October 27, 1825, the Seneca Chief approaches the stone aqueduct in Rochester:

"Who comes there?"
"Your brothers from the West, on the waters of the Great Lakes."
"By what means have they been diverted so far from their natural course?"
"Through the channel of the Erie Canal."
"By whose authority and by whom was a work of such magnitude accomplished?"
"By the authority and the enterprise of the people of the State of New York."

The Erie Canal is a waterway in New York that runs about 363 miles (584 km) from Albany, New York on the Hudson River to Buffalo, New York at Lake Erie, completing a navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. First proposed in 1808, it was under construction from 1817 to 1821 and officially opened on October 26, 1825.

It was the first transportation system between the eastern seaboard (New York City) and the western interior (Great Lakes) of the United States that did not require portage, was faster than carts pulled by draft animals, and cut transport costs by about 95%. The canal fostered a population surge in western New York state, opened regions farther west to settlement, and helped New York City become the chief U.S. port. It was expanded between 1834 and 1862. In 1918, the original canal was replaced by the larger New York State Barge Canal.

Today, it is part of the New York State Canal System. In 2000, the United States Congress designated the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor to recognize the national significance of the canal system as the most successful and influential human-built waterway and one of the most important works of civil engineering and construction in North America. Mainly used by recreational watercraft in the recent past, the canal saw an upsurge in commercial traffic in 2008.

he Erie Canal cost $7 million dollars to build but reduced shipping costs significantly. Before the canal, the cost to ship one ton of goods from Buffalo to New York City cost $100. After the canal, the same ton could be shipped for a mere $10. The ease of trade prompted migration and the development of farms throughout the Great Lakes and Upper Midwest. Farm fresh produce could be shipped to the growing metropolitan areas of the east and consumer goods could be shipped west. Before 1825, more than 85% of the population of New York State lived in rural villages of less than 3,000 people. With the opening of the Erie Canal, the urban to rural ratio began to change dramatically.

Goods and people were transported quickly along the canal - freight sped along the canal at about 55 miles per 24 hour period but express passenger service moved through at 100 miles per 24 hour period, so a trip from New York City to Buffalo via the Erie Canal would only have taken about four days.

In 1862, the canal was widened to 70 feet and deepened to 7 feet (2.1m). Once the tolls on the canal had paid for its construction in 1882, they were eliminated.






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