Bicentennial

Celebrate 200!

On April 15, 1817, the New York State legislature voted to build the Erie and Champlain canals. Dignitaries turned the first shovel of soil in Rome on July 4, marking the start of Erie Canal construction. Eight years later, the canal opened from Albany to Buffalo. Its impact was immediate, profound and lasting.

The canal was enlarged three times since its grand opening in 1825 to accommodate larger boats and more traffic. The most recent enlargement was completed 100 years ago in 1918.

Today, the New York State Canal System is a 500-mile network of inland waterways that includes the Erie, Champlain, Oswego and Cayuga-Seneca Canals. Together, they connect the Hudson River with Lake Champlain, Lake Ontario, Cayuga Lake, Seneca Lake, and Lake Erie via the Niagara River, allowing boats to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the upper Great Lakes.

Picture Yourself Here

Boats, bikes, festivals, and fun on the water... join bicentennial celebrations in 2018.

A Brief Timeline of Construction of the Erie Canal

Construction of the Erie Canal began in Rome in 1817. Workers started first on the easiest, most level sections. In subsequent years, they tackled major engineering challenges at Cohoes, Little Falls, Rochester, and Lockport, where construction needed to overcome the most difficult elevation changes. Sections of the canal opened as they were completed, until the entire canal from Buffalo to Albany opened in 1825.

April 15, 1817

NYS Legislature passes the act to construct the Erie and Champlain Canals

July 4, 1817

Ceremonial first digging for the Erie Canal takes place at Rome; real work begins six days later on July 10

October 22, 1819

Erie Canal opens between Rome and Utica

July 4, 1820

Syracuse celebrates completion of the Erie Canal from Utica to the Seneca River

November 18, 1821

The locks at Little Falls are complete, opening navigation from Montezuma to Schenectady

July 1822

Erie Canal navigable from east bank of the Genesee River in Rochester to Schenectady

Sept 10, 1823

Champlain Canal opens end to end

October 1, 1823

Genesee Aqueduct complete; Erie Canal is in operation from Brockport to Albany

September 1824

Erie Canal reaches the foot of the Niagara Escarpment at Lockport

October 26, 1825

Erie Canal complete; Gov. DeWitt Clinton departs Buffalo leading a flotilla of boats across the canal to New York City

November 4, 1825

Grand celebrations take place in New York City as Clinton performs the “Wedding of the Waters,” pouring water from Lake Erie into the Atlantic Ocean

November 23, 1825

The Atlantic Ocean meets the Great Lakes. The canal boat Seneca Chief returns to Buffalo to complete the "Wedding of the Waters."

The original legislation passed by the NYS legislature to construct the Erie and Champlain Canals (1817) is housed in the NYS Archives in Albany.

Drawing of canal construction c. 1855 for Erie Canal enlargement

Map showing detail from The Noses in Montgomery County (NYS Archives)

Deep cut excavation in Lockport

Lockport Flight by Cadwallader Colden (NYS Archives)

Entrance of the canal into the Hudson River at Albany by historical artist James Eights (Albany Institute of History & Art)

Invitation to Wedding of the Water celebration in New York City, 1825 (Albany Institute of History & Art)

"We are digging the Ditch through the mire;
Through the mud and the slime and the mire, by heck!
And the mud is our principal hire;
Up our pants, in our shirts, down our neck, by heck!
We are digging the Ditch through the gravel,
So the people and freight can travel."

- Canal Digger's Lament

"Well may New York rejoice in an achievement that would add glory to the most powerful nation on earth."

Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor works to preserve and share our extraordinary heritage, to promote the Corridor as a world class tourism destination, and to foster vibrant communities connected by more than 500 miles of waterway.