Happy 200th Birthday to the Erie Canal!

2025 marks the 200th anniversary of the completion of the Erie Canal in 1825 and New York State has a huge party planned. On this episode of the podcast, we speak with state officials and local partners to discuss this momentous birthday celebration and the importance of the Canal System today and into the future.

Interviewees: William J. Hochul Jr., First Gentleman of the State of New York and co-chair of the New York State Erie Canal Bicentennial Commission, Brian U. Stratton, Director of the New York State Canal Corporation and co-chair of the New York State Erie Canal Bicentennial Commission, and Derrick Pratt, Director of Education and Public Programs at the Erie Canal Museum. 

For a deeper dive into the history of the Erie Canal, check out episode 3 of A New York Minute in History called “Erie Canal: Compressing Time and Distance.”

Marker of Focus: Old Erie Canal, Onondaga County.

Image Courtesy of the William G. Pomeroy Foundation

Transporting Grains on the Erie Canal, late 19th century, courtesy of the New York State Museum

Courtesy of the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor

The Seneca Chief, Image Courtesy of the Buffalo Maritime Center

Upcoming Bicentennial Events:

New York State Canal Corporation Bicentennial Website

Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor Bicentennial Website

2025 World Canals Conference, Buffalo, NY September 21-25

Buffalo Maritime Center: The Bicentennial Voyage of the Seneca Chief

Albany Symphony Orchestra: 2025 American Music Festival Water Music NY: More Voices

Further Reading/Viewing:

Carol Sheriff, The Artificial River: The Erie Canal and the Paradox of Progress, 1997.

Brad Utter, Ashley Hopkins-Benton and Karen Quinn, Enterprising Waters: The History and Art of New York’s Erie Canal, 2020.

Laurence M. Hauptman, Conspiracy of Interests: Iroquois Dispossession and the Rise of New York State, 2001.

WMHT: Reflections on the Erie Canal

Educational Resources:

Consider the Source New York: Erie Canal

Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor: Teacher Resources

Erie Canal Museum: Educational Resources for School and Home

Buffalo Maritime Center: Student Programs

Follow Along:

Lauren:

On this month's episode, we're focusing on the 200th anniversary of the completion and opening of the Erie Canal. Now there are several historic markers that relate to the incredibly important history of the Erie Canal all across New York state. As an example, there's a marker located in the hamlet of Memphis, which is outside of Syracuse in Onondaga County. Although you may not have heard of this Memphis, it does have a particular claim to fame. It's located on Bennett's corners road, and the text reads, old Erie Canal, formerly called Canton Memphis, was halfway stop on original canal route, 179

miles from Buffalo and 183 miles from Albany, William G Pomeroy Foundation, 2018.

Now, if you're Interested in an in depth history of the Erie Canal. You should go back and listen to our earlier podcast from several years ago in 2018 it actually predates me as co host, so you'll be able to hear our former co host, Don Wildman, and it's called the Erie Canal, compressing time and distance, and that'll give you a good foundation about why the canal was so integral to the 19th century development of New York State. But on this episode, we're going to focus on the 200th anniversary of the opening of the canal and all of the events and celebrations and exhibits that are planned throughout 2025 to celebrate this milestone. Now, being that the marker I just mentioned is just outside of Syracuse, we're going to start right in that area at the Erie Canal museum. We were able to speak with director of education and public programming, Derek Pratt, about their upcoming plans to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Erie Canal.

Derrick Pratt:

I'm Derrick Pratt, director of education and public programming at the Erie Canal Museum in Syracuse, New York, and our mission at the museum is to tell the story of the canal, past, present and future. And as Director of Education, kind of my job to get that story in front of people. So the museum is housed in what we believe is our most important artifact, which is the 1850 Syracuse Weighlock building. That's W, E, I, g, h lock. It was essentially a toll booth on the canal. You would bring your canal boat into it, and it would get weighed and assessed a toll. There were seven of these across the state after they stopped collecting tolls in 1883 the weighlocks fell out of use in a lot of cases and were taken apart, with the exception of the Syracuse weighlock building, which itself was almost destroyed during the construction of interstate 81 in Syracuse.

