The Erie Canal is waterway that cuts and east-west path through northern New
York state connecting the upper Hudson river with Lake Erie. It is shown on
the to the left as the green line extending from just north of Albany to
Buffalo. Erie Canal - July 2007
The Erie Canal is waterway that cuts and east-west path through northern New
York state connecting the upper Hudson river with Lake Erie. It is shown on
the to the left as the green line extending from just north of Albany to
Buffalo.
Our trip through New York state (shown by the red line on the map) took us up the Hudson River from New York City (located at pretty much the southermost point of New York State) to the entrance of the Erie Canal at the city of Waterford, just north of Albany.
We followed the Erie canal westward about half way, where we turned north up the relatively short Oswego canal, which provide a connection from the Erie onto Lake Ontario. Leaving Oswego, we crossed the eastern end of Lake Ontario and traveled a short way up the St. Lawrence seaway along the US side, which is also part of the state of New York.
We eventually crossed the St. Lawrence into Canada and headed towards Kingston and the entrance to the Rideau canal.
The map below shows a bit more detail of the portions of the Erie and Oswego canals that we traveled.
Although the idea for a canal linking the great lakes of Erie and Ontario dates back to 1699 when the French engineer Vauban first suggested it, construction would not begin until 1817. Thomas Jefferson, when petitioned for federal funds, refused to support the canal; saying "It is a splendid project, and may be executed a century hence." Approval for the construction was finally pushed through by then-mayor of New York City DeWitt Clinton.
The
building of the Erie Canal continued for eight years. As Clinton's political
fortunes rose and fell, so did the popularity of the canal project. Often known
as "Clinton's Ditch" and "Clinton's Folly", the canal and it
supporters were lambasted by the New York press. Clinton, who had won the
governorship of New York in 1817, was voted out of office in 1822, was removed
from the Canal Board by political enemies in 1824. He was re-elected as governor
in time to preside over the Erie Canal's opening
ceremonies in October of 1825. The celebration lasted ten days as Governor
Clinton traveled the length of the canal in a packet boat, Seneca Chief,
receiving accolades at every town.
The Erie Canal proved to be the key that unlocked an enormous series of social and economic changes in the New York and the nation. The canal spurred the first great westward movement of American settlers, giving access to the rich land and resources west of the Appalachians. It made New York City the preeminent commercial city in the United States overtaking Philadelphia as the largest port city in the country.
Heading north on the Hudson River, we passed through the first of the locks that we would transit while in New York - the impressive Troy Federal Lock. Just north of the lock is the entrance to both the Erie Canal to the west and the Champlain Canal to the north. Last year, when we were doing the Great Loop trip, we headed north into the Champlain Canal. There was massive flooding along the Erie last year which resulted in the canal being pretty much closed to through traffic for most of the summer. Fortunately, they did not have any flooding this year and were able to have the entire canal open and operational for the 2007 season.
Just west of the turnoff onto the Erie is the wonderful town of Waterford with it's welcome center for boaters along the waterfront. Boaters are welcome to stay for two days for free (including electricity hookup), and can stay additional days depending on availability for a nominal fee of $10 a day.
It was pretty full when we got there, but we were happy to see our friends Bobbie and Gordon on their boat 'Namaste' already tied to the dock. Not finding any other space available, we rafted to them for our first night in town. We were able to move onto the dock the next day once some of the other boats had moved on and freed up some space. The picture below is of 'Tardis' on the dock with 'Namaste' behind.
The visitor center is just below an old set of locks that now acts as a spillway for the new locks that were built here. Leaving Waterford and heading west you travel through a series of 6 locks with a total lift of 169 feet, which is twice as much as the total lift from sea-level to the summit of the Panama Canal.
The Champlain canal used to run through Waterford as well - it has now been re-routed to run east of the Erie.
The picture to the left is of the intersection of the old Champlain canal with the old Erie.
The waterway at the higher level is the old Champlain. Neither the old Champlain or the old Erie is currently open to navigation, so there is no danger of someone taking a wrong turn over the ledge off of the Champlain and tumbling into the Erie!
There is a great path in Waterford leading out of town and along the tow-path
of the old Champlain canal. You can still see the ruins of the old locks
along the way.
We saw a couple of rental canal boats tied to the wall in Waterford. These are neat canal boats - very similar to European narrow boats. They are available for bareboat charter out of Waterford by the Erie Champlain Canal Boat Company. We found out that there are several bare-boat charter companies that operate along the New York Canal system, so even if you don't have a boat out here, you can rent one for a week or so to enjoy these waterways.
The picture to the right below is of a wonderful old house in town.
Heading west on the Erie, this is the picture of lock 7 as you approach it from the east. There is a huge dam that extends to the right of the lock with what looks from the distance like a long waterfall.
This is the view of the dam from the lock once we were raised up to the new level.
