By 1860, with passenger travel settled in favor of the railroads, the next course of business lay in the transportation of freight. New York state had a vested interest in protecting its state owned Erie Canal. As such, railroads, which were chartered by the state, were not originally permitted to carry freight, except during the winter months when the canal was closed. Even so, the business of carrying freight actually increased during this period for both railroads and the Erie Canal and tonnage on the Erie Canal reached its zenith in 1880 at 4,608,651 tons. As a further stimulus to the canal, tariffs were eliminated in 1882. The Erie Canal had paid back the state many times over and the canal became a free waterway. The canal was then nicknamed, “Everyman’s Highway.”
The railroad interests became increasingly arrogant and they wanted to have the canal filled in and the right of way given to them for their tracks. They combined this idea with the preposterous notion that New York State should amend its Constitution to eliminate both the Executive and Legislative branches of state government and replace them with the board of directors of the New York Central Railroad. As ludicrous as the whole idea may sound, the state lawmakers, not wishing to offend the railroad interests, agreed to submit the proposal as a referendum during the next state election. In a reflection of the power achieved by the railroads, the proposition was only defeated by a margin of 6,360 New York state voters.
By eliminating tolls on the Erie Canal in 1882, New York lawmakers had hoped to give the Erie Canal an advantage that would propel it into the 20th century. The principal drawback was that the canal was actually working pretty much up to its capacity, given its limitations of width and depth. The first expansion, which was not finished until 1862, was then a case of too little, too late. The coming of the Civil War also did much to bolster Erie Canal usage. The closing of the Mississippi River during the early days of the Civil War sent tremendous freight traffic into the Great Lakes and the Erie Canal. In 1862, the Erie Canal recorded peak annual revenue of over $4,800,000 from over 5,000 boats. Congestion on the canal was worse than ever, even with railroad competition and the recently completed canal enlargement. Correspondingly, traffic on the Hudson River from the canal terminus at Albany to New York City, was at an all time high. The canal boats were lashed together and towed by steamship along the Hudson. A record tow of canal boats in a single trip was attributed to the steamship Connecticut as she pulled 108 canal boats behind her from New York City to Albany.
Doug Farley is director of the Erie Canal Discovery Center. Contact him at 434-7433. The Discovery Center is closed for the season and will reopen May 1.
Erie Canal Discovery
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Discussion
May 18, 2008
FARLEY: Railroads along the canal — Part 2
- Erie Canal Discovery
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FARLEY: The Erie Canal gun telegraph
The following communication was first published by the Buffalo Historical Society on April 7, 1863.
- FARLEY: The ice house on the canal The history of the Erie Canal is filled with information that doesn’t seem to fit into a typical category. One such item was gleaned from the life of Paul Murphy, born in Hartland in 1892.
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FARLEY: Railroads along the canal — Part 2
By 1860, with passenger travel settled in favor of the railroads, the next course of business lay in the transportation of freight. New York state had a vested interest in protecting its state owned Erie Canal.
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FARLEY: Railroads — Part 1
Vastly different, yet still very similar, the Erie Canal and the American railroads left their own marks on history. The Erie Canal traces its beginning to 1807 and the writings of Jesse Hawley, who wrote an early description of a canal which would join the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean.
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FARLEY: The life and times of an Erie Canal cook
We have learned much about life on the Erie Canal from one of its best friends, Richard Garrity of the Tonawanda’s. His remembrances of growing up on the canal help us to picture the scene in our minds eye. The following narrative is graciously attributed to Mr. Garrity.
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FARLEY: Recollections from an early settler
The owners of the first log home near what is now the Lockport Locks was acknowledged to be Dr. Isaac Smith and his wife, Edna Deane Smith. The couple operated an infirmary out of their cabin. Anyone who was hurt as a result of work on the Erie Canal would most likely have been taken to the Smith home. Mrs. Smith, a Quaker, affectionately known as Aunt Edna, served as a nurse for her husband.
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FARLEY: Life on the Erie Canal
Life on the Erie Canal represented a culture all its own, a way of existence that included its own vocabulary, its own laws, its own dangers and its own beauty. For some, it was a hard, demanding life. No doubt it was for many of the thousands whose livelihood depended on it during the canal’s peak years. Yet it offered special rewards that people found irresistible. The world of the canal was an escape from the ordinary and had its own special excitement.
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FARLEY: The story of Edith Kohler — Part 2
The story this week is part two of the personal experiences of Edith Kohler who was born on the Erie Canal and lived to be over 100 years old in Lockport. These remembrances were told to others during the waning years of her life.
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CANAL DISCOVERY: The experiences of Edith Kohler — part one
Many stories are told about the workers who built the Erie Canal. Other stories focus on the men, women and children that lived and worked on the canal. Lockport is fortunate to have a plethora of stories that have been passed down by a grand lady who grew up on a canal boat.
- CANAL DISCOVERY: Bridges over the canal The history of the Erie Canal contains quite a few stories of men and women who received an “up-close and personal” understanding of the term “low bridge.” Many of the stories pertain to the poor souls who failed to heed a captain’s shout of “down on deck” or “bridge.”
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