The National Canal Museum in Easton is currently hosting a special exhibit, “Putting Down Routes: From Native Trails to Interstates,” which explores the evolution of transportation in the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor in eastern Pennsylvania.
The exhibit reveals how ferry crossings eventually evolved into bridges, industrial routes became recreational trails, and Native American trails became bridle paths, paved roads and occasionally even interstates.
“People have lived in Pennsylvania for more than 10,000 years,” said Martha Capwell Fox, DLNHC Historian. “These first Pennsylvanians moved everywhere on foot… After thousands of years of travel over them, the routes of these well-planned paths were followed almost exactly by most of Pennsylvania’s roads that were built before 1900.”
Panels and maps that are part of the exhibit illustrate the history of each route and its original path.
“Putting Down Routes: From Native Trails to Interstates” is on display through Dec. 22, 2024.
The National Canal Museum is located at 2750 Hugh Moore Park Road, Easton, PA 18042. For more information, visit the Canals.org website.
This local news story was reported with generative AI assistance.