We were treated to a tour of the control room at lock 8 (where we tied up for the night) by George the lockmaster on duty when we were there. It was interesting to see the old equipment with the huge electric relay switches. We decided that a lot of it looked like it was straight out of Frankenstein's castle - as in "Now we wait for the thunderstorm, Igor...."
They do take amazingly good care of the locks and all of the equipment. When they are not operating the locks, it seems like the lock masters and attendants are always greasing, polishing and painting the equipment and buildings.
Several of the old lock sites along the Erie canal have been preserved. We found this site of old lock 23 within a short walk of the new lock 8.
Lock 10 got the worst of the damage from last year's flooding. Part of the problem was that they were in the middle of doing renovation work on the lock when the flood waters hit. While it was open and operational this year, you could still see lots of work being done along the canal, especially around this lock.
We spent a night tied up to the town dock in Amsterdam. This was not one of the free town docks, but at $1 a foot, it was relatively inexpensive.
Downtown Amsterdam - picture of the large public library to the left and an old apartment building in downtown to the right.
You never know what you will stumble across as you wander through some of these towns. We found the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in Amsterdam. It was actually fairly interesting to see all of the memorabilia form several wrestler's I'd heard of (i.e. Hulk Hogan) and many I had no idea (i.e. several 'Lady' wrestlers and midget wrestlers). Who knew???
Of course the best part was talking to the curator - the guy who is passionate about the 'sport' and all of this stuff. We always love to meet people who have a real enthusiasm for some small esoteric part of society.
We found this pretty waterfall while wandering around town.
Back at the dock, we were invited aboard the tug "Urger". Built in 1901 in Ferrysburg, Michigan, the "Urger" is one of the oldest working vessels in the country still afloat. Originally built for use as a commercial shipping vessel, the Urger was originally christened the Henry J. Dornbos, after a prominent Michigan merchant. She was described in the Detroit Free Press as the finest fishing boat in the local fishing fleet.
In the early 1920s, the tug was sold, renamed the Urger, and entered the New York State Canal fleet. Stationed in Waterford, she served more than 60 years hauling machinery, dredges and scows on the Erie and Champlain Canals until she was retired in the 1980s. In 1991, she was called back into service with a new mission. She now serves as the focal point of a program to educate school children and adults about the importance of New York's historic Canal System and the role that inland waterways have played historically, and continue to play, in the lives of people who live along them. We were fortunate to meet several of the "Urger" crew - a wonderful group of folks who keep the boat running and work in the water-borne classroom.
The "Urger" sports a lovely 'puddin' on her bow (I've always called these a 'Tina Turner') as well as several hand-made braided hemp fenders. One of the guys on the crew teaches anyone with an interest how to make these. She has a full galley complete with a wonderful old-fashioned hand pump at the sink. (Kate - is this like the one that you guys had on your sailboat 'Tardis'???)
The Urger is driven by a WWII surplus 320 HP Atlas-Imperial diesel engine which was installed on the boat in 1947. Surprisingly (for me, at least), it only runs at 320 RPM. The Cummins diesel on our boat turns at a max of 2800 RPM. I was also surprised to learn that it doesn't have a transmission. This means that when the captain wants to switch from forward to reverse, he tells the engineer - who then stops the engine, switches it into reverse, and then restarts it. I'll bet that make for some interesting times, especially if the wind is howling or there is a strong current flowing.
I did love the horns as well as the wonderful steam whistle. Hmmm - wonder if they'd miss that whistle????
We were lucky to see a wonderful trick horse show while we were in town. This guy rides with one foot on the back of each horse and then takes them through their paces.
You never know what you are going to see along the waterway - so I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised to see this Volkswagen Bug perched on top of a smoke stack.
We tied up with "Namaste" just past Lock 12 to go to a neat town fair nearby.
The fair included a number of old single stroke engines merrily 'ka-chunking' along. Jeremy and Gordon were in heaven!
We also got to see a pretty good show from an 'Elvis' impersonator. (This one's for you, Sheila!!)
We met this clown at the fair. Of course Jeremy gave him horns - while Bobbie just gave him a hug. No smiles, but he did seem to appreciate the hug more.
Our next stop along the way was at the town of Canajoharie - the headquarters of the Beechnut Baby food company - or at least of a very large Beechnut plant there. The townsfolk were a little out of sorts when we were there, as the factory is looking at relocating to another town. Not too far away - so hopefully most folks will be able to keep their jobs - but still, it's a problem with towns that have grown up around a single industry when that company decides to leave.
Still, it was a nice town with a free town dock - so no complaints on our end! The picture to the right is of the old Canajoharie Academy which was open from 1842 through 1892. Susan B. Anthony taught here in 1846.
The lovely building in the photos below is a retirement home in town. It is a wonderful stately old building on the most immaculately kept grounds I've seen in a long while. It's a little too cold for me to think of living up here in my dotage - but it did look like the kind of place I wouldn't mind retiring to when the time comes!
