Erie Canal
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New York State | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Principal engineer | Benjamin Wright | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other engineer(s) | Canvass White, Amos Eaton | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Construction began | July 4, 1817Rome, New York) | (at|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Date of first use | May 17, 1821 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Date completed | October 26, 1825 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Date restored | September 3, 1999 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Geography | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Start point | Hudson River near Albany, New York | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
End point | Niagara River near Buffalo, New York | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Beginning coordinates | 42°47′00″N 73°40′36″W / 42.7834°N 73.6767°W | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ending coordinates | 43°01′25″N 78°53′24″W / 43.0237°N 78.8901°W | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Branch(es) | Oswego Canal, Cayuga–Seneca Canal | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Branch of | New York State Canal System | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Connects to | Champlain Canal, Welland Canal | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Erie Canal is a historic
A canal from the Hudson to the Great Lakes was first proposed in the 1780s, but a formal survey was not conducted until 1808. The
The construction of the Erie Canal was a landmark
The Erie's peak year was 1855, when 33,000 commercial shipments took place. It continued to be competitive with
Today, the Erie Canal is mainly used by recreational watercraft. It connects the three other canals in the
Ambiguity in name
The waterway today referred to as the Erie Canal is quite different from the nineteenth-century Erie Canal. More than half of the original Erie Canal was destroyed or abandoned during construction of the
History
Background
Before
In the early years of the United States, transportation of goods between the coastal ports and the interior was slow and difficult. Close to the seacoast, rivers provided easy inland transport up to the
The principal exportable product of the
Topography
The
Proposals
The idea of a canal to tie the East Coast to the new western settlements was discussed as early as 1724: New York provincial official Cadwallader Colden made a passing reference (in a report on fur trading) to improving the natural waterways of western New York.
Gouverneur Morris and Elkanah Watson were early proponents of a canal along the Mohawk River. Their efforts led to the creation of the "Western and Northern Inland Lock Navigation Companies" in 1792, which took the first steps to improve navigation on the Mohawk and construct a canal between the Mohawk and Lake Ontario,[8] but it was soon discovered that private financing was insufficient. Christopher Colles (who was familiar with the Bridgewater Canal) surveyed the Mohawk Valley, and made a presentation to the New York state legislature in 1784, proposing a shorter canal from Lake Ontario. The proposal drew attention and some action but was never implemented.
New York legislators became interested in the possibility of building a canal across New York in the first decade of the 19th century. Shipping goods west from Albany was a costly and tedious affair; there was no railroad yet, and to cover the distance from Buffalo to New York City by stagecoach took two weeks.
Eventually, Hawley interested New York Governor DeWitt Clinton in the project. There was much opposition, and the project was ridiculed as "Clinton's folly" and "Clinton's ditch".[11][12][13][14][self-published source?] In 1817, though, Clinton received approval from the legislature for $7 million for construction.[15]
Construction
The original canal was 363 miles (584 km) long, from Albany on the Hudson to Buffalo on Lake Erie. The channel was cut 40 feet (12 m) wide and 4 feet (1.2 m) deep, with removed soil piled on the downhill side to form a walkway known as a towpath.[15] Its construction, through limestone and mountains, proved a daunting task. To move earth, animals pulled a "slip scraper" (similar to a bulldozer). The sides of the canal were lined with stone set in clay, and the bottom was also lined with clay. The Canal was built by Irish laborers and German stonemasons.[16] All labor on the canal depended upon human and animal power or the force of water. Engineering techniques developed during its construction included the building of aqueducts to redirect water; one aqueduct was 950 feet (290 m) long to span 800 feet (240 m) of river. As the canal progressed, the crews and engineers working on the project developed expertise and became a skilled labor force.
The men who planned and oversaw construction were novices as
Construction began on July 4, 1817, at
The remaining problem was finding labor; increased immigration helped fill the need. Many of the laborers working on the canal were Irish, who had recently come to the United States as a group of about 5,000. Most of them were Roman Catholic, a religion that raised much suspicion in early America because of its hierarchic structure, and many laborers on the canal suffered violent assault as the result of misjudgment and xenophobia.[19]: 52
Construction continued at an increased rate as new workers arrived. When the canal reached Montezuma Marsh (at the outlet of Cayuga Lake west of Syracuse), it was rumored that over 1,000 workers died of "swamp fever" (malaria), and construction was temporarily stopped.[20] However, recent research has revealed that the death toll was likely much lower, as no contemporary reports mention significant worker mortality, and mass graves from the period have never been found in the area.[21] Work continued on the downhill side towards the Hudson, and the crews worked on the section across the swampland when it froze in winter.
The middle section from Utica to Salina (Syracuse) was completed in 1820, and traffic on that section started up immediately. Expansion to the east and west proceeded simultaneously, and the whole eastern section, 250 miles (400 km) from Brockport to Albany, opened on September 10, 1823, to great fanfare.[22] The Champlain Canal, a separate but connected 64-mile (103 km) north–south route from Watervliet on the Hudson to Lake Champlain, opened on the same date.
After Montezuma Marsh, the next difficulties were crossing Irondequoit Creek and the Genesee River near Rochester. The former ultimately required building the 1,320-foot (400 m) long "Great Embankment", to carry the canal at a height of 76 feet (23 m) above the level of the creek, which ran through a 245-foot (75 m) culvert underneath.[23] The canal crossed the river on a stone aqueduct, 802 feet (244 m) long and 17 feet (5.2 m) wide, supported by 11 arches.[24][self-published source?]
