Historians could spend a lifetime arguing the most important events, the key single days that impacted American history the most. October 19, 1781: The victory over the British at Yorktown in the Revolutionary war. April 30, 1789: George Washington becomes first the president. April 9,1865: The surrender of Robert E. Lee at Appomattox, in the Civil War. January 1, 1863: President Lincoln Signs the Emancipation Proclamation. December 17, 1903: The Wright Brothers first flight. The first phone call, the first TV, Pearl Harbor, the Kennedy Assassination, the moon landing, Watergate, and on and on.

But add to the list — way up high on the list: November 4, 1825. On that day, the Erie Canal officially opened up to traffic. Suddenly the East coast was connected to the rest of the nation — and America never looked back. As the country approaches the 200th anniversary of that historic event; all over New York, groups and hundreds of volunteers are preparing for the celebration. Of much interest will be the trip of the new Seneca Chief. The boat, built by the Buffalo Maritime Center, is a replica of the one used by Governor Dewitt Clinton and others to mark the opening of the canal by cruising from Buffalo — East through the canal – to Albany, then South to New York City. The Journey begins on September 24th, 2025, arriving in New York City a month later — after stopping in 28 different cities. On that November 4th, Clinton took a barrel of Lake Erie water and dumped it into the Hudson. They called it, the “Wedding of the Waters.

All along the canal, historic places have been spruced up, and nowhere is that as dramatic as the Flight of Five in Lockport, New York. Here the canal had to climb up the escarpment — the very cliff that nearby Niagara Falls flows over.

For years, the community, spearheaded by the Lockport Locks Heritage District,  has done fundraising and volunteer work to restore the old locks and gates used on the canal in the 1800’s. In the summer months, a group of volunteers actually operates the old lock gates in a public demonstration to show how everything was accomplished by hand back in the day.

In 2023, they installed a marquee piece of artwork to honor the workers that built and ran the canal.  The Lock Tenders Tribute Monument, is a 16 piece, life size bronze sculpture that brings to life in 3D – a photograph of the lock tenders captured in 1897. Crafted over several years by New York artist, Susan Geissler, the monument has in fact captured the imagination of tens of thousands of visitors to the canal each year. The old mule path along the canal has become a world class bike trip.

We are actually on the third iteration of the waterway, called the Barge Canal. It was built in the early part of the 20th century. It’s wider than the first canal, and the locks and gates are much larger and use electricity. Most important, it is still used today, so you can still experience the feel of the canal from 1825. All along the trip, you will learn about this critical water highway that did much to shape American History and by many accounts fueled the industrial revolution.

In large cities and small towns you can find special many places that tell the canal story. The Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor is a great listing of many of the historic canal sites.

In Buffalo, a visit to Canalside, will take you to the original western end of the canal.

In Lockport, an interesting spot is The Erie Canal Discovery Center.

In Port Byron, visitors to the Old Erie Canal Heritage Park can visit by just jumping off Interstate 90 — The New York State Thruway. You can walk through an old set of locks, and in 2025 see the historic canal schooner — Louis McClure — up close.

In Camillus, the half-way point on the canal, The Camillus Erie Canal Park, has restored an old aqueduct over the park, and a canal boat can take you over this piece of history.

At Chittenango Landing Canal Boat Museum, you can not only see what an old canal boat would look like, you can see the actual dry docks used to work on the boats.

In Syracuse, you can visit the very spot the canal boats were weighted to set a toll. That’s at The Erie Canal Museum. 

But in reality, the entire canal is a wonderful piece of American History on full display. Many of the canal towns have kept their old time character. Whether you tour by boat, bike or just drive the back roads near and over the Erie Canal, you will be taking a journey back to the days when Americans by the millions, traveled into The New Frontier.