运河的建造目的是向爱丁堡运输拉纳克郡矿井和矿洞的煤矿。 Priestley, Joseph. Historical Account of the Navigable Rivers, Canals and Railways of Great Britain. London: Longman, Rees Orme
Shaw, p. 98. "By 1820 the middle section was completed and the canal was navigable for a full ninety-four miles from Utica to Montezuma on the Seneca River