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Erie Canal

Gov. William C. Bouck and the Erie Canal: A Friend of Labor

December 10, 2023 by David Brooks Leave a Comment

William C. Bouck portrait by Francis B. CarpenterWilliam Christian Bouck was born on the cusp of a new year, January 7th, 1786, but also at the cusp of a new nation emerging on the world stage. Until his death in April of 1859, Bouck was the quintessential “salt of the earth” farmer turned politician and bureaucrat – a man of the new republic.

Born in Fultonham, Schoharie County on lands settled by his Palatine German great-grandfather, Bouck emerged early in life to be devoted to labor. First, manual labor on his father’s family farm, toiling sunrise to sunset or beyond. This limited his education to that of only the local common school, but it’d be noted later in his career that his education was that of experience and observation. [Read more…] about Gov. William C. Bouck and the Erie Canal: A Friend of Labor

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History, Mohawk Valley, Western NY Tagged With: Cayuga-Seneca Canal, Chemung Barge Canal, Chenango Canal, Crooked Lake Canal, Delaware County, Erie Canal, Fulton, Irish Immigrants, Labor History, Otsego County, Political History, Schoharie County, Transportation History, William C. Bouck

New Erie Canal Educational Resources Available 

November 24, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Students move a boat through a model Erie Canal lock (Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor)The Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor and the New York State Canal Corporation have announced the release of new educational materials geared for fourth graders learning about the Erie Canal. The Erie Canal Adventure: Unlocking the Waterway Wonders includes a 40-minute video and two lesson plans.

The materials are available for free online at the Erie Canal Learning Hub. [Read more…] about New Erie Canal Educational Resources Available 

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History, Mohawk Valley, Western NY Tagged With: Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park, Buffalo Maritime Center, Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper, Education, Erie Canal, Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor, Explore & More Children’s Museum, fish, Fisheries, National Park Foundation, New York Power Authority, NYS Canal Corporation

The Canal Era in the Finger Lakes

October 1, 2023 by Guest Contributor 3 Comments

1858 Canal Map of New York StateAs the population of interior New York increased, developers pushed for a faster method of transportation between the area and developed population centers like the city of New York.

The Erie Canal, completed in 1825, revolutionized inland travel and ushered in a broader era of canal construction across the state, connecting the state capital of Albany on the Hudson River to Western New York and the Great Lakes. [Read more…] about The Canal Era in the Finger Lakes

Filed Under: History, Mohawk Valley, Western NY Tagged With: Agricultural History, Binghamton, Cayuga, Cayuga Lake, Cayuga-Seneca Canal, Chemung Barge Canal, Chemung County, Chemung River, Crooked Lake Canal, Elmira, Erie Canal, Finger Lakes, Genesee River, Genesee Valley Canal, Geneva, Great Lakes, Industrial History, Keuka Lake, Lake Erie, Livingston County, Monroe County, Onondaga Lake, Ontario County, Penn Yan, Pennsylvania, Rochester, Schuyler County, Seneca County, Seneca Falls, Seneca Lake, Seneca River, Steuben County, Syracuse, Tompkins, Transportation History, Waterloo, Watkins Glen, Wayne County, Yates County

Lock Tenders Tribute Monument Dedicated

September 29, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Lock Tenders Tribute Monument in Lockport NY (based on an 1897 photo by FB Clench)The final six sculptures in the Lock Tenders Tribute Monument in Lockport, Niagara County, NY were installed and a formal dedication took place in September.

Lewiston sculptor Susan Geissler created the cast bronze figures to recreate an original photograph taken on the same steps in 1897 by Frank Bernard Clench (F.B. Clench). [Read more…] about Lock Tenders Tribute Monument Dedicated

Filed Under: Arts, History, Western NY Tagged With: Erie Canal, Labor History, Lockport, Monuments, Niagara County, Photography, sculpture

1889 Tows on the Hudson River: Great Fleets of Freight Boats

September 13, 2023 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Hudson River. A tow just north of West Point (Hudson River Maritime Museum)This article, “Tows on the Hudson. The Great Fleets of Freight Boats That Come Down the River,” first appeared in the August 18, 1889 edition of The New York Times. It was transcribed by Hudson River Maritime Museum volunteer Carl Mayer and annotated by John Warren.

