There are a variety of references to the Colden Canal, built by Jane’s father, Cadwallader Colden. The earliest I have found is an article by John M. Eager published in The Historical Magazine in March of 1864. This article and others state that between 1728 and 1760, using Tin Brook, Cadwallader Colden built a canal on his property to transport fuel and building supplies. This canal is believed to be the first freshwater canal in what is now the United States and was a practical means of transportation when there were few roads through the wooded landscape. While rudimentary, it is considered a predecessor to the great canals and inland waterways of later periods and demonstrates the engineering abilities of Cadwallader Colden.The source of the canal is in the Great Swamp that lies south of the original Colden home. Portions of the swamp were drained to provide peat for fuel and in this bog meadow Colden used stone to widen Tin Brook and construct a feeder pond for the canal. In the 1864 article Eager writes, “Portions of this work are still visible upon the meadow, now one of the best and most valuable portions of grazing land in that county.” In a 1967 survey conducted by the New York State Historic Trust, Malcolm Booth reports the current purpose of the site as pasture, the condition as poor and endangered by the construction of Interstate 84. He recommends a state marker.
I’ve been told by a few people in the Coldengham Preservation and Historical Society that the last remaining pieces of canal construction are part of Stewart State Forest in what was the northwest corner of Little Britain but can’t be seen because of long term flooding caused by beavers. In fact, the beaver flooding is clearly marked on the Trail and Facilities Map of Stewart State Forest and going there, I see that the beavers have performed their own marvel of engineering. Their pond is large and full and completely obscures any sign of stone.
Assuming that the construction is really there, I can place another dot on my map and greatly expand the Coldengham property line towards the south and well away from the cluster of red dots representing the Colden homes and cemetery.
