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Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company
A powerhouse of early American industry, this company helped turn anthracite coal, canals, and railroads into the engines of growth in Pennsylvania and beyond. Its story is a window into how transportation and energy reshaped the United States in the 1800s.
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Founded through the merger of the Lehigh Coal Company and the Lehigh Navigation Company and incorporated in 1822, the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company became one of the key businesses in the rise of Pennsylvania's anthracite coal trade. Based in Mauch Chunk, now Jim Thorpe, it built its reputation by linking coal mining with transportation, making it easier to move fuel from the Lehigh region to larger markets.
The company is especially remembered for developing the Lehigh Canal and for its early transportation innovations, which helped lower costs and expand the use of anthracite. Over time, it grew beyond canals into railroads and related industrial ventures, giving it an outsized role in the wider American Industrial Revolution.
Its long life stretched from the early nineteenth century until its dissolution in 1964. Today, it remains an important subject for readers interested in business history, industrial growth, and the transformation of eastern Pennsylvania.