ROME, N.Y. — The Erie Canal, a 363-mile waterway stretching from Lake Erie to the Hudson River, fueled westward expansion and grew the fortunes of cities like Rochester and Buffalo. It was an idea so audacious that President Thomas Jefferson called it “little short of madness,” but the Erie Canal would define New York as the Empire State.
“It was essential. Probably the single most important project that was attempted and completed in bringing the country together,” said Gerard Koeppel, author of “Bond of Union: Building the Erie Canal and the American Empire.”
When asked about the most important takeaway from the birth of the Erie Canal, Koeppel said, “I would say the most important lesson about the Erie Canal is — risk taking.”
The idea for the historic waterway was hatched from a debtor’s prison in Canandaigua. Jesse Hawley, a flour merchant from nearby Geneva, went bankrupt, unable to move his product efficiently, and penned a series of published essays on the idea of building a canal.
“His essays are really a brilliant strategic plan for how to lay a canal from Buffalo to Mohawk, with the elevations, where the ports would be, how you would do this physically, and then why it was important,” said Leif HerrGesell, Town of Canandaigua historian.
While many scoffed at the idea, the essays caught the eye of Governor DeWitt Clinton, who became a huge advocate for the canal project. On July 4, 1817, the first shovel was plunged into the ground in Rome, New York.
“They started in Rome because Rome is in a very flat part of the state. There’s actually a nice flat area from Rome, all the way to Montezuma. There’s not a lot of elevation change,” said Natalie Stetson, executive director of the Erie Canal Museum.
The building of the Erie Canal was difficult and brought about invention and innovation. But once completed, it made Rochester the first American boom town and gave the city the nickname “The Flour City.”
“At one point in time, Rochester was the world’s largest producer of flour. There are even stories of Queen Victoria preferring Rochester flour for her cakes,” said Christine Ridarsky, Rochester and Monroe County historian.
As critical as the Erie Canal was to the nation’s economic growth, its enduring effect on social reforms was equally important. It spread new ideas, religious revivalism, fueled immigration and played a crucial role for abolitionists, helping to liberate hundreds from slavery by providing a passport to freedom.
“Abolitionists. People like Frederick Douglass. People like Harriett Tubman, Germain Logan and Sarah Cuse, they would have been raising money in local communities to pay the fare to get freedom seekers a passage on the boats and then they would have been taken across the state that way,” said Patrick Stenshorn of the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor.
In short, the Erie Canal shaped a nation and created a “bond of union.”
“I don’t know what you’d compare it to today. Like maybe going to Mars, perhaps,” Koeppel said.
While the Erie Canal is largely used for recreational purposes now, it remains a symbol of determination and testament to American ingenuity.
Erie Canal: A testament to risk-taking and American ingenuity WHEC.com.
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