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ERIE CANAL 2025


The Erie Canal is celebrating its 200th birthday 🎂 in 2025 - its Bicentennial!


  • WHEN IT WAS CONSTRUCTED: 1817 TO 1825
  • WHEN IT OPENED: October 26, 1825
  • ASCE NATIONAL HISTORIC CIVIL ENGINEERING LANDMARK: known as the world's most significant and influential canal system in North America
  • WHY IS IT IMPORTANT: 1) facilitate a dependable trade route to connect the country's midwest to the eastern seaboard, and 2) avoid dependence on Canadian water routes which at the time was still part of the British empire
  • MOST SIGNIFICANT ENGINEERING CHALLENGE: about 571 feet elevation change - can't just dig a path and hope. Need locks to control levels and provide for controlled transportation. 
  • HUGE SYSTEM: 57 locks, 16 lift bridges (but Fairport has the most interesting bridge... IYKYK)
  • FAVORITE RESTAURANT ALONG THE CANAL: Aladdin's Natural Eatery. Great Mediterranean food, but even a better location. Treat yourself and a loved one to a fabulous 👌 experience especially on those 70 degree sunny days at Schoen Place in Pittsford NY. 
  • BONUS: Bushnell's Basin gymnosophy past. Kind of a bottleneck on the canal led to this sinful pit stop.


I hope you enjoy this collection of resources on the Erie Canal so we can all proudly wish the Erie Canal a Happy 200th Birthday!

Bicentennial - October 26, 2025

CBS Sunday Morning: 200 Years, the Erie Canal

Two hundred years ago, the 363-mile canal was constructed 🏗 linking the Great Lakes 💦 to the Hudson River and New York City - and engineering and commercial triumph as revolutionary as the Internet. 


The Canal was dismissed at first. New York politician DeWitt Clinton spent 10 years fighting to sell the project. Presidents Jefferson and Madison refused to fund it. 


Once built in 1825, the Canal quickly changed the geography and commerce of our young nation - 50 years old at the time from 1776.

NBC News Learn: The Erie Canal

The Erie Canal is the technological wonder of its age. Shipping on the canal is three times 3️⃣ faster than moving goods on land.

A National Historic Landmark: The Erie Canal

The NYS Canal System has been dedicated a National Historic Landmark in honor of its extraordinary history and integrity. 

Erie Canal 101 - Mules and Locks!

Erie Canal 101 - for the kids!

 New York State's Erie Canal Explained - for kids. This video on the Erie Canal is made for kids 👪, but adults too can learn so much. I love ❤️ this video because it hits the main points - quick and easy to understand. 

The Mule and our Erie Canal

 Both horses and mules were used on the Erie, but mules became the preferred choice. Another great video about the significance of mules on the Erie Canal is this PBS clip: https://www.pbs.org/video/web-extra-when-mules-ruled-canal-jueu63/

Lock Technology - elevation change

The elevation change from Buffalo to Albany. Buffalo is 568 feet above sea level, and Albany is 4 feet above sea level. Something needed to be done. Enter - the lock system. This ingenuity helped make our Erie Canal a wonder of my world! 

Some Classics - Enjoy!

15 Years on the Erie Canal

 Fifteen Years (not 15 miles) on the Erie Canal by Thomas S. Allen


" I’ve got an old mule and her name is Sal, Fifteen years on the Erie Canal She’s a good old worker and a good old pal, Fifteen years on the Erie Canal We’ve hauled some barges in our day, Filled with lumber, coal and hay And ev’ry inch of the way I know, From Albany to Buffalo" 

Live from Dublin: Bruce Springsteen - Erie Canal

"The Erie Canal Song," also known as "Low Bridge, Everybody Down," was first published in 1905 by Thomas Allen. Reacting to the changeover from mule power to powered barges and tugboats, Allen captured the nostalgia of 80 years of mule 🫏power on the canal, as well as some of its dangers - including low bridges!


Enjoy this rendition by Bruce Springsteen 🇺🇲with the Sessions Band (we love the violins 🎻).

Erie Canal Timeline and Impact on NYC


https://www.canals.ny.gov/history/history.html is a great source of Erie Canal history. Below is a good timeline of the construction and impact of the canal as it intersects with American 🇺🇲 history.


July 4, 1776 - the Declaration of Independence was issued and adopted by the Continental Congress. Our 13 American colonies severed their political connections to Great Britain 🇬🇧 .


1775 to 1783 - American Revolutionary War. The insurrection carried out by 13 of Great Britain's North American colonies. 


September 17, 1787 - US Constitution signed at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 🔔 . It remains the world's longest surviving written charter of government. 


1795 - Merchant from downstate Daniel Penfield began purchasing land out west and in this area, Township 13 Range IV.


1803 to 1893 - America's Westward Expansion period. President Thomas Jefferson led Louisiana Purchase (doubling the size of the US). Missouri Compromise (1820). Mexican-American War. Bleeding Kansas.