In 1823 construction reached the
Two villages competed to be the terminus:
Completion
In 1824, before the canal was completed, a detailed Pocket Guide for the Tourist and Traveler, Along the Line of the Canals, and the Interior Commerce of the State of New York, was published for the benefit of travelers and land speculators.
The entire canal was officially completed on October 26, 1825. The event was marked by a statewide "Grand Celebration", culminating in a series of cannon shots along the length of the canal and the Hudson, a 90-minute cannonade from Buffalo to New York City. A flotilla of boats, led by Governor Dewitt Clinton aboard Seneca Chief, sailed from Buffalo to New York City over ten days. Clinton then ceremonially poured Lake Erie water into New York Harbor to mark the "Wedding of the Waters". On its return trip, Seneca Chief brought back a keg of Atlantic Ocean water, which was poured into Lake Erie by Buffalo's Judge Samuel Wilkeson, who would later become mayor.
The Erie Canal was thus completed in eight years at a total length of 353 miles (568 km)[25] and cost $7.143 million (equivalent to $185 million in 2022).[26][27] It was acclaimed as an engineering marvel that united the country and helped New York City develop as an international trade center.[15]
Problems developed but were quickly solved. Leaks developed along the entire length of the canal, but these were sealed using
Branch canals
Additional feeder canals soon extended the Erie Canal into a system. These included the Cayuga-Seneca Canal south to the
First Enlargement
This section needs additional citations for verification. (November 2012) |
The original design planned for an annual tonnage of 1.5 million tons (1.36 million metric tons), but this was exceeded immediately. An ambitious program to improve the canal began in 1834. During this massive series of construction projects, known as the First Enlargement, the canal was widened from 40 to 70 feet (12 to 21 m) and deepened from 4 to 7 feet (1.2 to 2.1 m). Locks were widened and/or rebuilt in new locations, and many new navigable aqueducts were constructed. The canal was straightened and slightly re-routed in some stretches, resulting in the abandonment of short segments of the original 1825 canal. The First Enlargement was completed in 1862, with further minor enlargements in later decades.
Railroad competition
This section needs additional citations for verification. (October 2022) |
The
Barge Canal
This section needs additional citations for verification. (March 2013) |
In 1903 the New York State legislature authorized construction of the
This new canal replaced much of the original route, leaving many abandoned sections (most notably between Syracuse and Rome). New digging and flood control technologies allowed engineers to canalize rivers that the original canal had sought to avoid, such as the Mohawk, Seneca, and Clyde rivers, and Oneida Lake. In sections that did not consist of canalized rivers[28] (particularly between Rochester and Buffalo), the original Erie Canal channel was enlarged to 120 feet (37 m) wide and 12 feet (3.7 m) deep. The expansion allowed barges up to 2,000 short tons (1,800 t) to use the Canal. This expensive project was politically unpopular in parts of the state not served by the canal, and failed to save it from becoming obsolete for commercial shipping.
Commercial decline
Freight traffic reached a total of 5.2 million short tons (4.7 million metric tons) by 1951. The growth of railroads and highways across the state, and the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1959, caused commercial traffic on the canal to decline dramatically during the second half of the 20th century. Since the 1990s, the canal system has been used primarily by recreational traffic.[citation needed]
New York State Canal System
This section needs additional citations for verification. (November 2012) |
In 1992, the New York State Barge Canal was renamed the
In 2000,
There were some 42 commercial shipments on the canal in 2008, compared to 15 such shipments in 2007 and more than 33,000 shipments in 1855, the canal's peak year. The new growth in commercial traffic is due to the rising cost of diesel fuel. Canal barges can carry a short ton of cargo 514 miles (827 km) on one gallon of diesel fuel, while a gallon allows a train to haul the same amount of cargo 202 miles (325 km) and a truck 59 miles (95 km). Canal barges can carry loads up to 3,000 short tons (2,700 long tons), and are used to transport objects that would be too large for road or rail shipment.[2] In 2012, the New York State Canal System as a whole was used to ship 42,000 tons of cargo.[31]
Travel on the canal's middle section (particularly in the Mohawk Valley) was severely hampered by flooding in late June and early July 2006. Flood damage to the canal and its facilities was estimated as at least $15 million.[citation needed]
Route
Original Canal
The Erie made use of the favorable conditions of New York's unique topography, which provided that area with the only break in the
The canal began on the west side of the Hudson River at Albany, and ran north to Watervliet, where the Champlain Canal branched off. At Cohoes, it climbed the escarpment on the west side of the Hudson River—16 locks rising 140 feet (43 m)—and then turned west along the south shore of the Mohawk River, crossing to the north side at Crescent and again to the south at Rexford. The canal continued west near the south shore of the Mohawk River all the way to Rome, where the Mohawk turns north.[15]
At
The canal continued south-southwest to
Barge Canal
The new alignment began on the Hudson River at the border between Cohoes and Waterford, where it ran northwest with five locks (the so-called "Waterford Flight"), running into the Mohawk River east of Crescent. The Waterford Flight is claimed to be one of the steepest series of locks in the world.[33][15]: 19 [34]: 267
While the old Canal ran next to the Mohawk all the way to Rome, the new canal ran through the river, which was straightened or widened where necessary.[15]: 13 At Ilion, the new canal left the river for good, but continued to run on a new alignment parallel to both the river and the old canal to Rome. From Rome, the new route continued almost due west, merging with Fish Creek just east of its entry into Oneida Lake.[11]
From Oneida Lake, the new canal ran west along the
From there it was again roughly an upgrade to the original canal, running west to Lockport.
