The History of the Hampshire & Hampden Canal

Public Talk by Carl Walter
Saturday, March 7, 2015 at 2 pm

A Canal Boat arriving at the Mansion House

Canal historian Carl Walter returns to Historic Northampton for an encore presentation of his public lecture, "The History of the Hampshire and Hampden Canal," on Saturday, March 7th at 2 pm at Historic Northampton.

Mr. Walter is a retired pathologist who has been studying the canal since 1991. His goal has been to gather as much information as possible about the canal and enter it into a computer database that can be accessed by referencing a map of the canal. Currently the database contains several thousand pictures and documents. During the course of his study, he has walked the line of the canal twice and has visited all the libraries and historical societies in the canal towns of Connecticut and Massachusetts. Together with his now retired partner, Ruth Hummel, he has given talks about and bus tours along the canal for many years. Mr. Walter will explain why the canal was built, where it was located, how it was constructed as well as its importance to the canal towns with emphasis on the line of the canal in Northampton. At right, is an image of a freight boat passing through New Haven, Connecticut.