 With the opening of the major canals Lehigh, Schuylkill, and Delaware & Hudson in addition to smaller ones such as the Delaware Division and Morris Canals, canal companies successfully provided urban markets for anthracite coal (Latzko, 3).The anthracite commercial market greatly expanded, and the hard coal was used as valuable fuel for heating and cooking domestically, as well as energy sources for small businesses such as blacksmiths, brewers, bakers, and manufacturers (Adams, “US Coal Industry”).Joseph White and Erskine Hazard founded the Lehigh Navigation Company in 1818.