But in 1962 thanks to protests by the Junior League of Syracuse and the canal Society of New York State, the building was saved. It was purchased by Onondaga County with the specific caveat that it be a canal Museum in perpetuity. So that's how we were born. We're a private museum while the county owns the building. We're independent of them. Yeah.

So we have a lot going on at the museum this year. We have our kind of flagship program, is our Sloan Lecture Series, which we've got some really great speakers in. And those events are also simulcast on Zoom, and you get recordings afterwards, so even people who aren't in Central New York can view them. We have some, some pretty interesting ones coming up. But we also have our beers bikes and barges cycling series, where we partner with different historic groups throughout the state to put on about hour long bike tours in different canal towns, learn the history of the town, and then we end at a local brewery, typically, and part of your ticket is you, you get to enjoy a beer at the end on us. So that's fun.

Another big thing, we have been supported by the Pomeroy foundation in our Bicentennial research project. So one of the things the Erie Canal Museum is really committed to is expanding the narrative of the Erie Canal. And there's just so much stuff that hasn't been covered in Canal history, we are encouraging researchers to do their own research, head into archives in their communities or state archives. People are also welcome to come to the Erie Canal museums, archives, which are pretty extensive, and research a topic that's under discussed in the canal world. And we're collecting all of those papers by August 31 is the due date, and then the hope is to publish kind of a compilation of all of these new bits of research and hopefully also use them to help various people who've submitted them apply for Pomeroy markers throughout the state as well. And further expand this history, we are working to expand the history of the canal, and some of the biggest kind of examples of that that we've implemented at the museum are a series of walking tours. Pathways of resistance, walking tour looking at abolition along the canal through downtown Syracuse and waterway of change, looking at the women's rights movement. Both of those tours are being funded by on the canals, which there are free events happening throughout the state in all sorts of especially recreation. We also have tours look that look at the architecture of the canal in Syracuse and one in Baldwinsville, looking at its unique canal history as well. So that's something I would suggest people check out. And they have like bike tours and kayaking tours throughout the state as well.

Devin:

Now Lauren, as historians, it seems like we are always working to commemorate some momentous event, some anniversary or something related to history of the locality, the municipality, in some cases, the state. This is one of the big ones here. 2025 is a big year. The Erie Canal is beyond important in the history of the state of New York and the nation, really, this commemoration is really something that we've been excited about at the State Museum and the office of cultural education. Really, going back to 2017 when we commemorated the beginning of the construction of the Erie Canal, which began in 1817.  We had a big, exciting exhibit called Enterprising Waters. We also released a book that was a gallery guide to that exhibit. So this is something that has been part of the work of the State Museum and the State Library and state archives, really starting in before even 2017 but we've been looking forward to 2025 as kind of the completion of the Erie Canal, as we said, 1825 but also a way to celebrate the entire system.

One of the things that people sometimes forget is that when we're talking about the canal system, we're talking about more than just the Erie Canal. We're talking about four canals that comprise the canal system in New York State, of course, the Erie Canal being the largest, but also the Champlain canal, Oswego canal and Cayuga Seneca canal. So when we're looking at the Erie Canal, we all kind of know the history, or we should. And as Lauren noted, please go back and check out our earlier episode from 2018 where we dive into that history of the construction of the Erie Canal and what it meant, but also some of the parts of the history, including indigenous displacement of their lands that were used to construct the Erie Canal and the complexity of the entire story. We're really excited by the variety of programming that's going on really across the canal system. Of course, it's being led by our own New York State Canal Corporation, which is part of the Power Authority in New York State and runs the entire canal system, including maintenance and upkeep of the 524

miles that exist, the 57 locks, the 16 lift bridges. So they are tasked with maintenance and upkeep, keeping the canal going, keeping this historic treasure operable in New York State. But they have partners in this commemoration. There is also the Erie Canal Way National Heritage corridor, which is a federal creation of Congress that really the breadth of the Erie Canal is a historic heritage area, and this organization does a lot of work around the history and heritage of the Erie Canal, working with communities on their history that surround the Erie Canal, and they are doing a lot of work commemorating this bicentennial in 2025 to learn more about what's going on around the state. Related to this commemoration, we spoke with New York State Canal Corporation director, Brian Stratton.

