Get a look at the Aramingo Canal

If you’re interested in the 160-year-old, wood-lined canal that 19th Century businessmen hoped would spur the local economy, PennDOT has a holiday treat for you:

The Aramingo Canal site in the middle of the I-95/Girard Avenue interchange will be open to the public from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 9. Archaeologists from URS Corporation Inc. and PennDOT representatives will be on hand to show what’s been found and tell what it taught them about the canal and the surrounding community.

The canal is unusual. Most of the time, canal walls were made out of stone or earth. But the rough-sawn logs, buried in wet earth, are extremely well preserved.

To find the site, go to the Aramingo Shopping Center at Aramingo Avenue. and Norris Street. Head to the far, back, right corner of the lot, under the big billboard. The dig is in the open grassy space. The rain date is Wednesday, also from 11 until 2.

Posted by Kellie Patrick Gates. Contact her at kelliespatrick@gmail.com