March 30, 1810 - the NYS Legislature formally split the area to two towns Town of Boyle and the Town of Penfield. And so, Penfield can claim its fame as the first 🏆 of the seven east-side towns in the county to be established.


April 15, 1817 - New York State Legislature finally approved construction of the Erie Canal, which Jesse Hawley had written so compellingly about just a decade earlier.  The bill authorized $7 million for construction of the 363-mile long waterway, which was to be 40 feet wide and four feet deep.  Construction would begin on July 4th, in Rome, NY and would take eight 8️⃣ years.  Also in 1817, Clinton would leverage his success championing the Canal’s construction into the Governor’s office, his election culminating his meteoric political rise over the years. 


The completion of the Erie Canal spurred the first great westward movement of American settlers, gave access to the rich land and resources west of the Appalachians and made New York the preeminent commercial city in the United States. 


1825 - Governor Dewitt Clinton officially opened the Erie Canal as he sailed the packet boat Seneca Chief along the Canal from Buffalo to Albany.  After traveling from the mouth of the Erie to New York City, he emptied two casks of water from Lake Erie into the Atlantic Ocean, celebrating the first connection of waters from East to West in the ceremonial "Wedding 👰 of the Waters".


NEW YORK CITY - the nation's premier commerce 💰 center and busiest port. 


The canal's completion dramatically boosted New York City's growth, establishing it as the nation's premier commerce center and busiest port by mid-19th century. It positioned the city as the United States' primary gateway, fueling an economic boom and quadrupling its population to half a million by 1850, with significant immigrant contributions. The Erie Canal was instrumental in New York City's rise as a dominant economic force.


THANK YOU ERIE CANAL!

Three Books to Read: Erie Canal

Bond of Union: Building 🏗 the Erie Canal and the American Empire by Gerard Koeppel

This book presents the problems facing both early settlers and politicians in New York before the Erie Canal’s construction 🏗. A landmark new history of the making of the Erie Canal and the extraordinary consequences of its completion


(available in the Monroe County Library System)

Nonfiction,  454 pages

386.48 KOE

Wedding 👰 of the Waters 💦: The Erie Canal and the Making of a Great Nation by Peter Bernstein

This book presents the struggle to build a canal that many thought was “little short of madness.” New York Times Bestseller


(available at our Penfield Public Library)

Nonfiction, 448 pages

386.4809 

Heaven’s Ditch: God, Gold 🪙, and Murder on the Erie Canal by Jack Kelly

This book presents the canal as it became the scene of the most striking outburst of imagination in American history. The author illuminates the spiritual and political upheavals along this psychic highway from its opening in 1825 through 1844. Wage slave Sam Patch became America's first celebrity daredevil. William Miller envisioned the apocalypse. Farm boy Joseph Smith gave birth to Mormonism, a new and distinctly American religion. Along the way, the reader encounters America's very first crime of the century, a treasure hunt, searing acts of violence, a visionary cross-dresser, and a panoply of fanatics, mystics, and hoaxers.


(available at our Penfield Public Library)

Nonfiction, 290 pages

386.4809 KEL

Daniel Penfield stands tall at our Four Corners under a Spring-blossomed tree

    For Penfield - the Canal was right place at the right time

    Daniel Penfield was born April 25, 1759 in Guilford, Connecticut. He was a savvy businessman.


    In the 1790s, Daniel Penfield began purchasing land and more importantly water rights along what is now Irondequoit Creek. Unlike others who prospected the largely swampy lands, Penfield had the vision of using hydropower and mills to commercialize a variety of industries and encourage settlement. In fact, Daniel Penfield noticed the area where Irondequoit Creek drops 90 feet to what is now Channing H. Philbrick Park (before known as Linear Park). 


    Penfield envisioned the rush of water 💦 from this area to be perfect for his mills. He built his first mill in 1800 and a series of more mills later. He worked with farmers in the area and accepted wheat and other farm products as mortgage payments - a form of payment that he became familiar with when Penfield lived in New York City. 


    Spring 🌱 must have been his favorite season not only because of his birthday, but also because of the rains that powered his mills. He bought the water rights of Irondequoit Creek from Lake Ontario to what is now East Rochester. He erected several mills on these waterways.


    Right place, right time. 


    The Town of Penfield was founded in 1810, and Daniel Penfield was perfectly positioned for what was about to come.


    With little fanfare and little federal support, the Erie Canal was constructed over almost 10 years, from 1817-1825. And the rest is history. Who would have imagined the technological marvel of the Erie Canal connecting western New York with the money-rich investors of NYC? 


    Daniel Penfield's mills were not only perfectly placed to leverage the flowing waters of Irondequoit creek, but also placed on waterways connecting to the new Canal system.


    Daniel Penfield was able to transport his goods much more efficiently to NYC compared to others who transported by land - three times faster because of the canal. It's as if Daniel Penfield located his mills on the exit of a super highway. 


    You can see why 1800-1840 was a time of tremendous growth in the area.


