@paindustrialhistory: Lebanon, Pennsylvania has a canal tunnel that men dug by hand in 1827, and you can still ride a boat through it. Engineers call it the oldest transportation tunnel still standing in the US. It was cut for the Union Canal, which ran 82 miles from Middletown to Reading. Work started in May 1825. Crews drilled and blasted with black powder and moved about five yards in a good week. The first boat, the Alpha, went through on June 12, 1827. Boatmen pushed it along with poles against the ceiling while the mules walked over the hill. The canal closed in 1885. The Lebanon County Historical Society has owned the tunnel since 1950, and tour boats still run some Sundays June through October at Union Canal Tunnel Park. Have you taken that boat ride? Tell me what year. Follow for the next one. #pennsylvania #hiddenhistory #pahistory #lebanonpa

PAIndustrialHistory

Open In TikTok:

Region: US

Tuesday 20 October 2026 00:00:00 GMT