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THE FIRST 363 MILES OF THE ERIE CANAL
THE FIRST 363 MILES OF THE ERIE CANAL
- 1807-1808: Jesse Hawley, a grain merchant, describes how a canal might be built between the Hudson River and Lake Erie.
- 1811: The New York State Canal Commission suggested the construction of a canal from Lake Erie to Albany, connecting the Hudson River to New York City.
- 1812-1814: The War of 1812 with Great Britain causes industrial development booms in the Northeast.
- 1817: The governor of New York State, Clinton DeWitt, takes office. Building of the Erie Canal begins, backed by funding from NYS.
- 1819: The first 16 miles of the canal opens for use. The 98 miles of the middle section of the Erie Canal is complete.
- 1820: Another 73 miles of the canal are opened, and New York becomes the most populated state in the new nation.
- 1823: The first boats pass from the Erie Canal into the Hudson River.
- 1825: The completion of the entire Erie Canal is marked by Clinton's "Wedding of the Waters," where he empties water from the Lake Erie into the New York Harbor. The finished canal is 363 miles long; and, 40 feet wide and 4 feet deep.
ENLARGEMENTS AND EXTENSIONS OF THE ERIE CANAL
ENLARGEMENTS AND EXTENSIONS OF THE ERIE CANAL
- 1828: Andrew Jackson is elected. Whig party is formed to opposed Democrats.
- 1836: Work begins to enlarge the Erie Canal for larger boats.
- 1841: The Nine Mile Creek Aqueduct was built by German Masons to allow the Erie Canal to pass above the Nine Mile Creek.
- 1845: Mass immigration to the United States begins.
- 1860: Abraham Lincoln, a Republican, is elected president.
- 1861: Civil War between "free states" and "slave states" begins at Fort Sumter, South Carolina.
- 1862: The Erie Canal's enlargement is complete. It is 75 feet wide, and 7 feet deep.
- 1863: President Abraham Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation, changing the federal legal status of all enslaved African Americans from "slave" to "free."
- 1882: New York stopped collecting tolls for passage on the Erie Canal.
- Early 1900s: the New York State Barge Canal System was created to allow self-propelled boats to travel the canals.
- 1959: The St. Lawrence Seaway was completed.
- 2000: Congress created the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor to commemorate the construction and impact of the canal.
- 2006: The canal system was designated a National Historical Landmark.
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