Best Places on the Erie Canal:

Many people make the mistake of thinking about the Erie Canal in the past. It is very much alive, thank you, and experiencing a kind of renaissance. It will probably never be the commercial highway of the state again, but it is becoming very important to recreational boaters, bicyclists, and hikers.

The Erie is actually three different canals. The first, "Clinton's Ditch," was completed in 1825. It was so successful, that it needed enlarging. So the canal was rebuilt, with the second edition completed in the Civil War. At the end of the 19th century, the modern "Barge Canal" was built, using rivers and lakes for much of its course. This means that some old canal towns are no longer by the water, but their character still remains (see insert). Whether on the old or new Erie Canal, there are some great places to go to learn about the Canal's long and proud history.


1. Waterford "Flight of Five" Locks: At the entrance to the modern Erie Canal, where the Erie Canal meets the Hudson River, are a series of five locks that takes the canal around the Cohoes Falls. There is also a visitor center with information about the canal and a small gift store. If you go across the river to Troy, make sure you visit the Riverspark Center, with some great displays about the waterways of the Capital District and the industries they promoted.

2. Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site: Upstream from Albany, near Amsterdam, is the small village of Fort Hunter. At this location, the Old Erie had to cross Schoharie Creek. Originally, they dammed the creek, and the crossing was made behind the dam. But this proved unreliable, so they built an aqueduct to carry the canal boats over the creek. When the modern canal was constructed, the Mohawk River nearby was channeled, and the aqueduct was no longer needed. It fell into disrepair, and only half of it remains today. But it is still a testament to the wonderful architecture of the Erie Canal. Make sure you visit the interpretive center, and other sites of interest in the park.

3. Moss Island (Little Falls): In a way this is where the Erie Canal began. A small canal was built here in the late-1700s to go around the falls on the Mohawk River. When Clinton's Ditch was constructed, it was incorporated into the larger waterway. Today, there are two very large lift locks with a small island between the canal and the river. Take time to explore Moss Island. There are some very weird rock formations that resulted from a massive flood through here at the close of the Ice Age.
4. Erie Canal Village: Just west of Rome is a very nice museum village located where the first digging of the Erie Canal took place. Here you can ride a packet boat pulled by a team of horses on an old section of the canal. There is also a 19th century village with a variety of homes and shops. They show a very nice movie about the canal during the orientation.

5. Chittenango Canal Boat Museum: Just north of the village of Chittenango in Madison County (home to Frank Baum, author of the Wizard of Oz) is a small museum on the site where canal boats were constructed and repaired during the golden years of the Canal. The docks are still there, along with a general store overlooking the Old Erie. They do a very good program for elementary students.

6. Erie Canal Museum: This excellent museum is located in downtown Syracuse where the Erie and Oswego Canals once intersected. It is located in the historic Weighlock Building, where canal boats were weighed for tolls. Today it serves as an excellent resource about the Erie Canal in Central New York. Make sure you see the multimedia presentation and that you walk around the grounds outside.

7. Montezuma Wildlife Refuge: This national park is not directly associated with the Erie Canal, although the Cayuga-Seneca Canal passes by it. This huge marsh gives you an idea of how difficult it was to dig a canal through a wetland. Many Irish workers died here from "swamp fever" before the construction was completed.
8. Genesee Aqueduct: Many people do not realize that they are on an old canal aqueduct when driving on the Broad Street Bridge. The old canal waterway is on the lower level, which you can see next to the Blue Cross Arena. The durable stone structure is over 800 feet long. There is talk in Rochester about rewatering it, making it a centerpiece for downtown. If you want to see a working model of a canal lock, go to the Rochester Museum and Science Center just east of downtown.

9. Lockport Discovery Center: No place represents the Erie Canal better that the famous locks in this Niagara County city. Just recently, a discovery center was opened in Lockport (operating only during the boating season), that gives you a personal view of what it was like to go through a lock. Of course, while you are there, make sure you walk along the modern locks, or better yet, take a boat tour through them for the full geographic experience (see article about Lockport at the left).

10. Erie Inner Harbor: This spot marks the western terminus of the Grand Canal in Downtown Buffalo. Today the canal officially ends in North Tonawanda, but it is still possible to boat up the Niagara River through the lock at Black Rock to the Buffalo waterfront. Here you are dwarfed by the huge granaries built when lake boats brought wheat and corn to the Queen City to transported eastward. On a site now occupied by Commercial Street (near the Naval Park) there were several buildings that housed African-Americans before the Civil War who were probably involved in the Underground Railroad, since they were mariners.
 

A local school group entertained the participants at the NYS
Canal Conference with a rousing medley of old Erie Canal songs.