Operations
Freight boats
Canal boats up to 3.5 feet (1.1 m) in draft were pulled by horses and mules walking on the towpath. The canal had one towpath, generally on the north side. When canal boats met, the boat with the right of way remained on the towpath side of the canal. The other boat steered toward the berm (or heelpath) side of the canal. The driver (or "hoggee", pronounced HO-gee) of the privileged boat kept his towpath team by the canalside edge of the towpath, while the hoggee of the other boat moved to the outside of the towpath and stopped his team. His towline would be unhitched from the horses, go slack, fall into the water and sink to the bottom, while his boat coasted with its remaining momentum. The privileged boat's team would step over the other boat's towline, with its horses pulling the boat over the sunken towline without stopping. Once clear, the other boat's team would continue on its way.
Pulled by teams of horses, canal boats moved slowly, but methodically, shrinking time and distance. Efficiently, the smooth, nonstop method of transportation cut the travel time between Albany and Buffalo nearly in half, moving by day and by night. Migrants took passage on freight boats, camping on deck or on top of crates.[35]
Passenger boats
Packet boats, serving passengers exclusively, reached speeds of up to five miles per hour (8.0 km/h) and ran at much more frequent intervals than the cramped, bumpy stagecoach wagons.[19]: 54 These boats, measuring up to 78 feet (24 m) long and 14.5 feet (4.4 m) wide, made ingenious use of space, accommodating up to 40 passengers at night and up to three times as many in the daytime.[19]: 59 The best examples, furnished with carpeted floors, stuffed chairs, and mahogany tables stocked with books and current newspapers, served as sitting rooms during the days. At mealtimes, crews transformed the cabin into a dining room. Drawing a curtain across the width of the room divided the cabin into ladies' and gentlemen's sleeping quarters at night. Pull-down tiered beds folded from the walls, and additional cots could be hung from hooks in the ceiling. Some captains hired musicians and held dances.[19]: 59
Sunday closing debate
The New York State Legislature debated closing the locks of the Erie Canal on Sundays, when they convened in 1858. However, George Jeremiah and Dwight Bacheller, two of the bill's opponents, argued that the state had no right to stop canal traffic on the grounds that the Erie Canal and its tributaries had ceased to be wards of the state. The canal at its inception had been imagined as an extension of nature, an artificial river where there had been none. The canal succeeded by sharing more in common with lakes and seas than it had with public roads. Jeremiah and Bacheller argued, successfully, that just as it was unthinkable to halt oceangoing navigation on Sunday, so it was with the canal.[19]: 172
Impact
This section needs additional citations for verification. (November 2012) |
Economic impact
The Erie Canal greatly lowered the cost of shipping between the Midwest and the Northeast, bringing much lower food costs to Eastern cities and allowing the East to ship machinery and manufactured goods to the Midwest more economically. To give an example, the cost to transport barrel of flour from Rochester to Albany dropped from $3 (before the canal) to 75¢ on the canal.
The Erie Canal was an immediate success. Tolls collected on freight had already exceeded the state's construction debt in its first year of official operation.[19]: 52 By 1828, import duties collected at the New York Customs House supported federal government operations and provided funds for all the expenses in Washington except the interest on the national debt.[42] Additionally, New York State's initial loan for the original canal had been paid by 1837.[19]: 52 Although it had been envisioned as primarily a commercial channel for freight boats, passengers also traveled on the canal's packet boats. In 1825 more than 40,000 passengers took advantage of the convenience and beauty of canal travel.[19]: 52 The canal's steady flow of tourists, businessmen and settlers lent it to uses never imagined by its initial sponsors. Evangelical preachers made their circuits of the upstate region, and the canal served as the last leg of the Underground Railroad ferrying runaway slaves to Buffalo near the Canada–US border.[19]: 53 Aspiring merchants found that tourists were reliable customers. Vendors moved from boat to boat peddling items such as books, watches and fruit, while less scrupulous "confidence men" sold remedies for foot corns or passed off counterfeit bills.[19]: 53 Tourists were carried along the "northern tour," which ultimately led to the popular honeymoon destination Niagara Falls, just north of Buffalo.
As the canal brought travelers to New York City, it took business away from other ports such as Philadelphia and Baltimore. Those cities and their states started projects to compete with the Erie Canal. In Pennsylvania, the Main Line of Public Works was a combined canal and railroad running west from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh on the Ohio River, opened in 1834. In Maryland, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad ran west to Wheeling, West Virginia, then a part of Virginia, also on the Ohio River, and was completed in 1853.
The canal played a major role in the growth of Standard Oil, as founder John D. Rockefeller used the canal as a cheaper form of transportation – in the summer months when it was not frozen – to get his refined oil from Cleveland to New York City. In the winter months his only options were the three trunk lines: the Erie Railroad, the New York Central Railroad, or the Pennsylvania Railroad.[43]
Migratory impact
New ethnic Irish communities formed in some towns along its route after completion, as Irish immigrants were a large portion of the construction labor force.[44] A plaque honoring the canal's construction is located in Battery Park in southern Manhattan.[45]
Because so many immigrants traveled on the canal, many
The canal allowed Buffalo to grow from just 200 settlers in 1820 to more than 18,000 people by 1840.[15]
Cultural impact
The Canal also helped bind the still-new nation closer to Britain and Europe. Repeal of Britain's
Its success also prompted imitation: a rash of canal-building followed. Also, the many technical hurdles that had to be overcome made heroes of those whose innovations made the canal possible. This led to an increased public esteem for practical education. Chicago, among other Great Lakes cities, recognized the importance of the canal to its economy, and two West Loop streets are named "Canal" and "Clinton" (for canal proponent DeWitt Clinton).
