Program

Historic Transportation Canals

Subject

Transportation

Location

11901 E River St, Forestport, NY 13338, USA

Lat/Long

43.439387, -75.206249

Grant Recipient

Dodge Pratt Northam Art & Community Center

The Erie Canal is a man-made waterway that fundamentally changed the history of New York State. It effectively connected the interior of the United States around the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean. An amazing feat of modern engineering, the Erie Canal traversed the complex geography of New York. Over the years, several different canals branched off from the main Erie Canal. One such example is the Black River Canal. In the community of Forestport, NY, a dam was constructed across the Black River to form State Pond.  This pond, filled with waters from the Black River, served as the main water source of the Black River Canal. Stretching 10 miles, the Black River Feeder Canal diverted water from the Black River at State Pond to Black River Canal. While the Black River Feeder Canal was used primarily to supply water for the Black River Canal it was also used to transport large amounts of lumber between the communities of Forestport and Boonville as indicated in a May 17, 1852 article from the Albany Evening Journal:

The lumber business on the Black River Canal, has opened quite active, Twenty-six boats cleared from Boonville during the first 10 days of navigation. These boats carried 630,000 feet of lumber, 150 cords of wood and a small quantity of general freight.

The article continues:

It is estimated, says the Boonville Ledger, that there is now banked at Port Laden, at least some 4,000,000 feet of lumber, and about the same quantity on the Black River Feeder, there are also some 6000 chords of wood banked in this vicinity, awaiting shipment.

Black River Canal and the Feeder Canal served as a vital conduit that opened northern New York for trade. Despite the wealth and prosperity the Canal brought to the region, it eventually fell into disuse and ceased operation around 1923.