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Jeffrey Syken
I’ve got an old mule, and her name is Sal, Fifteen years on the Erie Canal
She’s a good old worker and a good old pal, Fifteen years on the Erie Canal
We’ve hauled some barges in our day, filled with lumber, coal and hay.
And every inch of the way I know, from Albany to Buffalo
RE: excerpt from the song "Low Bridge, Everybody Down,” first recorded in 1912 and published in 1913, memorializing the years from 1825 to 1880, when the mule barges made boomtowns out of Utica, Rome, Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo and transformed New York into the “Empire State.” It was written after the construction of the New York State Barge Canal, which would replace the Erie Canal, was well underway.
On July 4, 1817, in Rome, N.Y., ground was broken on a project that would bring to life a vision promoted, in the main, by NYS Governor De Witt Clinton: an artificial waterway stretching from Lake Erie’s eastern shore, at Buffalo, to Albany; on the upper Hudson River. The purpose was to allow for the transport of goods and agriculture back and forth to the Midwest. Taking advantage of the Mohawk River gap in the Appalachian Mountains, the Erie Canal; 363-miles-long, was the first canal in the U.S. to connect the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. Construction was completed in 1825. It would continue in operation until the New York State Barge Canal System opened in 1916. The great work, when completed, was the occasion for great public rejoicing. The same year that the Erie Canal was begun, ground was broken for a canal from Lake Champlain to the Hudson; sixty-three miles in length. This work – the Champlain Canal - was completed in 1823.
It now became possible to send to market a wide variety of agricultural produce; fruit, grain, vegetables, etc. - which, before the canal was built, had little value. The canal also made NYC the commercial metropolis of the country. The Erie Canal was first enlarged, beginning in 1835 and completed in 1862, so as to permit the passage of boats of 100-tons burden. However, unforeseen when conceived and built, the Erie and other artificial waterways of the era would have serious competition, given the rise of railroads in the 1830s. Even so, canals still had their place as an efficient means of transporting goods and people well into the late 19th century.
Further enlargements, improvements and modernization of the canal itself and the boats that plied them (i.e. propulsion methods) would bring the Erie into the 20th century. In fact, the Barge Canal increased the transporting capacity of the original canal by 4x. Today, the canal’s main function is recreational, but it remains a wonder of 19th century Civil Engineering, taking its place along with the Suez Canal, Transcontinental Railroad and Eiffel Tower.
This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.
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