With the development of peacetime pursuits after the War of Independence there developed a need for better transportation; roads had improved but travel was still difficult and unsatisfactory. In the late 1790's canals and locks had been built around the falls at South Hadley and Turners Falls, but much of this section was inaccessible. On December 2, 1822 the inhabitants of Westfield approved a petition to construct a canal from the Connecticut River through Northampton, Easthampton, and Southampton on to Westfield to join one being built from New Haven northward.
The project had a long and difficult history, but in July 1835 the first canal boat from New Haven passed through Easthampton on its way to Northampton. The canal entered Easthampton from Northampton on the easterly side of what is now Route 10, crossed the highway north of the Manhan River and continued a short distance west of the river, crossing the north branch of the Manhan just before it left Easthampton. Portions of the canal can still be seen, particularly from O'Neill Street and at a point on West Street south of the junction of Manhan River and Bassetts Brook. Due to a combination of unfavorable circumstances, the canal failed and operations were suspended in the 1840's. Railroads were the next big thing in transportation, and promoters of the canal turned their attention to rail, leaving the waterway to history.
