The Erie Canal was all about making money!
. Many of the Erie Canal images we use here came from vintage postcards. Today we have texts and tweets.
The Erie Canal at Syracuse – Salt sheds at Syracuse, NY in about 1900. Before modern refrigeration, salt was an
New York City was the biggest benefactor of the Erie Canal’s success. Philadelphia, Boston and New York were comparable cities
When he learned that the canal was to cross Western New York far to the north, Joseph Ellicott sent his
. Many of the Erie Canal images we use here came from vintage postcards. Today we have texts and tweets. In the earliest years of the twentieth century though, they had penny postcards. Three things came together in the early 1900’s in this country that created a social phenomenon not unlike texting and tweets: … Read more
The Erie Canal at Syracuse – Salt sheds at Syracuse, NY in about 1900. Before modern refrigeration, salt was an essential commodity used to preserve food. It’s no accident that the original Erie Canal was routed south from Rome to Syracuse where salt was harvested on evaporating tables like these. Notice the slanting roofs that … Read more
New York City was the biggest benefactor of the Erie Canal’s success. Philadelphia, Boston and New York were comparable cities until just a few years before the Erie’s completion, but in the years following 1825, New York surged to become the preeminent city in America – and in time even a major player on the … Read more
When he learned that the canal was to cross Western New York far to the north, Joseph Ellicott sent his best surveyor to find a route that was more to the advantage of his employer, the Holland Land Company. He knew that land values would rise on both sides of the canal, and a more … Read more