Brian Stratton:

Well, good afternoon, Devin. I'm Brian Stratton. I am the director of the New York State Canal Corporation. The Canal Corporation was formed in the early 90s out of legislation that was created

by Governor Mario Cuomo. Brought the canal out of the working world out of the Department of Transportation and established it as a recreational based mission. And from that, the Canal Corporation was formed, and we were placed under the New York State Thruway Authority initially, and then through the years. In the end of 2016 and 2017 we're now under the New York Power Authority. So our mission is to really maintain this waterway, 524 four miles long, four different canals, 57 locks, the trails and all sorts of infrastructure along there. And it's an old system, even though we're talking about 200 years of the canal when it when it began in 1825, the final phase, or the or the most recent phase, is really the New York State Barge Canal, which opened up in 1918 so this is what we do, and although it's largely a recreational mission. It's still, it's we still haul freight to from time to time, not like we used to, not what it was made for, or at the capacity. But it's certainly there or the car goes that need to go.

Well, we've been doing this for a long, long time. We really started in 2020, 2017 and all of the, all of the 200 logos that you see go back to that year because we began celebrating and really, really, really recognizing when it was the 200th anniversary of the construction starting, which began in 1817, but over the last year, year and a half, we've really begun to take up, take up speed. And Governor Hochul announced the formation of the Erie Canal Bicentennial commission in July of 2024, and we got underway very, very quickly. I have the honor of serving as the co-chair of that organization, along with the first gentleman, Bill Hochul and three of the governor's cabinet members, which would include Secretary of State, Mosley, Empire State Development, President Knight Hope Knight and New York State Parks and Rec recreation and historic preservation Commissioner Randy Simons along with me, and we are meeting monthly and really planning a whole robust series. But we have a lot of a lot of partners along the way.

 So there are many canal stakeholders throughout the system that are also joining us, and so it's not incumbent upon us as a singular organization, but we're sort of the band leader and making sure that we keep our fingers on the pulse of all of the things that are that, that are going on. And it's almost, almost, almost dizzying to keep track of them all, because there's so many great things, and everybody's extremely excited. And that was one of the things that makes it very, very fun. There's never a never a boring day. There's always lots to do. And when you add to that mix infrastructure problems and rain, which is now preventing the canal from opening as we had hoped, parts of it are open, but we want the whole thing open, and I'm sure Mother Nature will abide and we'll get it open eventually.

Lauren:

One of the most exciting projects that canal Corp has been working on is the recreation of the canal packet boat the Seneca chief, which was the boat that DeWitt Clinton traveled on along the Erie Canal back in its opening in 1825.

Brian Stratton:

Well, this is one of my favorite projects, so I'm glad that you've, you know, gotten to this quickly. Yeah, the Seneca chief is a full-scale replica of Governor DeWitt Clinton's packet line boat as we know it to to have been in 1825, full scale. It was built by the Buffalo Maritime Center, probably over the last three to four years. And it is a community boat building, boat building project. There have been more hands on this boat than probably any other, any other project that that they've done, and I'm proud to say that I have even planed a few planks. Thank goodness they've able to cover over my errors with paint and caulking, but, but it's a beautiful boat, and it's been under construction. Was under construction probably from 2020 through 2024, when it was rolled, rolled out of the barn last year.

It's the exact length and width of the packet line boat that that the Buffalo Maritime Center knows Governor DeWitt Clinton sailed on and he left the commercial slip on October 26 1825 he arrived in New York maybe eight days later, and the actual wedding of the waters took place on November 4,

1825 but we marked his departure out of the buffalo harbor as the anniversary, and it was a grand affair, and certainly the buffalo maritime center knows all of those facts.

