Newsnotes of the

In this issue&

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Grand Canal ExpERIEnce 2007 Don't miss the best teacher institute ever. It's coming July 8-15!

Geofest 2006: Last fall's Geofest in NYC was a great success. Read all about it.

In Memoriam: Mary Atkins Editor's Best for 2007 - What we recommend for reading, viewing, and visiting this winter.

Re-Discovering the Grand Erie Canal

Opportunites for Teachers in 2007 Looking for great learning experiences in geography this summer? We got them here!

The Butternut Creek Aqueduct, just a few miles east of Syracuse.

The old Whipple Bridge crosses a span of the Enlarged Erie Canal in Saratoga County.

The "Yankee Lock" and an old canal store in Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site, Fort Hunter, NY.

A rare sight along the canal& a lock gate hinge from the Enlarged Erie, near Lyons, NY.

The wooden gate of the Gere Lock now stand protected in the Canal Park in Camillus, NY.

A large mural in the Erie Canal Village (Rome) shows the dimensions of the original canal or Clinton's Ditch (red line).

The remains of Old Lock 36, with modern Lock 17 in the distance (Little Falls)

One of the remaining arches of the Rexford Aqueduct, which carried the Enlarged Erie Canal over the Mohawk River. A modern road bridge is behind it.

One of the ruins of a dozen locks still visible in the Cohoes area that carried the canal around the falls near the end of the Mohawk River.

Cohoes Falls (shown after the Flood of 2006) was the power source for the Spindle City's textile industry. It was an obstacle that forced the canal engineers to construct over a dozen locks to circumvent it.

Suggestion! One great way to enjoy the serenity of the old canal is to walk or bike on newly constructed trails. In a few years you will be able to completely cross the state!

A horse-drawn packet boat on a stretch of the Enlarged Canal at Erie Canal Village near Rome, NY

My Journey to Find the Old Erie Canal

by Timothy McDonnell
Editor of the NYGA Newsnotes

    First, we must all understand that there are three Erie Canals. There was the historic "Clinton's Ditch," built between 1817 and 1825. Only a few traces remain of this artificial waterway. Then the state built the Enlarged Erie Canal in the mid-1800s. As the name suggests, it was both wider and deeper than the original. Its route is almost the same as Clinton's Ditch, and many structures (aqueducts, culverts, bridges, etc.) survive to this day. There are still watered sections, especially in Central New York. Finally, we have the modern - or the "Barge" - canal. It is very much in operation, thank you. Since it is approaching its centennial, the Barge Canal is an historic treasure in its own right, with motorized lock gates and flood control dams that still function well. No one can really appreciate New York geography, unless he/she has traveled on the Modern Erie.

    But it is the historic abandoned canals that interest me most. Although they no longer carry traffic, except for occasional canoes and kayaks, they preserve the essence of the old waterways. They testify to the amazing engineering skills of their designers, many of whom learned their craft on the fly. (Their artistry is preserved in several canal museums, such as the Chittenango Landing Boat Museum, pictured at the right). I am especially heartened that local communities are rediscovering this heritage, and they are preserving these structures for future generations.

    I begin the journey at the waterfront of Buffalo, near the HSBC Arena. Here a visitor center is being built at the western terminus of the canal near the shore of Lake Erie. The commercial slips have recently been unearthed, and one of the them now is watered again for the first time in nearly a century. This treasure will be open for business late in 2007. The old canals followed the Niagara River covered today by I-190. Then at Tonawanda, the canal continued eastward along the creek of the same name to Pendleton, and entered the Deep Cut. This is one of the marvels of the Erie Canal, and it is still used today in the modern version. Hundreds of Irish workers dug through very hard dolomite rock, aided only by blasting powder. To appreciate this section one must experience it from water level.

    This takes you into Lockport, home to the famous "Flight of Five." Here the canal overcame the Niagara Escarpment, the same cliff that forms the Falls. It was originally designed with double-locks, but only one set survives today (pictured at the left). It is used for the spillover of the Barge Canal. Although I have visited "The Locks" many times, I never tire walking along side them. In a few years you'll be able to do more. There is a project underway to rebuild them for small-craft use! In the meantime, make sure you take the cruise through the modern locks and visit the Erie Canal Discovery Center, just a few blocks away.
    The canal, now around 70 feet lower, continues across the glacial landscape toward Rochester. There were no (and still aren't any) locks in this section. There aren't many significant structures from the old canals here, but it is the home of cobblestone houses, especially in Childs, just north of the canal town of Albion. In the 19th century, the Erie went through Rochester, but it is now covered up by Lyell Ave., Broad St., and two expressways. Today, the Barge Canal goes around the city on its south side. But there are reminders of the old waterways. Most celebrated is the Genesee Aqueduct (a.k.a. the Broad Street Bridge) over the Genesee River. Its eight Roman arches are still very impressive. There are a couple of accessible locks from the Enlarged Erie in Monroe County. One is next to I-490 in the city itself, and the other is near Pittsford Plaza, behind a Wegmans supermarket.

