3. Hollidaysburg boomed with the opening of the canal
In 1827 Hollidaysburg’s population stood at 76 people, which fluctuated as travelers stopped for a time before moving on to their destinations. Ten years later, following the opening of the Allegheny Portage Railroad, the town boasted a population of over 3,000. The boom resulted from the selection of the tiny hamlet as the site of the eastern canal basin, for the Allegheny Portage. The confluence of three branches of the Juniata River was widened and deepened into a man-made pool with supporting port facilities. Canal boats arriving from Columbia to the east, or Pittsburgh to the west, were serviced at the Hollidaysburg Canal Basin. During peak use of the canal, an average of one boat every twenty minutes arrived for service.
The early days of the canal required boats unloaded, and passengers and cargoes loaded into the railcars to cross the portage. Conversely, railcars arriving from the portage contained cargoes and passengers which needed to be embarked on the boats. Warehouses, freight brokerages, passenger facilities, boat slips, and docks boomed along Hollidaysburg’s waterfront. Although passengers were common on the boats, the freight trade generated higher profits, in both finished goods and raw materials. Innovative merchants along the canal converted some boats to floating markets, which arrived in canal towns carrying finished goods at bargain prices, and sold to customers directly from the boats.