The primary means of transportation in the area were on foot, carriage, train or boat. The canal and railroad were major trade conduits for the town and the region. As the town grew it became a site for the passage of the main line canal from Harrisburg to Pittsburgh. Coal and salt were transported along the canal and boat-building became one of the chief industries of the town. In 1835 and 1836, Robert Young, Butler Meyers and Jacob Newhouse opened the first canal-boat construction business in the town. In 1855 the railroad bridge was built, with Major S.S. Jameson as the contractor and with the help of the principal mason John Marth. By 1864 the railroad brought an end to the canal era. The growth of the town was minimal until coalmines became prevalent in the 1870s.