Skip to main content

CANAL EXTENSION

Program
Historic Transportation Canals
Subject
Transportation
Location
4737 NY-434, Vestal, NY 13850, USA
Lat/Long
42.0924092, -75.9487095
Grant Recipient
Town of Vestal
Historic Marker

CANAL EXTENSION

Inscription

CANAL EXTENSION
REMAINING SECTION OF 1865
TOWPATH & PRISM FOR CHENANGO
CANAL EXTENSION THROUGH
VESTAL. ABANDONED 1872
BEFORE EXTENSION COMPLETED.
WILLIAM G. POMEROY FOUNDATION 2019

Before the development of railroads, canals played a vital role in the economic development and growth of local communities. Following the completion of the Erie Canal, it was not long before additional sections began to branch off from the main canal.  One of these new sections was the Chenango Canal Extension, which passed through Vestal, New York. One of the unique features of the Chenango Extension was its prism shape- its canal bed was wider at the surface than at the bottom. Canal construction began in 1865 but it was never completed and was subsequently abandoned in 1872. Today only remnants of the towpath and its prism shape remain.