to make the Connecticut River navigable in 1791 and spent 10 years building nine locks and a dam to bypass the 52 foot high Great Falls. The canal was completed in 1802.[5][4]

Usage declined with the arrival of railroad service in the area in 1849 and the canal ceased to operate boat traffic operations in 1858.[5] From this time, the canal was used to supply water power to the neighbouring mills and, after 1868, was acquired by the power company.[5][4]
References
- Collins, Anne L.; Lisai, Virginia; Luring, Louise (5 June 2002). "Around Bellows Falls: Rockingham, Westminster and Saxtons River". Arcadia Publishing – via Google Books.
- Thibault, Amanda (29 March 2018). "This Place in History: Bellows Falls Canal".
- "Canal, Bellows Falls, Vt".
- "Bellows Falls Canal - Bellows Falls VT - Vermont Historical Markers on Waymarking.com". www.waymarking.com.
- "Canals of the Connecticut River – Connecticut River Conservancy". www.ctriver.org.