This was really the brainchild of Dr John Montague, who is the president emeritus of the Buffalo Maritime Center. And I remember I was at a Erie Canal way National Heritage corridor board meeting in Buffalo, probably in 2018 when he first came to so the Commission said, you know, we have the plans. We can make this boat. We just need the money, of course. And I just thought it was, it was the most fascinating thing, of course, you're always thinking about, you know, okay, it's 2018 we need it by 2025. Let's get the money and let's build it. And fortunately enough, they, they secured a private donor with a very generous donation, but also a lot of public donors too. And I think that through the Canal Corporation, through the Regional Economic Development Councils, we have three or four grants in there totaling maybe $600,000 that went in over several years. And those are matching funds that the that the maritime center matches dollar for dollar in kind or in cash. I'm not exactly sure of what the final figure was in terms of cost, what it cost to build, but it is a beautiful boat. It has been out on the water since it rolled out of the shed, and a very public, exciting ceremony that you know, photos everywhere it has sailed along the canal.

It actually floats. It is very happy that that worked out, but it's, but it, but it's a wooden boat. And any wooden boat takes on a little a little bit of water, does Governor Clinton's did? Yeah. So it has been touring, and they are getting ready to launch a very exciting tour to pay tribute to Governor Clinton's 1825, journey. And the Seneca chief is scheduled to depart from Buffalo as part of the world canals Conference, which is going to be taking place there September 21 through 25th and on September 24 they're going to launch the Seneca chief and a very public ceremony from canal site not far from where Governor first shoved off, and it will embark on a month long journey with 28 stops along the canal. And the communities are extremely excited and getting ready, and there's going to be a lot of a lot of fanfare, a lot of ceremony, education.

People be able to find out about what the Seneca chief did, and what it was like to live and sleep on a boat. These were supposed to be luxury items, but everybody slept in the same space. And you had women's quarters, men's quarters, you had you had mules or donkeys. You had horses too. I don't think they brought those on board, not this particular boat, but there was also cargo too. So we're very excited about it, and we have lots of conversations, almost on a daily basis with the maritime center, working out how we can bring stakeholders in and make it a very exciting experience.

Devin:

one of the interesting things about the modern canal system is how it's changed over time. Certainly, it was built as a transportation corridor for goods, mostly, and at some extent, people traveled along the canal. But nowadays it's mostly recreation. Of course, there's boaters and those who are traveling along the canal system and using the locks with their boats and all of that, that exciting kind of traditional way of using the canal. But the canal is also a multi modal recreation corridor in many ways. There's bike trails, there's the Empire State trail that goes the length of the Erie Canal, and beyond a walking trail. There's towns and villages along the canal system that have recreation areas that are nearby to the canal, whether it's parks or trails or other ways of enjoying the outdoors. The New York canal system has really become this 524 mile recreation experience for people of all ages.

Brian Strattion:

One of the things that we've done recently through one of the original, statutorily created bodies within the Canal Corporation is called the canal rec recreation way Commission, which really guides the recreational mission of the canal. And these are appointees by the by the governor, by the Senate, by the the the assembly and agency representatives. And they convene at least four times a year and really guide everything that we're doing to make sure that the canal is a world class rec recreation way. And when the Canal Corporation was formed in 1992 the canal recreation way plan was first put into place, saying, how do we want the canal to look? How can we maximize this fantastic infrastructure that was built to haul freight on a very large scale? How can we make it a more human scaled, individual, individually sized recreational corridor Blueprint was put into place with the first canal recreation way plan, which was finalized in 1995 and that really is, you know, that's, that's a long time ago. So third, 30 years old. We have through the last year, worked very, very hard through public input, through public information sessions, outreach and the input of more than 500 persons across the system.

Stakeholders in every region of the canal have updated the canal recreation way plan looking forward, and it's called the canal 2050 plan, and it really looks forward to what we want the canal to be, and what our what our guiding light ought to be, to make sure that the canal grows and evolves and continues to be this great economic system. And I don't know that I've that I have mentioned it, but the economic impact of the canal statewide is more than $400 million annually. So that's a tremendous economic engine. It's great. And sometimes we don't see all of that here in the local Albany capital region, but the further west you go, where the canal is more central to the main street of our communities, whether it's in Syracuse, Rochester Utica, you really see how important it is and how essential it is.

Lauren:

Two of the most prominent travelers on the canal system in New York are Governor Hochul and the first gentleman, William Hochul Jr, who have traveled almost every mile along the canals in New York State, except for the Oswego Canal, which they plan to travel sometime soon, we were able to speak to the first gentleman who is also the co-chair of the Erie Canal Bicentennial commission about what he loves most about the canal.

