Program

Historic Transportation

Subject

Transportation

Location

835 Wilson Blvd, Rochester, NY 14627, USA

Lat/Long

43.130806, -77.632416

Grant Recipient

Rochester Public Library

Requiring nearly a decade to complete, the Erie Canal remains an impressive feat of engineering. Spanning 363 miles, this artificial waterway featured locks, bridges, and aqueducts along its path through the diverse geography of New York State. It connected the Great Lakes region to the commercial hub of New York City, and in many instances, the canal utilized natural waterways and lakes as a means of reaching interior communities. Several branch canals were constructed in subsequent decades until railroads superseded the canal system.

With the official opening of the Erie Canal in 1825, communities across New York State and beyond saw a radical transformation in the transportation of goods and people. Small communities along its route grew and prospered into large towns and cities. One such city that benefited greatly from the canal was Rochester, with its local flour industry becoming one of the biggest in the country because of the canal. By 1827, a feeder canal was used to supply water to the Erie Canal in Rochester. Approximately two miles in length, the feeder canal diverted water from the Genesee River to the Erie Canal.

In 1905, New York State started an improvement effort of the Erie Canal which resulted in the construction of the Barge Canal. Completed in 1918, the Barge Canal was significantly deeper and wider, allowing for larger boats along the waterway. In Rochester, the Barge Canal was rerouted south around the city, and the feeder canal for the old Erie Canal was abandoned.

Portions of the excavated former feeder canal later served as part of the route of the Lehigh Valley Railroad through Rochester. As of 2025, a dirt channel, the only remnant of the former feeder canal, is still visible along Genesee River in Bausch & Lomb Riverside Park near the campus of the University of Rochester.