Similar to the Erie Canal which was constructed in the early 1800s and runs through the entirety of New York, the Delaware Canal is a 60-mile-long manmade canal that was completed in 1832 in order to transport anthracite coal from northeastern Pennsylvania coal regions to the eastern seaboard of the U.S. Spanning the Canal are 23 locks (the Locktender House pictured left is located near lock 11) and the purpose of these locks was to move boats from a higher water level to a lower water level using watertight gates. Locktenders would be stationed at these sites and were responsible for opening and closing the gates to let boats through. Despite their labor-intensive job, Locktenders were granted small, well-built houses (known as Locktender Houses) positioned near the Canal where they could work in close proximity to where they lived.  As railroads began to populate throughout the U.S., Canal generated revenues dropped, eventually causing the Delaware Canal to become acquired by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania where it no longer operates.