Very few persons who journey up and down the Hudson River either upon the palatial steamers or upon the railway trains that run along both banks of this great waterway know how great an amount of wealth is daily floated to this [New York] city on the canal boats and barges that compose the immense tows that daily leave West Troy [now Watervliet], Lansingburg, Albany, Kingston, and other points along the river bound for this city. [Read more…] about 1889 Tows on the Hudson River: Great Fleets of Freight Boats

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, New York City Tagged With: Albany, Albany County, Champlain Canal, East River, Erie Canal, Hudson River, Kingston, Labor History, Lansingburgh, Manhattan, Maritime History, New York City, New York Harbor, Pennsylvania, Rensselaer County, Steamboating, Transportation History, Troy, Ulster County, Watervliet

New Hand Launch Installed at Old Erie Canal State Park

August 12, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Paddlers on the Old Erie Canal (courtesy Erie Canalway)The Town of Manlius, east of Syracuse in Onondaga County, recently installed an ADA accessible kayak dock at Poolsbrook Park in Kirkville. The launch is located within the Old Erie Canal State Historic Park, making it much easier for paddlers to explore the remains of the Enlarged Erie Canal. [Read more…] about New Hand Launch Installed at Old Erie Canal State Park

Filed Under: History Tagged With: DeWitt, Erie Canal, kayaking, manilus, Old Erie Canal State Historic Park, Onondaga County, paddling

Public Comments Sought On Albany I-787 Reimaging Project

June 23, 2023 by Editorial Staff 3 Comments

Albany I-787 DOT ProjectNew York State Department of Transportation (DOT) is hosting a public open house related to the new planning and environmental study of I-787 on Tuesday, June 27, from 4:30 to 7:30 pm in the media room of MVP Arena in downtown Albany.

The study to re-imagine the I-787 corridor, taking into account its proximity to the Hudson River, is at the center of local efforts to re-imagine the former Albany Basin by the Albany Waterway Canal Project. [Read more…] about Public Comments Sought On Albany I-787 Reimaging Project

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History, Nature, Recreation Tagged With: Albany, Albany County, Albany Waterway Canal, development, DOT, Economic Development, Erie Canal, Hudson River, I-787, Transportation, Transportation History

A Tornado in Schenectady, 1847

June 18, 2023 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Tornado at Schenectady from the Cohoes Advertiser August 31, 1847TORNADO AT SCHENECTADY. On Saturday last [August 28, 1847], about four o’clock in the afternoon, Schenectady was visited by a phenomenon unusual in these high latitudes. Gentlemen who witnessed its inception, relate that a heavy storm seemed gathering over the high grounds which bound the city on the East, when suddenly large clouds were seen to rush towards each other from opposite directions with amazing velocity. [Read more…] about A Tornado in Schenectady, 1847

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History, Mohawk Valley, Nature Tagged With: Erie Canal, Mohawk River, natural disasters, Rexford, Schenectady, Schenectady County, Union College, weather

The History and Development of Utica Harbor

April 20, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Aerial View of Utica’s Inner Harbor c. 1940Utica Harbor is a unique feature of the NYS Canal System and was purposely nestled close to Utica’s major textile industries adjacent to the Erie Canal. The Utica Harbor is the only harbor on the Barge Canal with its own lock. It also possesses one of the largest branches leading from the main channel passing through the Mohawk River to its end, only a quarter mile from Utica’s downtown district. [Read more…] about The History and Development of Utica Harbor

Filed Under: Events, History, Mohawk Valley, Recreation, Western NY Tagged With: Barge Canal, Erie Canal, Industrial History, Maritime History, Mohawk River, Oneida County, Oneida County History Center, Transportation, Transportation History, Urban History, Utica, Utica Harbor

New York State Canals Bicentennial: Some History & Plans For Celebrations

March 23, 2023 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

Erie Canal BicentennialThe Champlain Canal turns 200 this year and the Erie Canal will celebrate its 200th anniversary in 2025.

The Champlain Canal between the Hudson River and Lake Champlain at Whitehall was the first to open. Worked started on the Champlain Canal in October, 1816. The first boats operated in November, 1819, and was fully completed in 1823, two years before the Erie Canal was finished. [Read more…] about New York State Canals Bicentennial: Some History & Plans For Celebrations

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History, Mohawk Valley, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: Albany, Albany County, Buffalo, Cayuga-Seneca Canal, Champlain Canal, Erie Canal, Erie Canalway Heritage Corridor, Hudson River, Lake Champlain, Lake Erie, Maritime History, Mohawk River, NYS Canal Corporation, Oneida County, Oswego Canal, Rensselaer County, Rochester, Rome, Saratoga County, Transportation History, Troy, Utica, Washington County, Waterford, Whitehall

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