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The Canal System is comprised of The Erie, Champlain, Oswego and the Cayuga and Seneca canals. The Erie canal (or main line), extends from Troy on the Hudson River to Tonawanda and Buffalo, on the Niagara River. On the eastern end of the state, the Champlain canal runs 63 miles from Troy, to Whitehall on the southern end of Lake Champlain. The Oswego canal at 24 miles long, connects the Erie near Syracuse with Lake Ontario. The Cayuga & Seneca canal is 27 miles long and connects the Erie, west of Syracuse with Cayuga and Seneca Lakes.

When a canal across New York State was first proposed by Jesse Hawley, a miller in the town of Geneva, President Thomas Jefferson thought it was "little short of madness". Dewitt Clinton then mayor of New York City supported the idea. Clinton's opponents called the proposal "Clinton's Folly". In 1817, Clinton became governor of New York State, funds for a canal from the Hudson River to the Great Lakes were quickly approved. On July 4, 1817 unskilled workers broke ground in Rome and started west. This spot was chosen because no locks or aqueducts that would slow progress were needed for approximately 80 miles. This helped quiet Clinton's detractors. The Erie Canal ("Clinton's Big Ditch") opened on October 26, 1825, and was hailed as the greatest engineering marvel in the world. 363 miles long, forty feet wide, four feet deep, 18 aqueducts and 83 locks, the canal shortened travel time form the east coast to the gateway to the west (the Great Lakes) by half and reduced shipping costs by 90%. The Erie opened the only trade route west of the Appalachians, prompted the first great westward migration of American settlers, turned Rochester into the nation's first boom town and made New York City the busiest port in the United States.

The Erie Canal was enlarged three times, 1862, 1895 and 1918. The canal today is 363 miles long, has 57 locks and the total rise from the Hudson River to Lake Erie is 568 feet.

Shortly after the opening of the Erie canal, branches to the canal were built to connect other important water routes. This ensured towns along previously used waterways were not abandoned. Today, the New York State Canal System extends over 524 miles and connects with hundreds of lakes and rivers.

History Time Line of the Erie Canal

The Durham Project–a research and education initiative in transportation geography that locates and interprets the physical remains of New York’s earliest canals and navigation improvements.

A tour around Rochester on the Erie Canal from 1850 to the present.

New York's oldest canal

First real canal built in New York State–The Little Falls Canal

First tug on The Barge Canal

History of SENECA FALLS

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Erie Canal

For history of towns located along the canal system see the TOWNS section.

For museums located along the canal system see the TRAVEL/LODGING section.