The picture to the left is of a whirlpool that, as legend has it, is the namesake of the town. 'Canajoharie,' so I was told, means the 'pot that washes itself' in the Mohawk Indian native tongue. The area was populated by Mohawk tribes through the 1700's. The Erie actually runs along the Mohawk River on this part of the waterway.
I took the photo on the right in the same area. I really liked the patterns of the rock bottom under the water as well as the reflections of the rocks on the bank. I think it looks better in black and white - ala Ansel Adams. OK - well maybe I'm no Ansel, but I still like this picture!
'Namaste' decided to tie up at a free dock at Herkimer along the way, but Jeremy and I headed on to the town of Little Falls. There was a movie theater in town - a bit of a rare treat for us. They were playing the new 'Harry Potter' movie, which we hadn't seen yet, so we decided to take in a show while we were there. You've gotta love small towns. The door to the projection booth was next to the door to the theater and was open when we came in. Jeremy was peering in looking interested, so the guy setting up the movie invited us in to take a look around and see how the movie was set up.
The photo to the left is of the tray that holds the film reel (real film, not digital!). It feeds from the center of the spool - through the projector (shown in the photo to the right) - and then back to the tray at the bottom. It winds onto the bottom tray also from the middle out - so it's ready to swap over from the bottom tray to the top when they want to re-start the movie. No rewinding required! OK - so maybe I don't get out much, but I thought that was pretty cool.
We spotted this weird Property For Sale sign in town. Like I said before, you just never know what you're going to see along the way....
Our next stop was the town of Ilion - also a 'one industry' town, being the hometown of Remington Arms factory. The factory offers two tours a day during the week - one in the morning and one in the afternoon. It's actually an excellent tour - although they don't allow pictures to be taken anywhere except in the small museum in the lobby.
Our next stop along the way was at the city of Utica - one of the larger towns that we passed through along the way. The picture to the left below is of Baggs Tavern - founded in 1794 by Moses Bagg. Washington, LaFayette, Henry Clay, and General Grant were all guests here. The tavern is built on the site of the old Fort Schuyler - which was built in 1758. This was one of a chain of forts along the Mohawk which were put in place to protect the Northern Frontier from the French and their Indian allies.
The picture to the left is of Liberty Bell Corner in the center of downtown Utica. The picture to the right is of an old steam engine at the railroad museum at the rail station in Utica.
Leaving Utica, we headed on west to the town of Sylvan Beach. This is definitely a beach resort town on the eastern shores of Lake Oneida. There is a large amusement park there - complete with a roller coaster as well as a huge beach front area filled with sun-bathers as well as a ton of small boats anchored just off of the beach.
Wandering up through town, we found an encampment of some Civil War re-enactors. Jeremy is getting some tips from the medical staff. For those who may not know it, we took an advanced first aid class many years ago where we learned such things as how to sew up large wounds and how to do a tracheotomy. We got a surgical stable at the class, and Jeremy has been itching ever since to use it. Of course, this was about 20 years ago that we took the class - so I wouldn't let him get anywhere near with it, if you know what I mean.
Shortly after crossing Lake Oneida, we came to the turn-off for the Oswego canal. A short way down the Oswego, we came across this barge filled with markers that were being returned to the maintenance yard for work.
The Oswego canal is relatively short, so it wasn't long before we found ourselves in the town of Oswego - located at the north end of the canal. We had arrived just in time for their annul Harborfest - a huge party lasting from Thursday through Sunday the last weekend of July every year. We were tied up to the wall along with several others - but not as crowded as it was a bit farther along, where there were loads and loads of smaller boats rafted up two and three deep.
It's definitely a party time - these two floated by our boat one day holding their beers aloft.
People come from all over for this festival. We saw RV's parked everywhere. The guy in the photo to the left below had set up camp down by the waterfront on a little spot of land. No one seemed to care.
The picture to the right below is of the town hall for Oswego.
The festival kicked off Friday night with a boat parade and a fireworks show - including this 'curtain' of fireworks off of the bridge. This would have been when we were happy that we had tied to the wall far away from the bridge.
There was a fife and drum corps on hand.
But probably the best part were the free concerts. We went to see 'Blood, Sweat and Tears' play. It was pretty crowded out front - but we found a nice quite spot just to the left of the stage. It was pretty cool. There were only a handful of us over there, but the lead singer, Thomas Conner, noticed us and came over to say 'H'i and sign autographs after the show.
They also had the 'Charlie Daniels Band' as well as '38 Special' doing concerts during the festival.
To cap it all off, they put on a huge fireworks show on Saturday night. The fireworks lasted 30 minutes and was set to taped music playing over load speakers all along the waterfront.
There is a great mural of the old Oswego harbor lighthouse painted on the side of a hotel in town. The poem under the lighthouse reads:
Trim your feeble lamp my brother
Some poor sailor, tempest tost
Trying now to make the harbor
In the darkness, may be lost.
I took this photo of the current Oswego harbor lighthouse as we were leaving the town and heading into Lake Ontario.
Updated Nov 12, 2007