William J. Hochul, Jr:

Well, first of all, thank you for having me, Devin, and to all the listeners out there you are going to be so impressed with the summer we have scheduled to commemorate the very important bicentennial of the Erie Canal. I'm the co chairman, along with the Canal Corporation director, Brian Stratton, and we have an entire schedule and calendar of events that we've been building out along with the communities that are touched and impacted by the Erie Canal, such an experience for people that are boating enthusiasts to experience the canal the way the canal was designed and then grew over the last 200 years. Really included different towns about every 10 miles or so, which is about the distance that a mule team could go. And in each of these towns, people that visit by the canal or even by car, for that matter, or bike, they will find, in some ways a step back in history, 200 year old history you will see in many of these communities, architecture from that period. You will see little shops, little restaurants, gazebos, museums of different type.

But then you will also experience personalities that each community has developed over the 200 years. And I think what's important for all the listeners to realize, if they haven't been on the canal lately, is boating is just one of any number of ways to experience a canal. There is a bike path, for example, that goes almost the entire length from Lockport, even before Lockport, but from Lockport to Albany and then up and down the Hudson River and into Lake Champlain. There's different ways that bikers can either be literally next to the canal or within a very short pedal from the canal, there's paddle boaters that experience the canal, kayakers. There's people that hike and again, you can also drive to these different communities. But as a boater, if you don't happen to have your own boat, there's opportunities for people to rent packet boats. These are boats that are in many ways, replicas of the canal boats that made the journey during the heyday of the canal, but they're now fully motorized, fully equipped, and on some of our journeys, the Governor and I have met people that are from Europe, from different parts of the country, because they recognize that what we have here in New York is really unique to any place else in North America, And in some ways it's unique to any other canal system in the world. So that's what we have right here in New York, and that's what the listeners should hould really be mindful of as we head into the 200th anniversary of it.

Well, there's nothing like going into one of the small towns that maybe you heard about or you saw on a map once upon a time, and just experiencing it, either by boat and parking your boat or by a car or your bicycle if you want to do a longer trip by bike, these communities are just so wonderful, and as I reflect back on some of our happiest moments, It was the surprises that we would find in different communities. There are museums, for example, that the general public, and certainly I put myself in this category, had never heard about. There's a really a world class train museum, for example in one of the communities, and my wife and I just happened to stop in and see this wonderful exhibit of cranes then and all the architecture that went into building this complicated system. And I will name drop in that case, that's in Medina, New York. And then again, as you're going along the canal system, you might find yourself visiting Seneca Falls for another example, and so many people rightly credit it as the birthplace of the women's movement, women's right to vote. Of course, conventions were held there, but women's suffrage began there. But beyond that, there's the bridge from It's A Wonderful Life, and it was really the inspiration many think, for that particular movie that all of us watch over Christmas, and all of these communities are just so wonderful and and when you are traveling at canal pace again, whether it's a hike, whether it's a bike or whether it's a boat, you just Find yourself slowing down from some of the rush or the  activity that's at the two big Terminus is of the canal, obviously Buffalo, big city, New York City, one of the world's largest and one of the world's most important cities, but along the way, it's just such a refreshing and in its own way, energizing experience. I can't be a larger fan for everything that canal and the communities have to offer you.

Lauren:

So Devin, both of us grew up in upstate New York, you in the western part of the state, and myself in the eastern part. But I remember as a child visiting sites along the canals. I was a Girl Scout growing up, and remember that they, every year had an event where you could walk along the canal. And I remember visiting Schoharie crossing, which is a state park site where they have the remnants of one of the old aqueducts along the canal, which I always remember thinking was so cool, both for the engineering feat, but you know also what it's left behind on the landscape. And they also have a recreated canal store where you can kind of learn about why it was so important to have the canal go through your community, and what that could mean for economic development. And of course, you know, being the Saratoga County Historian, we have two very important canals. Not only is the Erie Canal important to the southern part of our county, but the Champlain canal runs north, south, along our eastern border, and certainly influenced the way that the county developed in the 19th century, and most notably, perhaps in the recent past. We have canal Fest in Waterford, which is a yearly celebration of the canal. It happens on opening weekend of the canal. Well, usually, except for in years like this, when we have extremely high water. But even though they couldn't open this part of the canal, the celebration still went on. And I think it shows the importance that the canal still has 200 years later, both in remembering the history of the canal, but also in the ways that we've shown adaptive reuse of the tow paths as walking paths and bike paths, in encouraging people to use the canal with kayaks, and in ways that we can preserve the canal and have historic tours along the canal, so that 50 years from now, when it's the 250th anniversary of the Erie Canal, we still have something to celebrate, and we still have places where we can go and learn about the history and continue to use it as a recreational place as well.

