Name: Erie Canal Museum
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Experience the Great American Adventure Story of the Erie Canal.

The Erie Canal Museum is dedicated to preserving and showcasing the 1850 National Register Weighlock Building, the last remaining structure of its kind, and to telling the incredible adventure story of the Erie Canal. Come aboard a full size replica canal boat. Explore life in a canal town. Put on a puppet show. Experience a part of history that played an imperative role in the growth and development of the United States. The Erie Canal Museum is a must-see for adults and children of all ages!

The Erie Canal Museum is partially funded by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

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Current Exhibitions

High Hopes: Immigration & the Erie Canal

In the second-floor Weighlock Gallery

Dates: September 13, 2018 - October 31, 2018

The Erie Canal attracted a wave of immigrants to New York State. For all, the Canal represented a new life. This exhibit looks at the movement of European immigrants along the waterway in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and their tremendous impact on New York State.

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Upcoming Events

Lunchtime Lecture

From Gere's Lock to the Gear Factory

Dates: September 13, 2018 - September 13, 2018

Edward A. Bogucz, executive director of the Syracuse Center of Excellence and associate professor at Syracuse University’s College of Engineering and Computer Science offers insight into the Canal's role in Central New York with a brief history of energy and environmental innovators along the Erie Canal in Syracuse. The program begins at 12 p.m. Admission is $5 for the general public and free for Erie Canal Museum members.

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Museum News

Museum to Host Smithsonian Traveling Exhibit

"Water/Ways" explores water's role in making New York the Empire State

Dates: June 29, 2019 - August 11, 2019

In partnership with the Museum Association of New York (MANY), the Erie Canal Museum will host "Water/Ways," a traveling exhibition from the Smithsonian’s Museum on Main Street (MoMS) program. "Water/Ways" explores water's effects on migration and settlement, and the relationship between water and politics, economics, and culture. It will open at the Museum in June 2019. This is the first time New York State will participate in the 25-year history of the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum on Main Street program, and we are honored to be selected as one of only six institutions statewide to host this outstanding exhibition.

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