Delaware and Hudson Canal Company Office
Encyclopedia
The D&H Canal Co. Office, now known as the Roebling Inn, is located on Scenic Drive in Lackawaxen, Pennsylvania, United States. It is a mid-19th century wooden house in the Greek Revival
architectural style
.
It was originally built by the company, which operated the nearby Delaware and Hudson Canal
, as its regional office. After being abandoned when the canal was shut down at the end of the century, it was converted
into a boarding house
, a single-family private residence, and most recently a bed and breakfast
. It remains mostly intact. In 1993 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
. It is a short distance north of Roebling's Delaware Aqueduct
, one of the earliest suspension bridge
s in the United States, and a short distance south of the Zane Grey Museum. The property's lawn slopes gently down to the Delaware River
to the east. A line of mature trees screens the property from some other residences nearby. Nearby are some filled-in sections of the canal. Most of the other property in the area is owned by the National Park Service
as part of the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River
.
The building itself is a clapboard
-sided gable
-roofed frame
structure two and a half stories tall on a foundation
of random coursed
stone. Its main block is five bays
wide by two deep. Greek Revival detailing includes a frieze
at the roofline and a transom
and sidelights on the centrally-located main entrance. A two-story bay window
projects from the south elevation.
On the west side is a one-and-half-story, three-bay kitchen wing, added later. It has similar detailing to the main block. On its south side is a small porch, with a gently sloped roof supported by four square wooden columns. A cinder block
chimney, the only one on the house, rises on the west.
Inside the house retains much of its original central-hall floor plan, minimally altered for its current use. Many rooms retain their original plaster finish. The attic's plaster walls and ceiling are unusual for a house of its era. There are no fireplace
s, although a wooden ornamental mantel
remains in the dining room.
There are two outbuildings: a carriage house
and a cottage. Both are of similar material and design to the main house, but are not considered contributing resources
to the National Register listing as their construction dates to the years after the canal company's ownership.
, with large houses along the canal's route for local administrators. No official company document survives designating this Lackawaxen property the Delaware and Hudson's regional office. That belief is instead supported by maps, company policies, physical evidence and local tradition. Since this section of the canal had frequent washouts, and it was close to the Delaware Lackawaxen
aqueducts, which required regular maintenance, a regional administrator may well have seen this as an ideal site. It could also be used to keep an eye on the Lackawaxen Dam, which the company had stopped using once the aqueducts had been built but remained as a possible liability risk.
The original house, in 1855, was just the main block. Around 1870, the wing was added.
One company official known to have lived here was Thomas Ridgway, a former judge and regional administrator from 1876 until his death in 1888. Among surviving records are his tallies of lumber rafts going over the dam and under the aqueduct. This was to help reconcile claims they made against the company for damage to their rafts. As with other administrators, the building was both his home and his office. The finished attic probably served as lodging for workers brought in during high-maintenance periods.
A man named C.W. Shannon bought the building when the company abandoned the canal for its railroad interests in 1898. He converted it into a boarding house, taking in as many as 20 guests a week. His son ran his medical practice from here, and built the small cottage in the rear to see patients, as well as the carriage house.
As boardinghouses declined, the building became a private residence. In 1985 the present owners bought it and converted into a bed and breakfast.
Greek Revival architecture
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in Northern Europe and the United States. A product of Hellenism, it may be looked upon as the last phase in the development of Neoclassical architecture...
architectural style
Architectural style
Architectural styles classify architecture in terms of the use of form, techniques, materials, time period, region and other stylistic influences. It overlaps with, and emerges from the study of the evolution and history of architecture...
.
It was originally built by the company, which operated the nearby Delaware and Hudson Canal
Delaware and Hudson Canal
The Delaware and Hudson Canal was the first venture of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, which later developed the Delaware and Hudson Railway...
, as its regional office. After being abandoned when the canal was shut down at the end of the century, it was converted
Adaptive reuse
Adaptive reuse refers to the process of reusing an old site or building for a purpose other than which it was built or designed for. Along with brownfield reclamation, adaptive reuse is seen by many as a key factor in land conservation and the reduction of urban sprawl...
into a boarding house
Boarding house
A boarding house, is a house in which lodgers rent one or more rooms for one or more nights, and sometimes for extended periods of weeks, months and years. The common parts of the house are maintained, and some services, such as laundry and cleaning, may be supplied. They normally provide "bed...
, a single-family private residence, and most recently a bed and breakfast
Bed and breakfast
A bed and breakfast is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast, but usually does not offer other meals. Since the 1980s, the meaning of the term has also extended to include accommodations that are also known as "self-catering" establishments...
. It remains mostly intact. In 1993 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
Property
The house is on an acre with two outbuildings along Scenic Drive, just off PA 590Pennsylvania Route 590
Pennsylvania Route 590 is a long state highway located in Lackawanna, Wayne, and Pike counties in Pennsylvania. The western terminus is at PA 435 in Elmhurst Township. The eastern terminus is at PA 434 in Lackawaxen Township....
. It is a short distance north of Roebling's Delaware Aqueduct
Roebling's Delaware Aqueduct
-External links:...