Concern that erosion caused by logging in the Adirondacks could silt up the canal contributed to the creation in 1885 of another New York National Historic Landmark, the Adirondack Park.
Many notable authors wrote about the canal, including
Consisting of a massive stone aqueduct that carried boats over incredible cascades, Little Falls was one of the most popular stops for American and foreign tourists. This is shown in Scene 4 of William Dunlap's play A Trip to Niagara, where he depicts the general preference of tourists to travel by canal so that they could experience a combination of artificial and natural sights.[19]: 55 Canal travel was, for many, an opportunity to take in the sublime and commune with nature. The play also reflects the less enthusiastic view of some who saw movement on the canal as tedious.
The Erie Canal changed property law in New York. Most importantly, it expanded the government's right to take private property.[47] Cases surrounding the newly built Erie Canal expanded condemnation theory to permit canal builders to appropriate private land and broadened the meaning of "public use" in the 5th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.[47] The canal also had an impact on water access jurisprudence as well as nuisance law.[47]
The canal today
Today, the Erie Canal is used primarily by recreational vessels, though it remains served by several commercial barge-towing companies.[48]
The canal is open to small craft and some larger vessels from May through November each year. During winter, water is drained from parts of the canal for maintenance. The Champlain Canal, Lake Champlain, and the Chambly Canal, and Richelieu River in Canada form the Lakes to Locks Passage, making a tourist attraction of the former waterway linking eastern Canada to the Erie Canal. In 2006 recreational boating fees were eliminated to attract more visitors.[citation needed]
The Erie Canal is a destination for tourists from all over the world, and has inspired guidebooks dedicated to exploration of the waterway.[34][49] An Erie Canal Cruise company, based in Herkimer, operates from mid-May until mid-October with daily cruises. The cruise goes through the history of the canal and also takes passengers through Lock 18.[50][51]
Aside from transportation, numerous businesses, farms, factories and communities alongside its banks still utilize the canal's waters for other purposes such as irrigation for farmland, hydroelectricity, research, industry, and even drinking. Use of the canal system has an estimated total economic impact of $6.2 billion annually.[31]
Old Erie Canal
Today, the reconfiguration of the canal created during the First Enlargement is commonly referred to as the "Improved Erie Canal" or the "Old Erie Canal", to distinguish it from the canal's modern-day course. Existing remains of the 1825 canal abandoned during the Enlargement are officially referred to today as "Clinton's Ditch" (which was also the popular nickname for the entire Erie Canal project during its original 1817–1825 construction).[52]
Sections of the Old Erie Canal not used after 1918 are owned by New York State, or have been ceded to or purchased by counties or municipalities. Many stretches of the old canal have been filled in to create roads such as Erie Boulevard in Syracuse and Schenectady, and Broad Street and the
Some municipalities have preserved sections as town or county canal parks, or have plans to do so.
In 2004, the administration of New York Governor
Parks and museums
Parks and museums related to the Old Erie Canal include (listed from east to west):
- Day Peckinpaugh ship; restoration and conversion to a floating museum was planned for completion in 2012 by the New York State Museum
- Watervliet Side Cut Locks, located at Watervliet and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971[57]
- historic district located at Cohoes, New York listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004[57]
- Cohoes Falls Park, 231 N. Mohawk St., Cohoes, New York, offers, looking away from the river, a dramatic view of abandoned and dry Erie Canal lock 18, high above.
- Enlarged Double Lock No. 23, Old Erie Canal, Rotterdam
- Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site at Fort Hunter
- Old Erie Canal State Historic Park, 36-mile linear park from Rome to DeWitt
- Erie Canal Village, near Rome
- Canastota Canal Town Museum, Canastota
- Chittenango Landing Canal Boat Museum, near Chittenango
- Erie Canal Museum in downtown Syracuse
- Camillus
- Elbridge
- Enlarged Double Lock No. 33 Old Erie Canal, St. Johnsville
- Erie Canal Lock 52 Complex, a national historic district located within the Old Erie Canal Heritage Park at Port Byron and Mentz in Cayuga County; listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998[57]
- Seneca River Crossing Canals Historic District, a national historic district located at Montezuma and Tyre in Cayuga County; listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005[57]
- Centerport Aqueduct Park near Weedsport; listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000[57]
- Lock Berlin Park near Clyde
- Palmyra
- Macedon
- Perinton Park in Perinton near Fairport
- Genesee Valley Park in the city of Rochester
- Spencerport Depot & Canal Museum, Spencerport
- Niagara Escarpment "Flight of Five" locks at Lockport
- Erie Canal Discovery Center, 24 Church Street, Lockport (Locks 34 and 35)
- Canalside Buffaloat the Canal's "Western Terminus"
Erie Canalway Trail
Records and research
Records of the planning, funding, design, construction, and administration of the Erie Canal are vast and can be found in the New York State Archives. Except for two years (1827–1829), the State of New York did not require canal boat operators to maintain or submit passenger lists.[58]
Locks
The following list of
All locks on the New York State Canal System are single-chamber; the dimensions are 328 feet (100 m) long and 45 feet (14 m) wide with a minimum 12-foot (3.7 m) depth of water over the
Distance is based on position markers from an interactive canal map provided online by the New York State Canal Corporation and may not exactly match specifications on signs posted along the canal. Mean surface elevations are comprised from a combination of older canal profiles and history books as well as specifications on signs posted along the canal.[59][63][64] The margin of error should normally be within 6 inches (15 cm).