    It's very fitting that Daniel Penfield stands tall in the picture above with the Spring flowers glistening from the setting sun.


    Daniel died in 1840 in his homestead.

    Village of Pittsford Canal Photos

    May 21, 2023 - Boats docked on the Erie Canal at Schoen Place, Village of Pittsford

      Village of Fairport Canal Photos

      May 11, 2023 - Fairport, Kennelley Park

        Random Erie Canal Photos

        May 5, 2023 - Fairport, Erie Canal

          Video of the Colonial Belle on the Erie Canal

           This 3 1/2 minute video presents the Colonial Belle as it cruises down  the Erie Canal in Fairport. Watch as the Belle passes the lift bridge,  and the bridge comes down slowly. 

          Other Erie Canal Resources

          Historic Maps of the Erie Canal

          National Register for Historic Places

          National Register for Historic Places

          Collection of maps and profiles of New York State canals, including our Erie Canal.

          Historic Canal Maps

          National Register for Historic Places

          National Register for Historic Places

          National Register for Historic Places

          NYS Barge Canal listed on this exclusive list. Read the official news release. 

          Official News Release

          Canal Trail Map

          National Register for Historic Places

          Canal Trail Map

          Interactive trail map of the Erie Canal - great for planning a trip.

          Trail Map

          History Channel

          History and Culture

          Canal Trail Map

          The History Channel features our Erie Canal. Browse its collection of resources.

          History Channel

          History and Culture

          History and Culture

          History and Culture

          Built between 1817 and 1825, the original Erie Canal is 363 miles long. Read about its history and culture.

          History and Culture

          Encyclopedia

          History and Culture

          History and Culture

          Quick and easy to understand facts about the Erie Canal

          Britannica

          Smithsonian Highlights

          Smithsonian Highlights

          Smithsonian Highlights

          Brief history of our Erie Canal - highlighting Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Schenectady

          Smithsonian

          Time Magazine

          Smithsonian Highlights

          Smithsonian Highlights

          6 surprising facts about the Erie Canal

          Time Magazine

          The Erie Canal Museum

          Smithsonian Highlights

          Must See Ports of Our Erie Canal

          Located in Syracuse, learn the story of the canal and its impact on people - past, present and future.

          Erie Canal Museum

          Must See Ports of Our Erie Canal

          Lockport Premiere Erie Canal Experience

          Must See Ports of Our Erie Canal

          Visit Rochester-area ports like Clyde, Lyons, Newark, Palmyra,   Macedon. Fairport, Bushnell's Basin, Pittsford, Greece, Spencerport, Lockport, Holley, Albion and Medina. Penfield isn't a port, but is still a very cool must see town!

          Rochester Ports

          Lockport Premiere Erie Canal Experience

          Lockport Premiere Erie Canal Experience

          Lockport Premiere Erie Canal Experience

          Visit the Erie Canal Discovery Center in Lockport NY. 

          Discovery Center

          Erie Canal - Animated Explanation

          Lockport Premiere Erie Canal Experience

          Lockport Premiere Erie Canal Experience

          Great animated video hitting the big points of constructing the Erie Canal. Watch it!

          Animated Video

          Calendar of Events: Erie Canal Bicentennial

          May, 2024 - September, 2025

           have built a replica 1825 canal boat that will launch in May 2024 and make a cross canal journey beginning September 24, 2025.

          May 16, 2025

          Erie Canal officially opens for its navigation season. Opening celebration events scheduled at the Colonial Belle site at 2p in Fairport.

          May 16-18, 2025

          Waterford Canal Festival (Capital-Saratoga)

          June 6-8, 2025

          Fairport Canal Days

          June 22, 2025

          Paddle the Canal: Erie Canal 200 (Capital-Saratoga)

          September 21-25, 2025

          World Canals Conference. Buffalo. Gather with international inland waterways experts and enthusiasts to dig deep into how canals everywhere are addressing challenges and thriving.

          September 24, 2025

          On the morning of Wednesday, September 24, 2025, Buffalo Maritime Center’s replica of the Erie Canal Boat Seneca Chief will embark on its Bicentennial Voyage, commemorating Governor DeWitt Clinton’s historic 1825 journey from Buffalo to New York Harbor.

          November 3, 2025

          Erie Canal officially closes its navigation season

          Neeraj Shah - He is local to our Town of Penfield...

          Neeraj Shah is the owner the two legally separate, but complimentary businesses, Shah CPA Firm, PLLC and Shah Law Firm, PLLC. Over the years, he has earned several professional designations, including MBA, CPA and attorney and counselor at law. However, you talk to him and you will soon find out there is one thing that he is most proud of - his hometown, the Town of Penfield.

          Office building for Shah CPA Firm, PLLC and Shah Law Firm, PLLC. Neeraj Shah is a CPA and attorney.

          Neeraj Shah, Esq., MBA, CPA

          2033 Penfield Rd 

          Penfield, NY 14526


          585-377-0700

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