Economic history of the United States
The 325-mile Erie Canal, which connected Albany, New York, on the Hudson River with Buffalo, New York, on Lake Erie, began operation in 1825. Wagon cost from Buffalo to New York City in 1817 was 19.2 cents per ton-mile. By Erie Canal c. 1857 to 1860 the cost was 0.81 cents. The Erie Canal was a great commercial success and had a large regional economic impact.
History of turnpikes and canals in the United States
Canal companies had also been chartered in the states, and like turnpikes these early canals were constructed, owned, and operated by private joint-stock companies. Of all the canals projected for construction, only three had been completed when the War of 1812 broke out: the Dismal Swamp Canal in Virginia, the Santee Canal in South Carolina, and the Middlesex Canal in Massachusetts.
After the war, New York authorized construction of the Erie Canal in 1817. Proposed by Governor of New York De Witt Clinton, the Erie was the first canal project undertaken as a public good to be financed at public risk through the issuance of bonds. When the project was completed in 1825, the canal linked the Hudson River to Lake Erie via 83 separate locks and over a distance of .