Lois McClure

Canal Boat Replica Lois McClure Moved to Port Byron

February 3, 2026 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The Canal Society of New York State completed a multi‑year effort to move the full‑scale replica 1860s‑era canal boat Lois McClure to a land berth at Erie Canal Heritage Park in Port Byron in Cayuga County, NY, on December 23, 2025.

Launched in 2004 by the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, the Lois McClure spent nearly twenty years traveling the NYS Canal System as an educational “time machine” helping people better understand the state’s maritime history and culture. [Read more…] about Canal Boat Replica Lois McClure Moved to Port Byron

New York’s Historic Vessels Highlight Preservation Failures

October 31, 2024 by Editorial Staff 7 Comments

One of America’s most historic ships, which spent most of its career traveling between New York City and Southampton, England, will serve as a kind of metaphor for our times when it’s hauled to Florida, loaded with explosives and purposely sunk.

It’s just one of several historic vessels with ties to New York State that have recently been abandoned for lack of funding. [Read more…] about New York’s Historic Vessels Highlight Preservation Failures

The Dramatic Shipwreck of the General Butler at the Burlington Breakwater

August 3, 2024 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Wrecked during a brutal winter gale that came howling across Lake Champlain, the story of one of Burlington, Vermont‘s most famous shipwrecks, General Butler, is an incredible tale of survival and rescue. Everyone survived thanks to quick thinking and two first responders. [Read more…] about The Dramatic Shipwreck of the General Butler at the Burlington Breakwater

Replica Sailing Canal Schooner Lois McClure Donated to Canal Society of New York

September 26, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The Lake Champlain Maritime Museum in Vergennes, Vermont, is donating its replica 1862-class sailing canal schooner Lois McClure to the Canal Society of New York, a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of the state’s historic canals. [Read more…] about Replica Sailing Canal Schooner Lois McClure Donated to Canal Society of New York

Replica Canal Schooner Lois McClure Being Retired, Dismantled

March 7, 2022 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

In October 2023, after 20 years of service, the replica sailing canal schooner Lois McClure will be retired, the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum announced today. The original Lois McClure was built in 1862. [Read more…] about Replica Canal Schooner Lois McClure Being Retired, Dismantled

Schooner Lois McClure Celebrating Champlain Salmon

July 12, 2019 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The canal schooner Lois McClure, an 88′ full-scale replica based on shipwrecks of the mid-19th century discovered in Lake Champlain, takes to the water, starting this weekend.

In 2019, the Lois will celebrate the International Year of the Salmon, sharing the history, ecology, and conservation story of Atlantic salmon in the Champlain watershed. [Read more…] about Schooner Lois McClure Celebrating Champlain Salmon

Champlain Schooner Lois McClure In Shipyard

September 2, 2015 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The Lake Champlain Maritime Museum’s schooner Lois McClure, in anticipation of her twelfth year of operation, has been taken to the New York State Canal Corporation shipyard at Waterford, NY for a haul-out and hull maintenance. There, a team of shipwrights working with David Short of North Atlantic Shipbuilding and Repair, of West Montville, ME are expected to replace worn, damaged or rotted planking and timbers and recaulk seams. [Read more…] about Champlain Schooner Lois McClure In Shipyard

Canalway Closures: Flooding Hits Erie Canal Communities

July 2, 2013 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Just as the eastern section of the Erie Canal was set to reopen from previously flooding closures, heavy rain fell onto already saturated ground late Thursday night and into Friday, causing creeks to rage out of their banks throughout the Mohawk Valley.

The torrent flooded several canal communities from Little Falls to Fort Plain, leaving a path of destruction, closing an Eastern portion of the Canal and some sections of the Erie Canalway Trail, and halted the replica canal boat Lois McClure. [Read more…] about Canalway Closures: Flooding Hits Erie Canal Communities

Boating Museum Donates Important Canal Marker

August 28, 2010 by Editorial Staff 4 Comments

The Finger Lakes Boating Museum commemorated the important role of the Cayuga-Seneca Canal in the development of Geneva by donating an historical marker for the city’s waterfront. City and boating museum officials dedicated the marker in a ceremony at 11 a.m. Saturday on the lakefront near the Geneva Area Chamber of Commerce building. Bill Oben, President of the Boating Museum, made the presentation to Mayor Stu Einstein. [Read more…] about Boating Museum Donates Important Canal Marker

Historic Vessels Arrive in Plattsburgh For Events

August 11, 2009 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

The historic canal motorship Day Peckinpaugh arrived in Plattsburgh today as it travels the Champlain and Hudson Corridor on its 500-mile Quadricentennial Legacy Voyage. The 259-foot canal boat, built in 1921, will be joined by the replica 1862 canal schooner Lois McClure and 1901 Tug Urger at the Wilcox Dock in Plattsburgh on August 11-12 and at the Burlington waterfront on August 14-16. The public is invited to step on board free of charge (see tour schedule below for hours). [Read more…] about Historic Vessels Arrive in Plattsburgh For Events

Lois McClure

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