Devin:

Absolutely true. And as you mentioned, I grew up in Western New York, or at least farther west than Albany. It's debatable whether where I grew up is actually western New York or more central western New York or the Finger Lakes. But anyway, I grew up in the town of Wayland, which isn't directly on the Erie Canal, but it's not far from it, and it doesn't take much, and it doesn't take long to find evidence of the canal system, either historically or still there today with the Erie Canal, but to also see the direct economic and social impact of the canal in that part of the state, in Western New York. So many of these towns and cities are in existence because of the canal. As it as it opened and transportation began to take place, it transformed the landscape, physically and environmentally and economically and socially by bringing more and more people to Central and Western New York and really opening it up to the rest of the world, in many cases. So yeah, the canal was never far, physically from where I was growing up, and it also wasn't far as far as the historical importance of it in these communities throughout New York State. You mentioned canal Fest in Waterford, which is a great annual event. But New York is also extremely fortunate to be hosting the World canals conference in Buffalo New York, September 21 through the 25th and this is a big deal. The World canal conference is exactly what it says it is. It's an international conference that brings together canal historians and enthusiasts, those who are interested in the mechanics of the canal, together with organizations and government entities like Canal Corporation that operate canals today. And these people and these organizations are from all around the world in countries that continue to have canals and operate them. And this conference moves around the world. It is in a different place every year, and for the significance and for the birthday celebration of the Erie Canal, it's in New York State in 2025.

Brian Stratton:

You asked about events? Yes, let's talk about partners. Is the Erie Canal National Heritage corridor, yep, and working with them, we have a interactive calendar of Bicentennial events. It grows every single day. And if you were to log on to Erie Canal way dot, O, R, G, forward slash events, the event calendar will come up. It's searchable by region, by activity, by month, by everything you like to do. There's more than 100 I'm sure there's well over one 100 that was as of two weeks ago. It's interactive, so every community can make sure they can add their event to the growing list. And I know that there are many communities that are still planning events. They may not be on there. So please check out the Erie Canal way calendar of Bicentennial events. You'll find something that's going on near you all summer long and into the fall. And one of the things we're also trying to do through the Bicentennial commission is to get our agency partners to get in on this wonderful milestone that our state is

marking in 2025 and the New York State Lottery is coming forward in a big way, and I can't take the wrapper off of that yet, but they're very excited to have a lottery game that's coming this summer that's going to help commemorate 200 years of the Erie Canal. That's great, and it's a lot of fun, and it's a lot of a lot of money too. So we're going to look forward to hearing more about that. I've probably said too much about that. And the Albany Symphony Orchestra is also going to be playing with us. They helped to start the bicentennial in 2017 they are back. They are traveling along four or five community concerts, five destinations along the canal. It's going to be wonderful. And we're going to celebrate that. These are canal side concerts. That's wonderful. We also have Stewart shops, who is well known here,

has come up with a bicentennial ice cream flavor perfect, and that's actually on sale now at your local Stewart shops. The name of that flavor is minted in 1825, a little idea of what the flavor is. And that is a we had an internal competition through the Canal Corporation and the Power Authority employees what the flavor name should be, and it was chosen last month. And we've been eating a lot of ice cream. That's, hey, I wish I had that. I wish we did something like that. So let's, let's get everybody out to Stewart’s shops. So, you know, even if you can't get to one of these wonderful events, or by some way, you can't make it to the world canals conference in September, you can go to your Stewart shop and have an ice cream cone and say you're doing your part to mark the 200th anniversary of the opening of Erie Canal.