The Waterford Flight series of locks (comprising Locks E2 through E6) is one of the steepest in the world, lifting boats 169 feet (52 m) in less than 2 miles (3.2 km).[15]: 19 [33][34]: 267
All surface elevations are approximate.
Lock No. | Location | Elevation
(upstream/west) |
Elevation
(downstream/east) |
Lift or Drop | Distance to Next Lock
(upstream/west) |
HAER No.
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Troy Federal Lock * | Troy | 15.3 ft (4.7 m) | 1.3 ft (0.40 m) | 14.0 ft (4.3 m) | E2, 2.66 mi (4.28 km) | |
E2 | Waterford | 48.9 ft (14.9 m) | 15.3 ft (4.7 m) | 33.6 ft (10.2 m) | E3, 0.46 mi (0.74 km) | NY-371 |
E3 | Waterford | 83.5 ft (25.5 m) | 48.9 ft (14.9 m) | 34.6 ft (10.5 m) | E4, 0.51 mi (0.82 km) | NY-372 |
E4 | Waterford | 118.1 ft (36.0 m) | 83.5 ft (25.5 m) | 34.6 ft (10.5 m) | E5, 0.27 mi (0.43 km) | NY-375 |
E5 | Waterford | 151.4 ft (46.1 m) | 118.1 ft (36.0 m) | 33.3 ft (10.1 m) | E6, 0.28 mi (0.45 km) | NY-376 |
E6 | Crescent | 184.4 ft (56.2 m) | 151.4 ft (46.1 m) | 33.0 ft (10.1 m) | E7, 10.92 mi (17.57 km) | NY-377 |
E7 | Vischer Ferry | 211.4 ft (64.4 m) | 184.4 ft (56.2 m) | 27.0 ft (8.2 m) | E8, 10.97 mi (17.65 km) | NY-387 |
E8 | Scotia | 225.4 ft (68.7 m) | 211.4 ft (64.4 m) | 14.0 ft (4.3 m) | E9, 5.03 mi (8.10 km) | NY-383 |
E9 | Rotterdam |
240.4 ft (73.3 m) | 225.4 ft (68.7 m) | 15.0 ft (4.6 m) | E10, 5.95 mi (9.58 km) | NY-385 |
E10 | Cranesville | 255.4 ft (77.8 m) | 240.4 ft (73.3 m) | 15.0 ft (4.6 m) | E11, 4.27 mi (6.87 km) | NY-386 |
E11 | Amsterdam | 267.4 ft (81.5 m) | 255.4 ft (77.8 m) | 12.0 ft (3.7 m) | E12, 4.23 mi (6.81 km) | NY-388 |
E12 | Tribes Hill | 278.4 ft (84.9 m) | 267.4 ft (81.5 m) | 11.0 ft (3.4 m) | E13, 9.60 mi (15.45 km) | NY-389 |
E13 | Yosts |
286.4 ft (87.3 m) | 278.4 ft (84.9 m) | 8.0 ft (2.4 m) | E14, 7.83 mi (12.60 km) | NY-391 |
E14 | Canajoharie | 294.4 ft (89.7 m) | 286.4 ft (87.3 m) | 8.0 ft (2.4 m) | E15, 3.35 mi (5.39 km) | NY-393 |
E15 | Fort Plain | 302.4 ft (92.2 m) | 294.4 ft (89.7 m) | 8.0 ft (2.4 m) | E16, 6.72 mi (10.81 km) | NY-394 |
E16 | St. Johnsville | 322.9 ft (98.4 m) | 302.4 ft (92.2 m) | 20.5 ft (6.2 m) | E17, 7.97 mi (12.83 km) | NY-396 |
E17 | Little Falls |
363.4 ft (110.8 m) | 322.9 ft (98.4 m) | 40.5 ft (12.3 m) | E18, 4.20 mi (6.76 km) | NY-399 |
E18 | Jacksonburg | 383.4 ft (116.9 m) | 363.4 ft (110.8 m) | 20.0 ft (6.1 m) | E19, 11.85 mi (19.07 km) | NY-402 |
E19 | Frankfort |
404.4 ft (123.3 m) | 383.4 ft (116.9 m) | 21.0 ft (6.4 m) | E20, 10.28 mi (16.54 km) | NY-407 |
E20 | Whitesboro | 420.4 ft (128.1 m) | 404.4 ft (123.3 m) | 16.0 ft (4.9 m) | E21, 18.10 mi (29.13 km) | NY-412 |
E21 | New London |
395.4 ft (120.5 m) | 420.4 ft (128.1 m) | −25.0 ft (−7.6 m) | E22, 1.32 mi (2.12 km) | NY-421 |
E22 | New London |
370.1 ft (112.8 m) | 395.4 ft (120.5 m) | −25.3 ft (−7.7 m) | E23, 28.91 mi (46.53 km) | NY-422 |
E23 | Brewerton | 363.0 ft (110.6 m) | 370.1 ft (112.8 m) | −7.1 ft (−2.2 m) | E24, 18.77 mi (30.21 km) | NY-427 |
E24 | Baldwinsville | 374.0 ft (114.0 m) | 363.0 ft (110.6 m) | 11.0 ft (3.4 m) | E25, 30.69 mi (49.39 km) | NY-433 |
E25 | Mays Point | 380.0 ft (115.8 m) | 374.0 ft (114.0 m) | 6.0 ft (1.8 m) | E26, 5.83 mi (9.38 km) | NY-437 |
E26 | Clyde | 386.0 ft (117.7 m) | 380.0 ft (115.8 m) | 6.0 ft (1.8 m) | E27, 12.05 mi (19.39 km) | NY-438 |
E27 | Lyons |
398.5 ft (121.5 m) | 386.0 ft (117.7 m) | 12.5 ft (3.8 m) | E28A, 1.28 mi (2.06 km) | NY-440 |
E28A | Lyons |
418.0 ft (127.4 m) | 398.5 ft (121.5 m) | 19.5 ft (5.9 m) | E28B, 3.98 mi (6.41 km) | NY-441 |
E28B | Newark | 430.0 ft (131.1 m) | 418.0 ft (127.4 m) | 12.0 ft (3.7 m) | E29, 9.79 mi (15.76 km) | NY-445 |
E29 | Palmyra | 446.0 ft (135.9 m) | 430.0 ft (131.1 m) | 16.0 ft (4.9 m) | E30, 2.98 mi (4.80 km) | NY-452 |
E30 | Macedon |
462.4 ft (140.9 m) | 446.0 ft (135.9 m) | 16.4 ft (5.0 m) | E32, 16.12 mi (25.94 km) | NY-454 |
E32 | Pittsford |
487.5 ft (148.6 m) | 462.4 ft (140.9 m) | 25.1 ft (7.7 m) | E33, 1.26 mi (2.03 km) | NY-462 |
E33 | Rochester | 512.9 ft (156.3 m) | 487.5 ft (148.6 m) | 25.4 ft (7.7 m) | E34/35, 64.28 mi (103.45 km) | NY-463 |