    Some of the nicest reminders of the old canals are in Wayne County - Macedon, Palmyra, Newark, Lyons. Along NY Route 31 are many old locks and aqueducts, as well as watered sections from the Enlarged Erie. In the Queen of Canal Towns, Palmyra, there is a beautiful aqueduct over Mud Creek, a restored "turning" bridge (which carried mules from one side to the other), a nice nature trail along the old canal, and the Phelps Store (photo on the right), which is a small museum preserving a business that dates back to the canal's golden age.
    When you enter the middle section of the canalway, the modern Barge Canal is mostly in the Seneca River, the Oneida River, and Oneida Lake. The old ditches went through villages that seem trapped in time: Port Byron, Weedsport, Jordan, Camillus. The canal might be gone, but its reminders are everywhere. The New York Canal Society is currently building a visitor center and museum at a lock in Port Byron, with access from the Thruway. Jordan has a beautiful park in the bed of the old canal, which includes an aqueduct over Skaneatelas Creek. Outside Camillus is one of the best canal parks in the state along a watered section the old Enlarged Erie. It includes the Sims General Store, a canal feeder, the wooden gate fromf the Gere Lock, and the Nine Mile Creek Aqueduct. There are plans to construct a trough for this aqueduct, which will once again carry the canal (and boats?) over the creek.
    Few places benefited more from the canal than Syracuse, the "Salt City." The canal bed through town is now paved over by Erie Blvd., but one of the best resources along the entire route, the Erie Canal Museum, still stands in the old Weighlock Building. It is located where the branch Oswego Canal joined the Erie Canal. Here boats were weighed to determine tolls. It is a must stop for anyone who wants to learn more about canal history.

    East of Syracuse, in Dewitt, the longest watered stretch of the old canal begins, in Old Erie Canal State Park. It stretches almost all the way to Rome. It passes through Fayetteville, Chittenango, Canastota, Durhamville, and New London. There are no locks in this section ("The Long Level"), but there are many aqueducts and culverts (photo on the left). No journey along the canal is complete without a visit to the Chittenango Landing Canal Museum. Here is a small complex of buildings that once were thriving businesses. There are dry docks were canal boats were constructed and repaired. Today craftsman are building a packet boat, using materials and techniques from the 19th century. Near Rome, where the canal began, is the Erie Canal Village, with both the Enlarged Erie and Clinton's Ditch in evidence. There is also a complex of buildings from the mid-1800s. Don't miss the packet boat ride!
    After leaving Rome, the old canals paralleled the Mohawk River along its south bank. (Today, for the most part, the canal is the river). For a trained eye, the relics of the past are still very much in evidence. First, you notice that there is no longer much open space. You are in a valley - the only near-sea level route that cuts through the Appalachian barrier. Secondly, you notice that this was a challenging section of the canal route for the both engineers and the laborers. Little Falls, in particular, was critical. Here the valley is very narrow, and there is a drop of over forty feet. The village is situated mostly on the north side of the river, and the ruins of the old canal are on the south side. A short aqueduct was built to connect the town with the Erie. You can still see some of its support stonework near Canal Place. The best place to view the canalway is on Moss Island, which is between the river and massive modern Lock 17. Nearby are the walls of Old Lock 36 of the Enlarged Erie Canal.

    Another major obstacle to the canal's construction occurred in Fort Hunter, where Schoharie Creek joins the Mohawk River. For the original Clinton's Ditch, a dam was built across the creek, creating slack water for the canal boats. This was a problem during flood times, so a very impressive aqueduct was built for the Enlarged Erie. Ruins of both of these can be found in Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site (see photo at right) There is also a watered section of the old canal and the picturesque Yankee Lock (photo near the top of this page).
    The old canals continued down the south bank of the Mohawk Valley through Rotterdam Junction (where a watered section is still visible) and into the old Dutch city of Schenectady (where the route is paved over by Erie Street). Here you pick up the Mohawk Towpath Byway, one of the most scenic road trips in the state. It leads you to Aqueduct, where, logically, the remains of some of the arches of the Rexford Aqueduct can be found. Here the canal switched to the north side, where the digging was easier.
This byway passes through the quaint hamlet of Vishers Ferry, and then you can view another watered section of the Enlarged Erie Canal, squeezed between the road and the Mohawk River. Watch for the Whipple Bridge, another historic structure that still spans the old waterway (see photo at the top left of the page).

    The byway soon takes you to Crescent, where the canal once crossed the river again on an aqueduct that is no longer standing. Then came the section of the canal with the largest vertical drop. Today, the modern canal goes through the Waterford Flight of Five on the north side of the river. But in the 19th century the canals went through Cohoes, past the textile factories that gave the town its nickname, the Spindle City. Here you can view one of most daunting obstacles to the canal, Cohoes Falls. The original Clinton's Ditch was built close to the river, and its water was later used by the massive Harmony Mills (now a gentrified apartment complex). You can see traces of the Ditch at the corner of Vliet and Mohawk Streets. The Enlarged Erie was built higher up the hill. You can find many of the old locks. A recommended place to stop to get your bearings is the Cohoes Music Hall and Visitor Center. The old music hall on the second floor is still open for musical performances. The visitor center has displays about the canal (diarama shown above) and the city's industrial past. Here you can get a map that locates all the locks still accessible. This is a great place to appreciate the architectural beauty of the old Erie. Near the end of Main Street, is the location of the Old Juncta, where the canal met the Champlain Canal. Much of that waterway is still visible, especially on the other side of the river in Waterford. Visit the Waterford Historical Society for an introduction.

Nearby (in Watervliet) was the first place where the boats could enter the Hudson River, although the waterway continued down to Albany, where the official Eastern Terminus was located.

Are you interested in rediscovering the Erie Canal?  Then join us this summer on the Grand Canal ExpERIEnce 2007! We encourage all teachers to apply.