Erie+Canal

toc =__**The Erie Canal**__= The Erie Canal is a very famous a very famous song and story. It was proposed and completed in 1825. The Canal links the waters of Lake Erie in the west to the Hudson River in the east. The Erie Canal is a man-made waterway in New York state that runs about 365 miles from Albany on the Hudson River to Buffalo at Lake Erie, completing a navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. When it was proposed it was in 1808, it was under construction from 1817 to 1825.

=__About the Erie Canal__= The Erie Canal is 4 feet deep and 40 feet wide, with a rise of 568 feet from the Hudson River to Lake Erie. In those early days it was often reffered to as Clinton's Big Ditch. Also in its early days it floated boats carrying 30 tons of freight. In 1903 the State again decided to enlarge the canal by the construction of what was termed the " Barge Canal", consesting of the Erie Canal and the three chief branches of the State system- the Champlain, and the Oswego. This 363 mile long Canal originally was constructed with 84 locks at a cost to the state of $7,143,000.00. =__Shipment on the Canal__= In a demonstration of one of America's first monopolies, the railroads started charging exhorbitant rates for shipping cargo. Seeking relief, the sippers soon returned to The Canal as their main source of transportating goods. By then, The Canal had fallen into disrepair and in the early 1900's a major reconstruction was undertaken, widening the Canal, as well as adding several locks to improve navigability. The Canal did not greatly affect business for stagecoach companies, which was faster, and not limited by road copacity or ice, but it did bankrupt the Conastoga wagon freight carriers. By 1841, however, the railroad had put stagecoach companies out of business. The Erie Canal still operates today.

=__What did the Erie Canal accomplish?__= The Erie Canal provided traders access from the Great Lakes all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. Over 460 miles long, it was the biggest canal ever built in North America. It helped us American's have another route to trade from and to get to other lakes, canals, and ocean. The Canal was built with teamwork, so it helped American's realize and tought them that you can do things by teamwork, it also brought some of us together. The Canal also made it easier to get to other places a little quicker.

=__Who built the Erie Canal?__= Dewitt Clinton was the founder of the Erie Canal. He was born on March 2, 1769 in Little Britain, New York. He was the governor of New York State. He wanted to build a canal from New York City to the Great Lakes. A canal like this should let boats travel to NY and all the way to the Great Lakes. The Erie Canal was finished in 1825 July 4th. Dewitt Clinton became the leader of New Yorks People's Party. He was also nicknamed " The Father of the Erie Canal ". Governor Clinton was carried on a barge in a triumphal progress from Lake Erie to New York. He died in Albany in 1828. His death took place while he was still in his office, and by his influence he had done much toward making the canal system in other states.

=__The Erie Canal Today__= Since the 1990's, the canal system has been used primarily by recreational traffic, although a small but growing amount of cargo traffic still uses it. Today, the Erie Canal Corridor covers 524 miles of navigatable water from Lake Champlain to the Capital Region and west to Buffalo. The area has a population of 2.7 million, and about 75% of Central and Western New York's population lives within 25 miles of the Erie Canal. There were some 42 commercial shipments on The Erie Canal in 2008. The Erie Canal will be with America for a long time i hope because it is a part of our American history that we should never forget about.