E34 | Lockport |
539.5 ft (164.4 m) | 514.9 ft (156.9 m) | 24.6 ft (7.5 m) | E35, adjacent to Lock E34. | NY-515 |
E35 | Lockport |
564.0 ft (171.9 m) | 539.5 ft (164.4 m) | 24.5 ft (7.5 m) | Black Rock Lock in Niagara River, 26.39 mi (42.47 km) | NY-516 |
Black Rock Lock * | Buffalo | 570.6 ft (173.9 m) | 565.6 ft (172.4 m) | 5.0 ft (1.5 m) | Commercial Slip at Buffalo River , 3.89 mi (6.26 km)
|
* Denotes federally managed locks.
There is a 2-foot (0.61 m) natural rise between locks E33 and E34 as well as a 1.5-foot (0.46 m) natural rise between Lock E35 and the Niagara River.[61]
There is no Lock E1 or Lock E31 on the Erie Canal. The place of "Lock E1" on the passage from the lower Hudson River to Lake Erie is taken by the Troy Federal Lock, located just north of Troy, New York, and is not part of the Erie Canal System proper. It is operated by the United States Army Corps of Engineers.[59] The Erie Canal officially begins at the confluence of the Hudson and Mohawk rivers at Waterford, New York.
Although the original alignment of the Erie Canal through Buffalo has been filled in, travel by water is still possible from Buffalo via the Black Rock Lock in the Niagara River to the canal's modern western terminus in Tonawanda, and eastward to Albany. The Black Rock Lock is operated by the United States Army Corps of Engineers.
Oneida Lake lies between locks E22 and E23, and has a mean surface elevation of 370 feet (110 m). Lake Erie has a mean surface elevation of 571 feet (174 m).
See also
- Robert C. Dorn
- List of canals in New York
- List of canals in the United States
- "Low Bridge", a song written by Thomas S. Allen, also known as "The Erie Canal Song"
- John C. Mather (New York politician)
- Ohio and Erie Canal, connecting Lake Erie with the Ohio River
- Welland Canal, opened in 1829, bypasses the Niagara River between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario
References
- ^ "Locks on the Erie Canal". The Erie Canal. Retrieved March 9, 2017.
- ^ a b Christopher Maag (November 2, 2008). "Hints of Comeback for Nation's First Superhighway". The New York Times.
- ISBN 0-670-80483-5(1985), Viking Penguin, New York
quotation page 87: "There was little experience moving bulk loads by carts, while a packhorse would carry only an eighth of a ton [1,250 long tons (1,270 t)]. On a soft road, a horse might be able to draw 5⁄8ths of a ton [(0.6250 long tons (0.6350 t)) or 5×]. But if the load were carried by a barge on a waterway, then up to 30 tons [(30 long tons (30 t) or 60,000 pounds (27,000 kg)) or 240×] could be drawn by the same horse." - ^ Using Clark's Works of Man figures, a mule can draw 60,000 pounds but carry only 250 pounds, which needed men to load and unload daily. Mules also need to carry grain (parasitic weight), and for the same tonnages required far more men as a labor force, drastically increasing running costs.
- ^ The five east–west crossings of the Appalachians are:
• Plains of Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi (around the bottom),
• the Cumberland Gap pass connecting North Carolina/Southern Virginia with Kentucky/Tennessee,
• the Cumberland Narrows pass connecting Cumberland, Maryland (in Western Maryland) and Northern Virginia with West Virginia and Western Pennsylvania via Brownsville, Pennsylvania and the Monongahela River or the Youghiogheny River valley (both of the Ohio & Mississippi river system),
• the gaps of the Allegheny connecting the Susquehanna River Valley in central Pennsylvania with the Allegheny River valley (and again the Ohio Country),
• and lastly, the Mohawk River water gap and valley tributary of the Hudson River, creating what later advertising would call the level water route westwards. - ^ "Railroads and the Making of Modern America | Search". railroads.unl.edu.
- ^ Joel Achenbach, "America's River; From Washington and Jefferson to the Army Corps of Engineers, everyone had grandiose plans to tame the Potomac. Fortunately for us, they all failed". The Washington Post, May 5, 2002; p. W.12.
