Catasauqua-based historian Martha Capwell Fox discussed the significance of the D&L Trail during a meeting of Whitehall Historical Preservation Society, held April 26 at the Helfrich Springs Grist Mill.

Stephanie Tashner, historical society president, introduced Capwell Fox, who presented details on the trail’s importance up to the rise of the Industrial Revolution in America.

“Most people, when they talk about the birth of the Industrial Revolution, think about New England,” Capwell Fox said. “But most of their energy was provided by harnessing water, which was pretty common. The Lehigh Valley, on the other hand, had natural resources and the innovative people needed to spur the development of iron - key to the Industrial Revolution.”

According to Capwell Fox, the hills and valleys around the Lehigh Valley in early 1800s were stripped bare as settlers needed wood for heating and fuel for carbon furnaces. What spurred the Industrial Revolution was coal, specifically anthracite coal.

“Bituminous coal was used a lot, but it was dirty and smoky,” Capwell Fox said.

The other choice was British coal, which was expensive.

“Where the Lehigh Valley thrived was in its seams of anthracite coal … the Mauch Chunk mines were not the deep mines people were used to seeing,” Capwell Fox said.

The trick was to get the coal to where it was needed. Many investors lost fortune trying to get anthracite to Philadelphia.

Joshua White kept a detailed diary of his exploits, according to Capwell Fox. The Bear Trap lock was invented to tame the Lehigh Valley to make it more suitable for shipping. Experienced canal builders, who earned their stripes on the Erie Canal, came to the Lehigh Valley to build the canal and improve transportation from the mines to the customers. The new locks could accommodate 100-ton boats of coal.

As an interesting sidelight, in 1818, investors appealed to the Pennsylvania Legislature for private control of the river. The request was considered such a folly that the legislature privatized the river, assuming it would get it back. The river remained privatized until 1966.

As Capwell Fox continued, she said it was anthracite coal that changed the character of America.

“There were plenty of iron furnaces around, but no one really knew how to control heat from anthracite,” she said. “Plenty of furnaces blew up.”

Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company was one of the nation’s first shareholder corporations. The investors went to Scotland and persuaded David Thomas to bring his iron-making skills to Pennsylvania. Thomas’ journey from Scotland to Pennsylvania with equipment in tow was not pleasant.

In August 1839, Thomas began building his blast furnace at Lock 36. The first completed blast was July 4, 1890. Thomas’ furnace made more iron in a day than a charcoal furnace could make in a week.

By 1860, the Lehigh Valley was producing one-third of the iron made in the United States.

Along the river, zinc oxide production soared in south Bethlehem, and slate quarries flourished. Silk mills provided jobs primarily to women, and cement processing thrived because of the unique character of the limestone.

Capwell Fox added the Lehigh and Delaware canals remained largely intact through the 1920s. Mules still pulled barges loaded with coal.

Each lock had a locktender’s house, but so few remain.

“The flood of 1862 wiped out most of the houses,” she said.

According to Capwell Fox, a locktender had a sweet job. The locks were designed so that young family members could open and close the locks. Housing was free.

After the talk, members of the historical society gathered for discussion over home-baked goods.

The next event for the society is May 31 when Charles Derr will expand on the canal and its restoration.

The June 28 session allows you to get your hands dirty with blacksmithing.

Starting July 8 and every weekend in July, the grist mill, at Mickley and Lehnert roads, is open to the public with expert-guided tours.

“It’s a great time to come down and see all of what we have. We get a lot of our membership applications during the open house,” Tashner said. “We are always looking to welcome new members. Our history is a fascinating adventure.”