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A project to digitize the maps and drawings of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company held by Lehigh University’s Special Collections. Pennsylvania’s wealth of extractable resources fueled the emergence of the coal, iron, and steel industries throughout the Lehigh Valley. After its founding in 1822, the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company (LCNC) became one of the most important companies in the emergence of the American Industrial Revolution for its innovative approach to canal systems, iron production and coal mining. LCNC transported anthracite coal from Mauch Chunk (now Jim Thorpe) to Easton and Philadelphia, reaching New York by the 1830s. The collection includes drawings of canal locks, gates, boats, dams, and maps that include the locations of the locks and the property lines surrounding the canals, providing a snapshot of a regional technological and industrial history.
This project is made possible by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor.
Principal Investigator – Lois F. Black
Project Manager – Ilhan Citak
Technical Coordinator – Rob Weidman
Consultants – Christine Roysdon, Julia Maserjian
Controlled Vocabularies – Lisa McColl
Metadata and Quality Control – Devin Bostick, Greg Edwards, Abby McBride
In-house scanning – Siddharth Ambatipudi
Digitization Vendor – Backstage Library Works