- ^ Calhoun, Daniel Hovey. The American civil engineer: Origins and conflict. Technology Press, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1960.
- ^ "Erie Canal opens". History. July 27, 2019. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
- ^ Berkes, Anna. "Little short of madness...(Quotation)". Monticello.org. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
- ^ a b The New York State Canal System, The Erie Canal Association.
- ^ Luke Hammill (January 30, 2018). "The Buffalo of Yesteryear: How 'Clinton's Folly' put Buffalo on the map". Buffalo News.
- ^ Erie Canal Opens, This Day in History: October 26, American HistoryChannel.com
- ^ Frank E. Sadowski Jr., "Clinton's Big Ditch", The Erie Canal Association.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Finch, Roy G. (1925). The Story of the New York State Canals (PDF). New York State Engineer and Surveyor. Retrieved September 25, 2012.
- ^ "Immigrants and the D&H Canal". Erie Canal Museum. June 8, 2020. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
- ^ a b c Wedding of the Waters: The Erie Canal and the Making of a Great Nation, Peter L. Bernstein
- ISBN 978-0-262-08198-6.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8090-2753-8.
- ISBN 9780786745449.
- ISBN 978-0738562001.
- ^ "1825 Erie Canal Opened". History Central. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
- ^ Farley, Doug (September 18, 2007). "ERIE CANAL DISCOVERY: The great embankment". Lockport Union-Sun & Journal. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
- ^ "The Genesee River Aqueduct". The Erie Canal. Monroe County Library System. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
- ^ "Erie Canal Completion". The Philadelphia Inquirer. September 10, 1825. p. 1.
- ^ Ransom, Roger (May 1964). "Canals and Development: A Discussion of the Issues". American Economic Review. 54 (3): 375.
- ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
- ^ a b c Whiteford, Noble E. (1922). History of the Barge Canal of New York State. J. B. Lyon Company. Retrieved February 7, 2008.
- ^ a b "N.Y. Power Authority to Assume Ownwership of Canal Corporation on New Year's Day". www.nypa.gov. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
- ^ "Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor". Retrieved September 25, 2012.
- ^ a b New York State Canal Corporation, Report on Economic Benefits of Non‐Tourism Use of the NYS Canal System
- ^ "Whitford's History of New York Canals. Chapter I, First Attempts at Improvement". Archived from the original on December 26, 2008. Retrieved March 21, 2009.
- ^ a b "Dedication of the Flight of Five Locks as a Civil Engineering Landmark (9/9/2012)". ASCE Rennselaer. American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), RPI Chapter. Archived from the original on December 16, 2013. Retrieved March 2, 2013.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-58157-080-9.
- OCLC 37690680.
- ^ Bourne, Russell (1992). Floating West: The Erie and Other American Canals. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 123.
- ISBN 978-0-87332-101-3.
- ^
North, Douglas C. (1966). The Economic Growth of the United States 1790–1860. New York, London: W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0-393-00346-8.
- ^ "Salt in Syracuse that dug the canal · Economic effects of Erie Canal on Western New York (1825-1850) · Young American Republic". projects.leadr.msu.edu. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
- ^ "Brine, Boats & Bureaucrats: Salt and the Erie Canal". Onondaga Historical Association. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
- ^ Roberts, Sam (June 26, 2017). "200 Years Ago, Erie Canal Got Its Start as Just a 'Ditch'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 1, 2022. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
- ISBN 9780823271511.
- ISBN 978-0060118136.
- ^ "Ohio and Erie Canal Historic District:Ohio and Erie Canal National Heritage Corridor: A National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary". www.nps.gov. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
- ^ "The Battery Monuments : NYC Parks". www.nycgovparks.org. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
- ^ Burke Lyttle, Annette (2019). "'The Marriage of the Waters': The Erie Canal and the Opening of the Midwest" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 21, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
- ^ a b c Leah Moren Green, The Erie Canal and the American Imagination: The Erie Canal's Effects on American Legal Development, 1817-1869, 56 ALA. L. REV. 1167 (2005).
- ^ "Commercial Shipping and Towing - New York State Canals". www.canals.ny.gov. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
- ISBN 9780974827735.
- ^ "Schedule & Rates". Erie Canal Cruises. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
- ^ "Erie Canal Boat Rides & Tours". Erie Canal Cruises. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
- ^ "Clintons Ditch (1)". June 14, 2014 – via Flickr.
- ^ National Park Service, National Historic Landmarks Survey, New York Archived September 22, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, retrieved May 30, 2007.
- ^ Camillus Erie Canal Park, Nine Mile Creek Aqueduct, retrieved January 4, 2012.
- ^ "Explore Nearby". Erie Canal Museum. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
- ^ "A Joint Investigation into the Contract Between the New York State Canal Corporation and Richard A. Hutchens CC, LLC" (PDF). New York State Inspector General. November 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 28, 2016. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ "Guide to Canal Records". New York State Archives. Archived from the original on December 7, 2008. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
- ^ a b c New York State Canal Corporation – Canal Map, New York State Canals, Retrieved January 26, 2015.
- ^ New York State Canal Corporation – Frequently Asked Questions, Retrieved January 26, 2015.
- ^ a b The Erie Canal – Locks, Retrieved January 26, 2015.
- ^ The Erie Canal, History of the Barge Canal of New York State by Noble E. Whitford, 1921, Chapter 23, Retrieved January 28, 2015.
- ^ Wilfred H. Schoff, The New York State Barge Canal, 1915, American Geographical Society, Vol. 47, No. 7, p. 498, Retrieved January 26, 2015.
- ^ The Erie Canal – Canal Profiles, Retrieved January 6, 2015.
