Between 1828 and 1899, the canal's barges carried anthracite coal from the mines of northeastern Pennsylvania to the Hudson River and thence to market in New York City.

Construction of the canal involved some major feats of civil engineering, and resulted in the development of some new technologies, particularly in rail transport.

During the early 19th century, Philadelphia businessman William Wurts often would leave his affairs for weeks at a time to explore the then-sparsely populated northeastern part of Pennsylvania.

He began noticing, mapping, and researching blackish rock outcroppings, becoming the first explorer of the anthracite fields that have since become known as the Coal Region.

They were able to extract several tons of anthracite at a time, but lost most of what they tried to bring back to Philadelphia due to the treacherous waterways that were the main method of transportation in the interior.

The company hired Benjamin Wright, who had engineered the Erie Canal, and his assistant John B. Jervis to survey and plan a route.

Business developed rapidly as the Wurtses had anticipated, and in 1832 the canal carried 90,000 tons (81,000 tonnes) of coal and three million board-feet (7,080 m³) of lumber.

[4] The D&H was also developing railroads, a technology that was continuing to improve and supplant canal transportation at the time, to extend its access to other Northeastern markets.

By the time Maurice Wurts died in 1854, the company was reporting profits of 10-24% annually and had completely paid its original debt to both states.

[3] The completion of the Erie Railroad through the Delaware Valley in 1848 and its branch to Hawley in 1863 began to effect the canal's business adversely, although it continued to be successful through the 1870s and '80s.

[7] During the early 21st century residents of the town of Deerpark, north of Port Jervis, complained that the canal had been leaking water and causing flooding in the neighborhoods near Cuddebackville in recent years.

The Delaware & Hudson Canal Historical Society was formed in 1967;[9] its museum has an extensive education program and hosts hundreds of area students each season.

[10] Many other buildings and sites associated with the canal have been added to the National Register of Historic Places and state and local landmark lists.

Aqueducts were built over the rivers to replace them by John Roebling in the 1840s, eliminating a few days from canal travel time and reducing accidents that were occurring at the Delaware crossing with loggers rafting their harvest downstream.

Barges were pulled by mules along the adjacent towpath, a power source employed even after the development of steam engines, since the bow wave from a faster steamboat would have damaged the channel.

The company tried offering passenger service for a while, and Washington Irving, a friend of Hone's, made the trip during the 1840s, but it was ultimately ended as unprofitable.

Fueled by the cheap and plentiful coal barged along the canal and the river Hudson, the city was able to develop and industrialize rapidly.

On the Pennsylvania end, the interior anthracite regions were able to grow and develop from the rough wilderness they had been when William Wurts traveled them and mapped the coal deposits.