Erie Canalway

Erie Canalway NHC https://www.nps.gov/erie/index.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erie_Canalway_National_Heritage_Corridor The Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor includes 34 National historic landmarks and 234 local municipalities. Among the designated sites is the Morgan-Manning House, which houses the Western Monroe Historical Society and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991, the Flight of Five Locks in Lockport, and the Mabee Farm Historic Site, which marks an early frontier and gateway to the west. Explore the Erie Canal and discover America's most famous and influential man-made waterway. Nowhere else will you find the distinctive locks and low bridges of the New York State Canal System or discover towns and cities whose watery front doors still give way to lively Main Streets. More than 500 miles of historic waterways and trails are here to explore. Begin your journey in the east, west, or right in the middle of New York State, you can't go wrong-- the canal's treasures are strong together along the waterway like gems on a necklace. The canal is accessible by CAR, RAIL, BIKE, and BOAT and from major airports: Albany International (ALB), Syracuse Hancock International (SYR), Greater Rochester International (ROC), and Buffalo-Niagara International (BUF). Oswego Paddlefest Dozens of kayakers paddle along the Erie Canal. Kayakers at the Oswego Paddlefest Festivals and Recreational Events Kick Off Bicentennial Celebrations and Opening of the New York State Canal System WATERFORD, NY- The Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor and the New York State Canal Corporation have teamed up to sponsor 27 festivals and events in 2017 to showcase the Canalway Corridor’s nationally significant heritage and the tremendous recreational appeal of the waterway and Canalway Trail today. Events include cycling and paddling tours, canal festivals, and concerts on the waterfront. Men and women sit amongst the trees and grass while watching a night concert. Erie Canalway NHC Hosts World Canals Conference From September 24 to 28, delegates from around the world convened in Syracuse, NY to discuss the many facets of canal development, and to learn firsthand about the engineering and economic marvel that is the Erie Canal. Erie Canalway NHC hosted the 2017 World Canals Conference Erie Canal Opens for a Season of Outdoor Fun The New York State Canals opened on May 17 and already the 2019 season is off to a roaring start. With the Canalway Challenge and a new set of paddler-friendly navigational tools, there’s something fun for all ages and abilities in the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor. Aerial shot of several dozen brightly colored kayaks on a canal From Indifferent to Cosmopolitan: Transportation and Social Change in Seneca Falls To some, it may seem surprising that Seneca Falls, a relatively small community in western New York, served as the site of the First Women’s Rights Convention and the start of the formal women’s rights movement. People in the nineteenth century, however, would have recognized Seneca Falls and western New York as a hotbed of reform activity and a plausible location for the start of a major social movement, thanks to advancements in transportation that spurred community growth B&W etching of mill and waterfalls

Oh io River Other canals—in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia—that sought to breach the mountain barrier and capture Erie Canal trade lacked such topographical advantage. Most were not completed, and none proved a financial success. Opening America The Erie Canal was North America’s most successful and influential public works project. Built between 1817 and 1825, this 363-mile-long canal was the first all-water link between the Atlantic seaboard and Great Lakes. New York Govenor DeWitt Clinton relentlessly promoted its construction. Skeptics just as forcefully derided it as “Clinton’s Ditch,” but Clinton would be vindicated. The canal advanced Euro-American settlement of the Northeast, Midwest, and Great Plains, sometimes at the expense of Native populations. It fostered national unity and economic power. It made New York the Empire State and New York City the nation’s prime seaport and seat of world trade. Faster, Cheaper Canal packet boat passengers traveled in relative comfort from Albany to Buffalo in five days—not two weeks in crowded stagecoaches. Freight rates fell 90 percent compared to shipping by ox-drawn wagon. Freight boats carried Midwestern produce from Buffalo to Albany. Most continued on to New York City’s seaport, towed down the Hudson in fleets behind steam tugboats. Midwestern farmers, loggers, miners, and manufacturers found new access to lucrative far-flung markets. Continuing the Connection Success quickly spurred expansion and enlargement of New York’s canal system to handle more and bigger boats. It triggered canal mania—a rash of canal building across the eastern United States and Canada in the mid-1800s, before railroads became the principal means of hauling freight and passengers. From 1905 to 1918 New York State built the Barge Canal system, a robust grandchild of the Erie, Champlain, Oswego, and Cayuga-Seneca canals. A Flow of People and Ideas The Erie Canal and a system of connecting waterways fulfilled DeWitt Clinton’s prophecy that New York would be America’s preeminent state, populated from border to border and generating wealth for itself and the nation. Soon New York City was the nation’s busiest port, most populous city, and foremost seat of commerce and finance. Immigrants knew they could find work there or in many new cities sprouting along the canal. As it opened the American interior to settlement, the canal brought a flow of people and new ideas. Social reform movements like abolitionism and women’s suffrage, utopian communities, and various religious movements thrived in the canal corridor. The Erie Canal carried more westbound immigrants than any other trans-Appalachian canal. These newcomers infused the nation with different languages, customs, practices, and religions. Although commercial traffic declined after the St. Lawrence Seaway opened in 1959, New York’s Canal System is still in service. New York canals, both active and retired, are now vibrant places to enjoy both water- and landbased recreation and to learn about and celebrate our nation’s heritage. Whitehall Black River Canal L A K E O N TA R I O Path of Least Resistance Canal engineers chose the path of least resistance across New York State’s complex topography, but the route was not always easy. The map at right shows mid 19th-century New York at the peak of its canal era when a system of artificial waterways reached throughout the state. Several canals were abandoned in the face of competition from railroads, but the Erie, Champlain, Oswego, and CayugaSeneca canals are still operating today. A R A A G N I Niagara Falls Lockport E S C A R P M E N T Oswego Canal Rochester Erie Buffalo LAKE ERIE Syracuse CayugaSeneca Canal Genesee Valley Canal F I N G E R Crooked Lake Canal Keyuka Lake Seneca Lake Utica C an a l CANADA A D I R O N D A C K M O U N TA I N S Rome Oneida Lake Lyons Champlain Canal Little Falls Mohawk L A K E S Cayuga Lake er Cohoes Falls NEW YORK Albany Chenango Canal C AT S K I L L Chemung Canal Profile in Locks and Levels Canal Topography Profile The heavy brown line atop the historic map at right shows the changes in elevation overcome by the Erie Canal’s locks between Albany and Buffalo. Erie Canal Profile Erie Canal Sixteen locks were required to climb out of the deep Hudson Valley past Cohoes Falls near the mouth of the Mohawk River. The canal climbed steadily along the Mohawk from Schenectady to another steep rise at Little Falls. From there the long level—a 58-mile stretch of flat water requiring no lock—carried boats over a drainage divide at Rome and on to relatively flat terrain south of Oneida Lake and north of the Finger Lakes. Erie Canalway Riv Schenectady M O U N TA I N S Canals conquer space with successions of lift locks and levels. Lake Erie is 570 feet higher than the Hudson River at Albany. On the original Erie Canal, 83 stone-walled locks lifted and lowered boats in an irregular staircase. The final barrier

Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Erie Canalway Map & Guide Fairport Launch Your Canal Experience C ome by boat, bike, car, or on foot—you’ll discover a winning combination of recreational opportunities, unique regional food and beverages, small town charm, big city culture, and lots to see and do along the canals that built New York State and opened the Nation. 2023 When you explore the Erie, Champlain, Cayuga-Seneca, or Oswego Canals, you’re following in the footsteps of generations of families, canal boat workers, and world travelers who have plied these waters and walked its towpath since the Erie Canal opened in 1825. Some of our more famed visitors include Charles Dickens, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Mark Twain. If you travel the entire length of the Erie Canal, you’ll join a growing number of today’s “End-to-Enders” who are enjoying a big adventure and sense of accomplishment as they walk, cycle, row, kayak, or cruise nearly 400 miles from Buffalo to Albany. But you don’t have to travel the entire distance to have something to write home about. You can ride the Canalway Trail for an hour or two, visit one of the Canalway Corridor’s premier canal museums and historic sites, discover the charm of canal villages, or step onboard a tour boat to get a sense of how much the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor has to offer. Wish You Were Here… Before Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook, people sent short messages to friends and relatives using postcards. As the social media of its day, postcards were cheap, fast, and fun to receive. Share your visit with friends and relatives and tag us at @ErieCanalway. CONTENTS Champlain Canalway 200th . . . 6 Get on the Water . . . . . . . . . . 2-3 Take the Kids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Canal Boating Basics . . . . . . . . . 3 It’s a Hard Knock Life . . . . . . . . . 7 Hit the Trail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Canalway Challenge . . . . . . . . . . 8 Erie Canalway Map. . . . . . . . . 4-5 On the Canals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Fort Ann, Frank Forte Get on the Water T he New York State Canal System—which includes the Erie, Champlain, Cayuga-Seneca, and Oswego canals—is the centerpiece of the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor. Often billed as the fastest way to slow down, boating here is like nowhere else. You’ll navigate century old locks; pass stunning stone aqueducts used to carry boats over rivers and streams in the 1800s; traverse the waterway with tugboats and cruisers; and experience narrow canal channels and wider rivers and lakes. Beautiful scenery, lively canal waterfronts, and distinctive New York flavor await around every bend. E xplore New York State’s extraordinary experiences, people, and places along the 750-mile Empire State Trail. The trail includes the east-west Erie Canalway Trail from Albany to Buffalo and north-south trails from New York City through the Hudson River Valley to Lake Champlain. Whether you like to cycle, hike, run, or roll, the trail welcomes people of all abilities, from all walks of life, and all backgrounds. Niskayuna Brewerton Canal Boating Basics Hit the Trail • The NYS Canal System is open from mid-May to mid-October. • Boating is free and no permit is needed to go through a lock. • Lock tenders are on hand to assist you and make your experience going through locks easy and enjoyable. • It typically takes 15 to 20 minutes to go through a lock. • Power boats and paddlers share the canal, so be mindful of speed limits and wakes. • There are more than 80 public boat ramps where you can launch a boat. • The canal is open daily from 7am to 5pm, but many locks and lift bridges are open on demand until 10pm. • Make boating safety a priority. Consult the New York State Boater’s Guide for registration, operation, and safety information: https://parks.ny.gov/boating/. Find boating resources and Notices to Mariners at www.canals.ny.gov. Additional information on boating, paddling, rentals, and tours is available at www.eriecanalway.org. North Tonawanda Seneca Falls Pittsford Say Hello to a Looper Boat Tours Canal Cruising Vacation Rentals Paddling Step on board a canal tour boat for an hourly cruise, dinner cruise or themed tour. You’ll find boat tours within an hour’s drive of Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Albany, and Saratoga. Most boat tours will give you the unique canal experience of going through a lock. Specialty cruises, sailing adventures, and wine tours are offered on lake and river sections of the waterway. Steer your way to fun on the canal for a day trip, weekend getaway, or full vacation. The Erie, Champlain, Oswego and CayugaSeneca canals connect the Hudson River with Lake Champlain, Lake Ontario, Cayuga Lake, Seneca Lake and Lake Erie. You’ll find amenities and overnight accommodations at numerous marinas and publ