Further reading
- Bangs, Jeremy D. (2015). The Travels of Elkanah Watson. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company. OCLC 908375479.
- Bernstein, Peter L. (2005). Wedding of the Waters: The Erie Canal and the Making of a Great Nation (1st ed.). New York [u.a.]: Norton. ISBN 978-0-393-05233-6.
- Erie Canal Museum; Morganstein, Martin; Cregg, Joan H. (2001). Erie Canal. Charleston, S.C.: Arcadia Pub. Co. ISBN 978-0738508696.
- Finch, Roy G. (1925). The Story of the New York State Canals: Historical and Commercial Information (PDF). New York State Canal Corporation. OCLC 1038442328. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
- Hecht, Roger W., ed. (2003). The Erie Canal Reader, 1790–1950 (1st ed.). Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press. ISBN 9780815607595.
- Keene, Michael (2016). The Psychic Highway: How the Erie Canal Changed America. Fredericksburg, Va.: Willow Manor Publishing. ISBN 9781939688323.
- Kelly, Jack (2016). Heaven's Ditch: God, Gold, and Murder on the Erie Canal. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 9781137280091.
- Koch, Daniel (April 1, 2023). Land of the Oneidas: Central New York State and the Creation of America. State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-1-4384-9270-4.
- Koeppel, Gerard (2009). Bond of Union: Building the Erie Canal and the American Empire. Cambridge, Mass.: Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0-306-81827-1.
- McGreevy, Patrick (2009). Stairway to Empire: Lockport, the Erie Canal, and the Shaping of America. Albany, N.Y.: SUNY Press. .
- Panagopoulos, Janie Lynn (1995). Erie Trail West: A Dream-Quest Adventure. Spring Lake, MI: River Road Publications. ISBN 978-0-938682-35-6.
- Papp, John P. (1977). Erie Canal Days: A Pictorial Essay: Albany to Buffalo. Schenectady, N.Y.: John Papp Historical Publications. OCLC 3863574.
- Reisem, Richard O. (2000). Erie Canal Legacy: Architectural Treasures of the Empire State. Rochester, N.Y.: Landmark Society of Western New York. ISBN 978-0964170667.
- Shaw, Ronald E. (1990) [1966]. Erie Water West: A History of the Erie Canal, 1792–1854 (Reprint ed.). Lexington, Ky.: University Press of Kentucky. OCLC 929658651.
- Sheriff, Carol (1996). The Artificial River: The Erie Canal and the Paradox of Progress, 1817–1862. New York: Hill and Wang. ISBN 978-0-8090-2753-8.
- Stack, Debbie Daino; Cuomo, Captain Ronald S. Marquisee (2001). The Erie Canal: Cruising America's Waterways. Cruising America's Waterways Series. Foreword by Andrew Cuomo. Manlius, N.Y.: Media Artists Inc. ISBN 978-0970888600.
- Williams, Deborah (2009). Erie Canal: Exploring New York's Great Canals: A Complete Guide (1st ed.). Woodstock, Vermont: Countryman Press. ISBN 978-1-58157-080-9.
External links
- Erie & Barge Canal: A bibliography by the Buffalo History Museum.
- Listing and index of maps, plans, profiles, pictures, and photographs of canals of New York State in annual reports of State Engineer and Surveyor through 1905
- Erie Canal case study in Transition Times. Archived at Ghostarchive.
- Information and Boater's Guide to the Erie Canal
- Canalway Trail Information
- Historical information (with photos) of the Erie Canal
- Video showing the operations of Lock 22E in 2016.
- New York State Canal Corporation Site
- The Opening of the Erie Canal – An Online Exhibition by CUNY
- New York Heritage online exhibit - Two Hundred Years on the Erie Canal
- The Canal Society of New York State
- Digging Clinton's Ditch: The Impact of the Erie Canal on America 1807–1860 Multimedia
- A Glimpse at Clinton's Ditch, 1819–1820 by Richard F. Palmer
- Guide to Canal Records in the New York State Archives
- The Erie Canal Mapping Project
- New York Heritage – Working on the Erie Canal
- Photographs of the Erie Canal Relating to Fort Hunter, N.Y. Ca. 1910 (finding aid) at the New York State Library, accessed May 18, 2016.
- William Jaeger's photography of the Canal remains. Archived at the Wayback Machine
- American Society of Civil Engineers site- The Erie Canal was the world's longest canal and one of America's great engineering feats. Archived May 13, 2021, at the Wayback Machine
- Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. NY-231, "Erie Canal Viaduct, Moyer Creek Crossing"
- HABS No. NY-6040, "Erie Canal Locks"
- Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. NY-6, "Erie Canal (Enlarged), Schoharie Creek Aqueduct"
- HAER No. NY-11, "Erie Canal (Enlarged), Lock Number 18"
- HAER No. NY-12, "Erie Canal (Enlarged), Upper Mohawk River Aqueduct"
- HAER No. NY-16, "Erie Canal, Yankee Hill Lock Number 28"
- HAER No. NY-17, "Erie Canal (Enlarged), Empire Lock Number 29"
- HAER No. NY-152, "Erie Canal (Enlarged), Oothout Culvert & Waste Weir"
- HAER No. NY-157, "Eagle's Nest Creek Culvert"
- HAER No. NY-337, "Erie Canal (Original), Locks 37 & 38"
- HAER No. NY-545, "Erie Canal (Original), Lock Number 20"
- Geographic data related to Erie Canal at OpenStreetMap
- Newspaper articles and clippings about the Building of the Erie Canal at Newspapers.com