 The canal was profitable for 30 years, returning 4% dividend to its investors, and even in 1826 briefly considered as part of a larger system from Boston to the Hudson River, but within a few decades railroads had become the favored means of transport, and it eventually closed to navigation in 1856.However, in 1869 it was reconstructed, along with the Turner Falls Dam, to provide waterpower for both existing and newly planned mills.This reconstructed power canal followed a somewhat different route from its predecessor, and served as the origin of today's village of Turners Falls.