About Plane Tender’s House

July 29, 2016
Author: Jim Lee III

Narrated by,
Jim Lee Jr.

Narrative

About Plane Tender’s House

July 29, 2016
Author: Jim Lee III

Narrated by,
Jim Lee Jr.

Narrative

About Plane Tender’s House

The two-family Plane Tender’s House was built around 1850 for the plane tender and his family as well as another canal employee.

See pictures of this Morris Canal site by scrolling through the photo Gallery.
Click left and right on the image to move to the next.

The Plane Tender’s House, which now houses the Jim and Mary Lee Museum, was built around 1850 when Plane 9 West was upgraded from using an overshot waterwheel to a scotch reaction turbine. When this change was made the plane was drastically reconfigured and the operating controls were moved from the top of the plane to the powerhouse, located a little more than halfway down the plane. A new, two-family house was built closer to this powerhouse. This is what we call the plane tender’s house today. It would have housed the plane tender and his family and possibly the brakeman or some other canal company employee. There were also two small buildings, probably a small office and an outhouse, situated in front of the plane tender’s house. The house is a two-story frame building built to house two families. For each family there was one room downstairs heated by a stove, and two rooms upstairs accessed by a winding staircase in the front corners of the building. The cellar under each half of the house was accessed by a stairway under the winding stair. The house looks a lot different today with a large, partially enclosed porch, and a museum room added to each end.

Explore Historic Morris Canal Sites

About Plane 9

This site is the former home of the late James S. Lee, Sr. (pictured left), Morris Canal author and historian. Plan 9 West is located on Rt. 519 1/2 mile south of Route 57 intersection east of Phillipsburg. The address for obtaining directions is 477 County Route 519, Stewartsville NJ 08886. Some facts about Plane…

Sycamore Landing

This stretch of the canal left the industrial areas of Phillipsburg behind for the pastoral farm fields of the upper Lopatcong Creek valley.

Lock Plane

Before planes were powered by a scotch-reaction turbine, a water wheel was used to raise and lower boats.

Plane Tender’s House

Although greatly modified from its original appearance the plane tender’s house at the top of Plane 10 West still exists today.

About Plane 10

Plane 10 West’s turbine chamber is filled by a natural spring and may contain remains of the original turbine. See pictures of this Morris Canal site by scrolling through the photo Gallery. Click left and right on the image to move to the next. From the Delaware River the Morris Canal climbs uphill, one level…