Program

NYS Historic

Subject

Site

Location

11790 Dutch Hill Rd, Forestport, NY 13338, USA

Lat/Long

43.439475666111, -75.210830755984

Grant Recipient

Town of Forestport

On July 23, 1897, the citizens of the Town of Forestport in the northeastern reaches of Oneida County, NY observed a catastrophic infrastructural failure when a feeder for the Black River canal broke, washing out the towpath and grinding all traffic on the canal to a halt. This, combined with the fact that the water supply of the Erie Canal was also negatively affected, spurred state officials into swift action. The population of Forestport swelled as canal workers toiled for thirty days to repair the extensive damage. The influx of workers proved to be a boon for local businesses, and the large sums of state money spent on the project helped boost the profile of local leaders. After the repairs were completed and the workers left, life returned to normal in Forestport, or so it was thought.

For the following year, on May 23, a second canal break occurred close to where the first had, shutting down the canal for twenty-one days and likewise resulting in a massive influx of workers and state money. This time state officials became suspicious that two breaks could occur so near to each other and in so short a time. So, in the summer of 1899, John N. Partridge, the State Superintendent of Public Works, began an investigation into the cause of the second break.

It was during this investigation that a third canal break occurred on September 18, 1899. This time it was caught early enough to prevent the massive damage that had shut down the canal during the previous breaks, but a large workforce was still required to conduct repairs for seventeen days.

After this third break, Superintendent Partridge contacted the Pinkerton National Detective Agency and put their investigators in charge of the case. Arrests swiftly followed. One man, James Rudolph of Johnstown, NY turned state’s evidence in 1900 and testified that a group of local business leaders had hired a gang of men to damage the canal in order to bring workers into Forestport and stimulate the local economy.

The Forestport Breaks Conspiracy resulted in the indictment of over thirteen people and the conviction of at least six, with some conspirators sentenced to jail time at the Auburn Correctional Facility and others receiving hefty fines. The State Engineer and Surveyor’s report for the 1905 fiscal year lists the total cost of the three canal breaks at $130,635.97.