Erie Canal
History
Two hundred years ago, the Appalachian Mountain chain was a nearly impossible barrier to America's westward expansion. As factories grew in the East, merchants looked for a way to transport their goods across these mountains.
In the early 1800's, a friend of Thomas jefferson named De Witt Clinton became mayor of New York City and later governor of New York State. Keen on the idea of a canal, he persuaded the legislators to vote six million dollars to begin construction. On July 4, 1817, at Rome, NY, the ground breaking ceremony was held.
The distance from the Hudson River to Lake Erie was 363 miles. The canal had to be dug through forests, swamps, and hills, span rivers, and cross the Appalachian Mountains. The original canal was 4 feet deep, 40 feet wide at the top, and 28 feet wide at the bottom. To cross the Appalachians, a series of 84 locks were built. Each lock was 90 feet long and 15 feet wide. To cross over existing rivers and streams, 18 aqueducts were required to be built. The largest one of these was constructed 12 miles from Albany, NY, and was 2000 feet long in order to span the Mohawk River. It took 10,000 Irish immigrant workers nearly 10 years to construct the canal. At least 1000 of these got sick and many of them died of Malaria as they dug through the swamps.
On October 26, 1825, the canal diggers reached Buffalo, NY, and the project was pronounced completed with an opening ceremony called "The Wedding of the Waters". As part of this ceremony, the first canal boat to travel the entire length of the canal, called The Seneca Chief, contained De Witt Clinton and other politicians and supporters of the canal.
The Erie Canal was hugely successful and business was so good that the state widened it and updated the locks many times.
Today
Today, the Erie Canal joins Albany, NY, on the Hudson River to North Tonawanda (Buffalo) on the Niagara River, which empties into Lake Erie, and is the longest section of what is now known as the New York State Barge Canal System. This 524 mile system of navigable inland waterways includes the Erie, Champlain, Oswego & Cayuga-Seneca Canals. It has 57 locks and 16 lift bridges. The 12 feet deep channel varies from 75 to 200 feet wide. All Canal System locks are 300 feet long and 43.5 feet wide. Over 150,000 recreational boats use the system annually.
Links:
Erie Canal, North Tonawanda, NY Cam ... Upper terminal of the great Erie Canal where it joins the Niagara River. This canal goes from east to west across the state of New York.
New York State Barge Canals System ... All inclusive site for Erie, Champlain, Oswego and Cayuga Seneca Canals
Erie Canal Lock List ... with Stats and Photos!
Cruise Trip On the Erie Canal ... Most Everything You'll Need To know!
The Travels of Tug 44 ... Photo Tour of the Erie Canal!
New York Canals Travel Information ... Full of great info; Events, Lodging, etc.
New York Canals Distance and Travel Times Downloadable PDF ... A Must Have!
Statewide Canal Online Newspaper ... Covers all NY State Canals