The Erie Canal: A Story of Building the Impossible
The 200th Anniversary Story of the Legendary Erie Canal
Nearing the Bend by Edward Lamson Henry, c. 1900
Webinar at the New York Adventure Club
February 16, 2023, 8:00-10:00pm EDT
For registration and additional details, click here.
The Erie Canal: A Story of Building the Impossible
The 200th Anniversary Story of the Legendary Erie Canal
Once completed in 1825, the Erie Canal between Buffalo and Albany not only opened up the first viable shipping route between the Midwest and Northeast, but also launched America — especially New York City and New York State — to unimaginable economic and social heights. But how was one of the country's greatest engineering feats of the 19th century created at a time when the nation lacked a single certified civil engineer? This is the incredible story of how visionary New York politicians, novice surveyors, and thousands of laborers constructed one of the greatest modern marvels in this nation's history.
A brief outline of the program
| Need/Concept: |
Go West! |
| Construction: |
Overcoming Challenges |
| Completion: |
Wedding of the Waters |
| Working: |
Life on the Canal |
| Impact: |
Mother of Cities, Mother of Exiles |
| Enlargement: |
Erie Canal 2.0 |
| Replacement: |
The New York State Barge Canal |
| Demise: |
A Tribute to Sal |
| Epilogue: |
Long Live the Erie Canal! |
Links and Resources
Videos to accompany “The Erie Canal: A Story of Building the Impossible” are here.
Erie Canal Land Acknowledgement
- My Erie Canal Land Acknowledgement can be found here.
- The Project to Implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in the United States is here.
Haudenosaunee
The Erie Canal Quiz is here
Erie Canal - American Innovation Coin
 |
 |
| Erie Canal |
American Innovation Coin |
- More information about New York’s Erie Canal “American Innovation Coin” is here.
Erie Canal at the Movies
Erie Canal Maps and Related Information
Each has filters to highlight different points of interest.
General Information
Special Interests
Teaching the Erie Canal
- Erie Canal Learning Hub “If you are teaching your students about the Erie Canal, you've come to the right place! Take your students to the canal with a Ticket to Ride field trip or access virtual tours, lesson plans, and document-based questions.”
- An Historical Journey Through the Erie Canal - Gayle Olson-Raymer's goals, topics, and resources for teachers
- Erie Canalway Ticket to Ride - Field trip funding, Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor
- Building the Erie Canal - PBS LearningMedia
- The Impact of the Erie Canal on America - PBS LearningMedia
- Come On Board The Erie Canal Unit! - Place Based Social Studies Unit, Lesson Plan
- Erie Canal - Syracuse University
- The "Madness" that Built the Empire State - National Teacher Training Institute, Lesson Plans
- New York State Library, Manuscripts and Special Collections, Erie Canal - New York State Library, Erie Canal-related images
Trips, Hikes, Paths
Museums, Visitor Centers
Erie Canal in Literature, Travelogues, Travel Guides
Non-Fiction
- For more non-fiction (and other) books, see the list here.
- Wedding of the Waters: The Erie Canal and the Making of a Great Nation, by Peter L. Bernstein. Norton, 2005
- Erie Water West: A History of the Erie Canal, 1792-1854, by Ronald E. Shaw. The University Press of Kentucky, 1966.
- The Artificial River: The Erie Canal and the Paradox of Progress, 1817-1862 by Carol Sheriff. Hill and Wang, 1997.
- Bond of Union: Building the Erie Canal and the American Empire, by Gerard Koeppel.
Da Capo Press, 2009.
- Low Bridge! Folklore and the Erie Canal, by Lionel D. Wyld. Syracuse University Press, 1962.
- Canal Boatman: My Life on Upstate Waterways, by Richard Garrity. Syracuse University Press, 1984.
- The Erie Canal Reader, 1790-1950, by Roger W. Hecht, editor. Syracuse University Press, 2003. - writings about the Erie Canal by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Mark Twain, and others.
- Everything Worthy of Observation: The 1826 New York State Travel Journal of Alexander Stewart Scott, by Paul G. Schneider Jr., editor. SUNY Press, 2019.
Tourist Guides
- A Pocket Guide for the Tourist and Traveller, Along the Line of the Canals, and the Interior Commerce of the State of New-York, Second Edition, by Horatio Gates Spafford, William S. Parker,1825.
- The Tourist's Map of the State of New York, Compiled by the Latest Authorities, 1827, published by William Williams.
- The Northern Traveller, and Northern Tour: With the Routes to The Springs, Niagara, and Quebec, and the Coal Mines of Pennsylvania: Also, the Tour of New-England. New York: J. & J. Harper, 1830.
Historical Fiction
- Marco Paul's Voyages and Travels: Erie Canal, by Jacob Abbott, Harper & Brothers, 1852. A pdf version is available here.
- Rome Haul, by Walter D. Edmunds. Boston: Little, Brown, 1929.
- Erie Water, by Walter D. Edmunds. Boston: Little, Brown, 1933.
- Mostly Canallers: Collected Stories, by Walter D. Edmunds. Syracuse University Press, 1987.
- “A Girl on a Barge,” by Rupert Hughes, illustrations by Jules Gotlieb. Hearst’s International Combined with Cosmopolitan (Volume 83, October 1927, pages 50-53, 97-98, 100, 102, 104, 106). You can download a pdf version (54mb) here.
