CNY Hops: The Birth, Death & Rebirth of an Industry

CNY Hops: The Birth, Death & Rebirth of an Industry

Images of the hops industry in Central New York The Erie Canal Museum's July 9 Quarantine Coffee Hour features Madison County Historian Matthew Urtz discussing the history of the hops industry in Central New York. The program will be streamed on Facebook Live beginning at 10 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time. It's free and open to all. Hops Read More »
The History of the Morris Canal

Exploring New Jersey’s Morris Canal

Courtesy of the Canal Society of New Jersey A brief overview of New Jersey's historic Morris Canal In 1824 the Morris Canal & Banking Company (MC&BC) was chartered to build a canal that would carry coal, mined in Pennsylvania, to developing markets along the eastern seaboard. The canal would pass through the heart of New Read More »
The Weighlock Building: There's No Place Like Home

The Weighlock Building: There’s No Place Like Home

Working at the Weighlock Building on the Erie Canal in Syracuse, New York   New York State employees occupied the Syracuse Weighlock Building beginning on July 22, 1850. There was a high turnover rate among them. It’s not known how many employees worked at the Weighlock, but at least in the beginning, they were Read More »
The Life and Times of a Canal Boat Cook

The Life and Times of a Canal Boat Cook

Educator Derrick Pratt's biography of Oliver Wendell Petrie, a worker on early 20th century canals By Derrick Pratt, Erie Canal Museum Educator Oliver Wendell Petrie was born into a large family on November 18, 1899 in Oswego, New York. His mother was an avid reader and named her son after Oliver Wendell Holmes, whom she Read More »
Aboard the Auburn and Syracuse Railroad

Aboard the Auburn and Syracuse Railroad

By Jeff Ludwig Guest writer Jeff Ludwig wrote the following article about the historic Auburn and Syracuse Railroad, which began operating in 1839. In late morning on June 4th, 1839, New York Governor William Seward left his home in Auburn to board the 10.5 ton locomotive, the “Syracuse,” for the inaugural ride on the new steam-powered Read More »
March 14 Family History Research Workshop at the Erie Canal Museum

Museum hosts family history research workshop

By Pamela Vittorio, guest writer Visit https://eriecanalmuseum.org/store/product/family-history-workshop/ for more information and to register. Over the last twenty years, the digitization of genealogical records has become the mainstay of online sites like Family Search and Ancestry. The ability to retrieve and download records from the comfort of one’s home has allowed millions of family historians to Read More »
Ticket to Ride Helps Fund Field Trips

Ticket to Ride Helps Fund Field Trips

The Erie Canal Museum is a proud participant in Ticket to Ride, a program of the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor. Ticket to Ride offers transportation and educational program funding for schools across New York State. By covering bus and tour fees, the program makes it possible for schools to take advantage of educational field Read More »

Free Curator Talk: Glassmaking Along the Canal

You are cordially invited to the Erie Canal Museum for a free curator talk about glassmaking on the Erie Canal. The program is scheduled for 12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m. Thursday, October 12 in the second floor gallery of the Museum, located at 318 Erie Boulevard East, Syracuse, New York. Curator Ashley Maready will discuss the history Read More »

Jay Ungar & Molly Mason Headline Heartland Passage Tour

Famed musicians Jay Ungar and Molly Mason, known for Ashokan Farewell, the theme song to Ken Burns' Civil War documentary and other tunes, headline the Baldwinsville stop on The Heartland Passage Tour. This unique performance event brings troubadours, performers and storytellers - and the local premiere of a documentary by an Academy Award winning independent filmmaker - to ten Read More »

Artist-Led Workshops

As part of a larger program called Reflections on Erie’s Waters, the Erie Canal Museum is hosting five different artist-led workshops (poetry, photography, music, storytelling, and drawing & painting), with the first happening on Saturday, May 6. You can find more information about the series and reserve your spot by clicking here. Read More »