which two places are connected by the canal?
Hudson River to Lake Erie.
Erie Canal
It originally ran from the Hudson River in Albany to Lake Erie in Buffalo. 
who is philip seymour hoffman? American actor, director, and producer. where was he born? Fairport, New York how was the early settlement like in this place? Village of Fairport was a swampy area within Perinton until the 1820s, when it was drained by Erie Canal.
wiki:7724660
Erie Canal [SEP] Introduction
The Erie Canal is a canal in New York that is part of the east–west, cross-state route of the New York State Canal System (formerly known as the New York State Barge Canal). It originally ran from the Hudson River in Albany to Lake Erie in Buffalo. It was built to create a navigable water route from New York City and the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. It was completed in 1825 and was the second longest canal in the world (after the Grand Canal in China), and it greatly enhanced the development and economy of New York, New York City, and the United States.