By David Brooks, Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site An examination of the environmental history of Upstate New York and its impact on the Erie Canal The waterways of New York State have been utilized for hundreds of years but with the arrival of Europeans and the age of colonialism, their…
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…
A look at Syracuse’s 1820 Fourth of July celebration By Derrick Pratt, Erie Canal Museum Educator The Erie Canal totally transformed the state of New York. In few places was that transformation as clear as in the Erie Canal Museum’s hometown, Syracuse. Prior to the Canal, what became the City…
By Bill Merchant, D&H Canal Historical Society (The author and the D&H Canal Historical Society express their gratitude to the Ulster County Community Grants Fund of the Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley for their financial assistance towards our on- going research on this topic) America is a country of…
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…
By Derrick Pratt, Erie Canal Museum Educator Earlier this year, we looked at the early months of 1820 in Syracuse and on the fledgling Erie Canal, which, with the arrival of the Montezuma on April 20, began to offer the small community a taste of the astounding opportunities presented by…
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…
By John Montague, Buffalo Maritime Center Join the Erie Canal Museum on Facebook Live, 10 a.m. May 7, to learn more about this project. In anticipation of the bicentennial of the opening of the Erie Canal in 2025, the Buffalo Maritime Center has undertaken a project to construct a replica…
By Derrick Pratt, Erie Canal Museum Educator A look at the unique geology that helped and hindered construction of New York’s Erie Canal The story of the Erie Canal begins quite some time ago. About 480 million years ago to be exact, when the Appalachian Mountain range began forming….
By Ashley Maready, Curator of Collections and Exhibitions, Erie Canal Museum At the time of the original Erie Canal’s construction, in the early 19th century, the big question to be answered was, “Where will the Canal connect to Lake Erie?” A fierce battle ensued, between the villages of Buffalo and…
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…
By Derrick Pratt, Museum Educator On April 20, 1820, the first packet boat traveled to Syracuse on the Erie Canal. In this article, Derrick Pratt shares the story of this momentous event. The Village of Syracuse was incorporated on April 13, 1825, marking the official founding of what would…
