Top Ten

This Swing Bridge at Albion, NY is just one of many that had to be replaced for the 1905-1918 NYS Barge Canal enlargement. The masonry buildings you see on the

Unlike the other eastern rivers, which started at the TOP of the Appalachian Mountain Chain, only the Mohawk in New York State started on the WEST SIDE of the Ridge,

The New York State Canal Corporation crew is here to open the canal for another season.   The invention of direct current electricity made it practical with guard gates like

Steel was in tight supply because of the war when the Barge Canal was finished in 1918. Alternative materials were sought to create a fleet for use in the war

Muskrats were notorious for digging their homes into the banks of the Original Erie Canal, but the banks of the modern Barge Canal are so large that animal activity isn’t

A channel dug by hand in solid rock for SEVEN MILES! Why didn’t they just go over the rock? Because water can’t flow uphill. They would have needed a reliable

ca 1825 – This colorized version of a famous woodcut shows the approach to the original Erie Canal locks at Lockport from the east. The people standing on the roof

Why were mules used on the Erie Canal? Mules were used on the Erie Canal because their small size made bedding teams onboard possible. That allowed continuous 6hr shifts.  Their

The Great Embankment is found just a few miles east of Rochester at Pittsford, NY. In the earliest days of the Erie Canal, the embankment thrilled both onlookers and passengers