, one of the earliest suspension bridge
Suspension bridge
A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck is hung below suspension cables on vertical suspenders. Outside Tibet and Bhutan, where the first examples of this type of bridge were built in the 15th century, this type of bridge dates from the early 19th century...
s in the United States, and a short distance south of the Zane Grey Museum. The property's lawn slopes gently down to the Delaware River
Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States.A Dutch expedition led by Henry Hudson in 1609 first mapped the river. The river was christened the South River in the New Netherland colony that followed, in contrast to the North River, as the Hudson River was then...
to the east. A line of mature trees screens the property from some other residences nearby. Nearby are some filled-in sections of the canal. Most of the other property in the area is owned by the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
as part of the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River
Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River
The Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River is located near Narrowsburg, New York, and Lackawaxen, Pennsylvania, on the Delaware River. It includes parts of five counties along this section of the river: Delaware, Orange, and Sullivan in New York, and Pike and Wayne in Pennsylvania.The site...
.
The building itself is a clapboard
Clapboard (architecture)
Clapboard, also known as bevel siding or lap siding or weather-board , is a board used typically for exterior horizontal siding that has one edge thicker than the other and where the board above laps over the one below...
-sided gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
-roofed frame
Framing (construction)
Framing, in construction known as light-frame construction, is a building technique based around structural members, usually called studs, which provide a stable frame to which interior and exterior wall coverings are attached, and covered by a roof comprising horizontal ceiling joists and sloping...
structure two and a half stories tall on a foundation
Foundation (architecture)
A foundation is the lowest and supporting layer of a structure. Foundations are generally divided into two categories: shallow foundations and deep foundations.-Shallow foundations:...
of random coursed
Course (architecture)
A course is a continuous horizontal layer of similarly-sized building material one unit high, usually in a wall. The term is almost always used in conjunction with unit masonry such as brick, cut stone, or concrete masonry units .-Styles:...
stone. Its main block is five bays
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
wide by two deep. Greek Revival detailing includes a frieze
Frieze
thumb|267px|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...
at the roofline and a transom
Transom (architectural)
In architecture, a transom is the term given to a transverse beam or bar in a frame, or to the crosspiece separating a door or the like from a window or fanlight above it. Transom is also the customary U.S. word used for a transom light, the window over this crosspiece...
and sidelights on the centrally-located main entrance. A two-story bay window
Bay window
A bay window is a window space projecting outward from the main walls of a building and forming a bay in a room, either square or polygonal in plan. The angles most commonly used on the inside corners of the bay are 90, 135 and 150 degrees. Bay windows are often associated with Victorian architecture...
projects from the south elevation.
On the west side is a one-and-half-story, three-bay kitchen wing, added later. It has similar detailing to the main block. On its south side is a small porch, with a gently sloped roof supported by four square wooden columns. A cinder block
Cinder block
In the United States, a concrete masonry unit – also called concrete block, cement block, and foundation block – is a large rectangular brick used in construction. Concrete blocks are made from cast concrete, i.e. Portland cement and aggregate, usually sand and fine gravel for high-density blocks...
chimney, the only one on the house, rises on the west.
Inside the house retains much of its original central-hall floor plan, minimally altered for its current use. Many rooms retain their original plaster finish. The attic's plaster walls and ceiling are unusual for a house of its era. There are no fireplace
Fireplace
A fireplace is an architectural structure to contain a fire for heating and, especially historically, for cooking. A fire is contained in a firebox or firepit; a chimney or other flue allows gas and particulate exhaust to escape...
s, although a wooden ornamental mantel
Mantel
Mantel is a municipality in the district of Neustadt in Bavaria in Germany....
remains in the dining room.
There are two outbuildings: a carriage house
Carriage house
A carriage house, also called remise or coach house, is an outbuilding which was originally built to house horse-drawn carriages and the related tack.In Great Britain the farm building was called a Cart Shed...
and a cottage. Both are of similar material and design to the main house, but are not considered contributing resources
Contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing resource or contributing property is any building, structure, or object which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, listed locally or federally, significant...
to the National Register listing as their construction dates to the years after the canal company's ownership.
History
Local records show the company owning the land as early as 1852, the year after the death of early canal administrator Thomas Tracey. It took several employees to do his duties, and the company began to develop a bureaucracyBureaucracy
A bureaucracy is an organization of non-elected officials of a governmental or organization who implement the rules, laws, and functions of their institution, and are occasionally characterized by officialism and red tape.-Weberian bureaucracy:...
, with large houses along the canal's route for local administrators. No official company document survives designating this Lackawaxen property the Delaware and Hudson's regional office. That belief is instead supported by maps, company policies, physical evidence and local tradition. Since this section of the canal had frequent washouts, and it was close to the Delaware Lackawaxen
Lackawaxen River
The Lackawaxen River is a tributary of the Delaware River in northeastern Pennsylvania in the United States. The river flows through a largely rural area in the northern Pocono Mountains, draining an area of approximately ....
aqueducts, which required regular maintenance, a regional administrator may well have seen this as an ideal site. It could also be used to keep an eye on the Lackawaxen Dam, which the company had stopped using once the aqueducts had been built but remained as a possible liability risk.
The original house, in 1855, was just the main block. Around 1870, the wing was added.
One company official known to have lived here was Thomas Ridgway, a former judge and regional administrator from 1876 until his death in 1888. Among surviving records are his tallies of lumber rafts going over the dam and under the aqueduct. This was to help reconcile claims they made against the company for damage to their rafts. As with other administrators, the building was both his home and his office. The finished attic probably served as lodging for workers brought in during high-maintenance periods.
A man named C.W. Shannon bought the building when the company abandoned the canal for its railroad interests in 1898. He converted it into a boarding house, taking in as many as 20 guests a week. His son ran his medical practice from here, and built the small cottage in the rear to see patients, as well as the carriage house.
As boardinghouses declined, the building became a private residence. In 1985 the present owners bought it and converted into a bed and breakfast.