The Erie Canal and its Forgotten Relative

This year, New York celebrates its 200th anniversary of the building of the Erie Canal! In recognition, I chose to showcase a 1967 button from the Waterford Historical Museum that honors the sesquicentennial, or 150th anniversary, of the canal’s building. Fifty years later, it still represents upstate New York’s continued celebration of the Erie Canal and canal history.

Erie Canal Sesqui Celebration button, on display at the Waterford Historical Museum

Construction on the canal began in 1817 and ended in 1825, a feat made possible by New York politician Dewitt Clinton and innovator Canvass White. After losing the presidential ticket in 1812, Clinton devoted himself to local politics.

DeWitt Clinton

But his loss was New York’s gain! He served as mayor of New York City from 1803 to 1815 and as governor from 1817 to 1822. During Clinton’s time as mayor, he publicized the Erie Canal’s necessity to legislators and wealthy merchants in an effort to receive backing and potential funding for the project. New York State, not the federal government, would have to pay for the Erie Canal, so Clinton worked hard to convince New Yorkers to support the canal since the federal treasury wasn’t going to. His hard work paid off and formal construction on the canal started just as Clinton was elected governor of New York.

Canvass White

While Dewitt Clinton was an important figure in realizing the goal of building the Erie Canal, it was Canvass White who was important to the actual building process. White (whose brother Hugh White is commemorated by the Waterford Historical Museum and the Hugh White Homestead) is credited with patenting hydraulic cement. His cement was used to make Erie Canal masonry structures. Without White’s engineering, the canal could not have been built.

The Erie Canal is well known among most New Yorkers and Americans. The canal was a turning point in U.S. history for significantly decreasing shipping costs and facilitating settlement in the Midwest. However, there is another 200th canal anniversary worth noting – the anniversary of the Champlain Canal.

In addition to the Erie Canal, the New York State legislator authorized the building of the Champlain Canal in 1817, which links Lake Champlain in the Adirondacks to the Hudson River. During the nineteenth century, it connected Vermont and Northeast trade to the Midwest, and thus deserves recognition as a chief waterway in the New York Canal System.

New York State Canal System (Champlain Canal far right)

For Waterford residents and the Waterford Historical Museum, the Champlain Canal is particularly special because it officially begins in the town of Waterford! The photo below from the 1910s depicts one of the locks on the canal that enabled boats to pass through different levels of water. When celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Erie Canal, it is important to remember the Champlain Canal as it tends to be overshadowed by the Erie Canal.

Champlain Canal in Waterford, on display at Halfmoon Public Library “Glimpses of Waterford” exhibit

Read more at:
http://www.lcmm.org/shipwrecks_history/history/history_war1812.htm
https://eriecanalway.org/learn/history-culture
http://champlaincanal.net/