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Erie Canal

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

Hudson River Towing: Austin’s Albany & Canal Line

March 16, 2023 by Peter Hess Leave a Comment

Canal Boats on the North River, New York in Gleason's Pictorial Drawing-Room Companion, December 25, 1852Jeremiah J. Austin, Jr. was born in 1819, just 12 years after the first commercial steamboat trip on the Hudson River and two years after construction of the Erie Canal began at Rome, New York. His father Jeremiah J. Austin Sr. was a prominent Albany businessman involved in Hudson River commerce.

After the Erie Canal opened, freight could be transported all the way across the Great Lakes to the entrance to the canal at Buffalo and then along the canal to Albany where it was shipped down the Hudson River to New York Harbor. From there freight could be fairly easily transported to any port on the East Coast, Europe or the Caribbean. [Read more…] about Hudson River Towing: Austin’s Albany & Canal Line

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History, New York City Tagged With: Albany, Albany County, Albany Rural Cemetery, East River, Erie Canal, Hudson River, Legal History, Maritime History, New York City, New York Harbor, Steamboating, Supreme Court, Transportation History

A Schoharie Crossing Aqueduct Project Update

February 23, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

work at Schoharie Crossing aqueductWorkers are shoring up the remains of the aqueduct at Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site in Fort Hunter, Montgomery County, NY.

With the water in the Erie Canal drawn down for the winter, the project is well into the construction phase. Workers are creating a large concrete wedge at the end of the piers and arches to act as a brace, so the arches won’t shift. Protections are being added around the base to prevent problems as the water rises in the spring. [Read more…] about A Schoharie Crossing Aqueduct Project Update

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Architecture, Erie Canal, Fort Hunter, Historic Preservation, Montgomery County, Schoharie Creek, Schoharie Crossing SHS

Albany Waterway Canal Project Could Return Historic Hudson River Access

February 16, 2023 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

a painting by Len Tantillo envisions the marina in front of the D&H Building in the eveningA transformative project with hopes to revitalize downtown Albany’s access to the Hudson River is being proposed. Unlike past projects and proposals, it would bring the river to Albany instead of bringing Albany to the river.

The plan includes a re-imagining of what was once the Albany Basin, once a bustling harbor at the foot of State Street. The Albany Basin was bounded by Quay Street on the west side and an earthen-filled pier, that extended over 4,000 feet in length, on the east. Thousands of vessels passed through the basin’s entry points during the city’s golden age.

The proposal calls for the creation of a short canal that would include an entrance from the Hudson River through the original Lock 1 of the historic Erie Canal located near the Central Warehouse and another just north of the USS Slater. It would include a wider basin in front of the Delaware & Hudson Building, which now serves as the SUNY Administration building. [Read more…] about Albany Waterway Canal Project Could Return Historic Hudson River Access

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Albany, Albany County, Albany Waterway Canal, boating, Corning Preserve, Erie Canal, Hudson River, I-787, Mohawk-Hudson Bike Trail, Transportation, Transportation History

Seeps Keep Erie Canal, Glens Falls Feeder Canal Levels Lower

February 14, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Erie Canal Lock E12The New York State Canal Corporation has announced that water levels this navigation season in the Erie Canal between Lock E-30 (Macedon) and Locks E-34/35 (Lockport) will be consistent with levels maintained throughout 2022 – approximately one foot lower than historic levels. [Read more…] about Seeps Keep Erie Canal, Glens Falls Feeder Canal Levels Lower

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, Mohawk Valley, Recreation, Western NY Tagged With: boating, Engineering History, Erie Canal, Genesee County, Glens Falls, Glens Falls Feeder Canal, Lockport, Lockport Locks District, Macedon, Monroe County, Niagara County, NYS Canal Corporation, Orleans County, paddling, Pittsford, Rochester, Transportation, Warren County, Wayne County

Erie Canalway Virtual 1st Mile Challenge Launched

February 5, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Virtual 1st Mile Challenge for people with mobility challengesIn partnership with the Fitness Inclusion Network at SUNY Upstate’s Golisano Center for Special Needs, the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor has announced the launch of a Virtual 1st Mile Challenge for people with mobility challenges. [Read more…] about Erie Canalway Virtual 1st Mile Challenge Launched

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, Mohawk Valley, Recreation, Western NY Tagged With: bicycling, Erie Canal, Erie Canalway Heritage Corridor, SUNY Upstate, Universal Access

Erie Canal Aqueduct Stabilization Project Begins

January 18, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Schoharie Crossing on Erie Canal showing 9 arches of aqueduct at Fort HunterThe New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (State Parks) has announced that construction has begun on a $1.7 million project to stabilize the historic Erie Canal Aqueduct at Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site in Montgomery County.

The aqueduct, which was built in 1841, is within the Erie Canal National Heritage Corridor. [Read more…] about Erie Canal Aqueduct Stabilization Project Begins

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Architecture, Erie Canal, Fort Hunter, Historic Preservation, Montgomery County, OPRHP, Schoharie Creek, Schoharie Crossing, State Parks

John Isaac DeGraff: Schenectady’s First Elected Mayor

December 11, 2022 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

John Isaac DeGraffJohn Isaac De Graff (October 2, 1783 – July 26, 1848) was a U.S. Representative from New York. Born in Schenectady, De Graff attended the common schools and Union College and engaged in mercantile pursuits and the practice of law in that city.

He served in the War of 1812 and was elected as a Jacksonian Democrat to the Twentieth Congress (March 4, 1827 – March 3, 1829). [Read more…] about John Isaac DeGraff: Schenectady’s First Elected Mayor

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Albany County, Erie Canal, Mohawk & Hudson Railroad, Political History, politics, Saratoga & Schenectady Railroad, Schenectady, Schenectady County, Schenectady County Historical Society, Transportation History, War of 1812

Albany’s Squire Whipple: Father of the Iron Truss Bridge

November 8, 2022 by Peter Hess 1 Comment

Squire WhippleSquire Whipple was born in Hartwick, Massachusetts on September 16th, 1804. His parents were James and Electa Whipple. Born and raised on a farm, he attended a small country school for three or four months a year. He moved to New York in 1817.

By the age of seventeen, he passed the required examination for common school teaching and taught part time to finance his education. In 1822-1828 he attended Hartwick College in Otsego County; Fairfield Academy in Herkimer County; and graduated from Union College, Schenectady in 1830. He spent the next few years working as a surveyor for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad and married Anna Case. [Read more…] about Albany’s Squire Whipple: Father of the Iron Truss Bridge

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History, Mohawk Valley Tagged With: Albany, Albany County, Albany Rural Cemetery, Engineering History, Erie Canal, Erie Railroad, Industrial History, Iron Industry, railroads, Transportation History, Union College

Erie Canalway Photo Contest Winners Announced

October 13, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Starry Morning (Lockport) by Jeff TracyThe Erie Canalway Heritage Corridor has announced the winners of the 17th Annual Erie Canalway Photo Contest.

Judges selected winning photos in four contest categories, along with 12 honorable mentions. Winners hail from across the Canalway Corridor. [Read more…] about Erie Canalway Photo Contest Winners Announced

Filed Under: Arts, Capital-Saratoga, Mohawk Valley, Western NY Tagged With: Erie Canal, Erie Canalway Heritage Corridor, Photography

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