Swansea Canal coal and culm shipped from Swansea Docks suggest around 386,000 tons in 1839. The opening of the Tennant Canal to Swansea Docks in 1824 resulted in the Swansea Canal's riverside wharfs being improved, and tolls were reduced to maintain trade levels. The harbour facilities at Swansea were upgraded in 1852, when the river Tawe was diverted into a new channel to the east, and the original channel, which included the trans-shipment wharfs, became a floating harbour. A lock was constructed to give the canal boats direct access to the half-tide basin above the North Dock, and a loop of the
Swansea, Massachusetts commemorative marker was placed there by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1912. After the war, many small industries, such as forges, ironworks and fisheries, opened up in the town. Many would later leave, and there remains a large agricultural sector. What is now Barrington, Rhode Island (part of Massachusetts until 1747) was separated from the rest of Swansea in 1717, over religious differences. In the late 1890s, trolleys connected the town to Providence, Fall River and Taunton, and the town has retained a suburban residential feel. Today Swansea is well known for its retail areas. Swansea gained national attention in