Canal History

From NY Canals: Information and Cruising Guide to New York's Erie, Oswego, Champlain, and Cayuga-Seneca Canal System

In the early 19th-century, New York State Governor De Witt Clinton had the vision and conviction to build the 363-mile long Erie Canal. Begun in 1817 and opened in 1825, the Erie Canal became the most successful and influential artificial waterway in North America. It connected the Hudson River at Albany with Lake Erie at Buffalo, establishing the first all-water link between the Atlantic seaboard and the Great Lakes.

More than just a heroic feat of engineering, the Erie Canal opened the interior of the continent, providing a safe and reliable route for west-bound migrants and manufactured goods and east-bound products of forests, farms, and mines. Connecting places, people, and ideas, it strengthened the Union and fostered social and reform movements. Celebrated in art, literature, story, and song, it helped establish an American identity, both here and abroad.

Although its success sparked a canal building boom throughout the eastern United States and Canada, the Erie Canal remained preeminent. It made New York the Empire State and confirmed New York City's status as the young nation's most prosperous and vibrant seaport.

Enlarged several times during the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Erie Canal continues in service today, along with the connecting Champlain Canal, Oswego Canal, and Cayuga-Seneca Canal. Operated by the New York State Canal Corporation, the system is now actively used for recreational boating and fishing as well as hiking and bicycling along the cross-state Canalway Trail.

The Congressional designation of the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor recognizes the significance of the Erie Canal to our nation's history. The future of this national treasure will be to serve once again as a key destination and source of revitalization to the 234 canal communities within the Erie Canalway Corridor.