You may be aware that the remains of the Schoharie Creek Aqueduct at Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site have been listed on the Preservation League of New York Seven to Save List. ( More on that by clicking: www.preservenys.org/seven-to-save )
We and the historic site are honored to have this amazing Erie Canal feature recognized by the Preservation League. The Canal Society of New York graciously nominated the deteriorating structure for the list.
Recently, David from Schoharie Crossing - the Education Director - was given the privilege to "Take Over" the Instagram Account of the Preservation League of NY in order to highlight the Aqueduct. If you are on that social media - We HIGHLY Recommend you check out his posts showing the aqueduct, giving its history and how it inspires and teaching generations of New Yorkers, Americans, and even global travelers. Their handle on #IG is @preservenys. Several images were posted as well as a few days of "stories" that are archived in the highlighted section of the account. (Hey, we have an Instagram too! @friendsofschohariecrossing)
We decided to provide you with some of the text* from those posts - courtesy of David at the site - but we still strongly encourage you to check out the images, double tap them and comment over on the Instagram Account! Help show your love and support!
Day One - Sunday:
This #IG has
been taken over! All this week, @PreserveNY ‘s #igacct will showcase the
#historic #SchoharieCreek #aqueduct! I’m David, educator at #SchoharieCrossing
State Historic Site, and I’ll be your guide over these 7days to show you why this
incredible #historic AND #NationalLandmark feature of the #ErieCanal is on the
Preservation League of NYs’ list of #SevenToSave! Follow along, double tap,
share with friends… & please comment on these posts to let us know your
thoughts.
The Schoharie
Creek Aqueduct was constructed between 1839 to 1841 and when completed spanned
624 feet. Built by contractor Otis Eddy
at a cost of $180,000*, the aqueduct was a major improvement to the Enlarged
Erie Canal. Previously, barges would
have to make a crossing through the waters of the Schoharie Creek, and at times
of rapid water the canal would be closed at that spot causing a backup in
traffic that could last for days. Designed in part by John B. Jervis, the
impact of putting Erie’s water over the Schoharie was incredible.
The aqueduct
was abandoned in 1917, when the Barge Canal opened in the Mohawk River – the
wooden trough that held the canal water being reallocated to construction of
Lock 9 in Rotterdam Junction. The stone work remained intact until the late
1930s, or early 1940s, when arches at its east end were removed to alleviate
ice jamming that caused flooding.
*$180,000 is
roughly $5million in today’s value.
---Day Two - Monday:
For some
#MondayMotivation, I’d like to highlight the #Aqueduct’s Educational
Value.
Each year,
thousands of people come to Schoharie Crossing to explore for various
reasons. Many discover more about the
history of the #ErieCanal than they may have even bargained for and get a
chance to witness the remains of the Schoharie Creek Aqueduct. While it is unfortunate that all 14 arches
are no longer standing, we take the opportunity to discuss the great value of
preserving our history for the future with visitors. It also allows us to
discuss the engineering of such an incredible structure with people of all
ages. School groups in particular gain
great knowledge of the reasons of why and how the Erie Canal was constructed. Students are given an inspiring yet realistic
narrative of what it took to undertake such a monumental task and how it
transformed not just New York State but the Nation.
People have
been visiting the aqueduct since before the canal went into the Mohawk River in
1917, We have been sharing the aqueduct’s history at Schoharie Crossing in Fort
Hunter – Montgomery County for over 50 years. The last 30 of which the historic
site has had a Visitor Center with an exhibit which has been just recently
updated. Inside there is now a model of what the Aqueduct looked like c. 1900
to help visitors better understand how it carried the canal over the creek
(More later this week on that!).
---
#TowpathTuesday
– Let’s take a look at the Schoharie Creek Aqueduct as it was in operation c.
1900. This iconic image resonates and
pulls us all into the lively hustle of the #ErieCanal in the age of the
#towpath. This amazing aqueduct carried
the canal over the Schoharie Creek from 1845 to 1917 when the Mohawk River was
canalized for the #BargeCanal.
After the canal
moved into the River, the aqueduct was no longer needed, its wooden trough was
disassembled and used at the new Lock E9 in Rotterdam Junction.
On the
towpath of the aqueduct remains the Otis Eddy stone (check out our IG Story to
see it). Eddy was the contractor for the John Jervis designed structure and he
went to considerable pains to ensure its completion. During the national and state economic
recessions of the late 1830’s, NYS Gov’t enacted the “Stop & Tax Law” and
several of the Erie Canal Enlargement projects were halted or majorly
impacted. Eddy went into debt to finish
his work by deadline as payments for the contract were held or
re-negotiated. The Aqueduct was
completed by 1842 and put into use three years later.
There are
more great images of the historically important aqueduct on the Friends of
Schoharie Crossing #IG acct @friendsofschohariecrossing
Check out our
#IGStory today for more great images!
*David from
Schoharie Crossing has taken over the @PreserveNY acct all this week to highlight
the aqueduct!
---
#WaybackWednesday
has me* thinking about the why and how.
The Erie Canal was an engineering marvel when it was completed in 1825,
& in TRUE New York fashion, the people sought to make it bigger and better
right away! This Enlargement Era began in 1836 & lasted until 1862 – making
the canal wider and deeper while reducing the number of locks and its length by
miles. The Enlargement also meant
constructing double chambered locks instead of the traffic jam inducing single
locks. For “Canawlers,” the most noted
MAJOR improvement was the Schoharie Creek Aqueduct! They could easily pass over the waters of the
Schoharie Creek instead of through them, thus saving valuable time – and as we
all know… “Time IS Money!”
One of the
reasons for the success of the canal is that it made use of the #Geological
advantage #NYS has over other Atlantic states like Virginia. With the Mohawk Valley cutting a path through
the Appalachian Mountain Range that extends from Georgia to Maine, the state
was prime for a waterway improvement to connect the Great Lakes to the Atlantic
Ocean. General #GeorgeWashington,
following his 1783 tour of New York’s western waterways, wrote of the
advantages to be gained: “Extend the inland navigation of the eastern
waters…and we shall not only draw the produce of the western settlers, but the
peltry and fur trade of the lakes also, to our ports, thus adding immense
increase to our exports, and binding these people to us by a chain which can
never be broken.”
The “Why?”
seems simple now in retrospect, the canal transformed the economy, as well as
politics, social and religious movements, and even the changing way the natural
environment was viewed by people at the time.
The Aqueduct here at Schoharie Crossing is a direct physical connection
to that amazing national story.
The “How?” is
just as complicated…I’ll address some more of that on Friday.
This is the 300th
Preservation League of NY #IGpost! Follow along on the stories for more great
images and info!
---
#ThrowbackThursday
– The preservation of the Schoharie Creek Aqueduct began as a local grassroots
effort! After removal of two arches c.
1940, people started to notice what was no longer there to see. By the mid-1950’s the #FortHunter
#CanalSociety was formed & boasted a membership into the hundreds. They
advocated for the #ErieCanal structures to be placed on the National Register
of #HistoricPlaces & gained the attn of NYS Gov’t to est. a #historicsite. 1966 saw the creation of #SchoharieCrossing
under Gov. #Rockafeller’s administration.
The Aqueduct
was part of local tours & gained attention in travel guides for those
traveling Rt5, Rt5S as well as the #NYSThruway.
NYSOPRHP (@nystateparks) was handed operation of the site in 1972 with
full interpretative amenities in place by ‘87. Schoharie Creek Aqueduct was
given a stabilization effort in ‘79 -which ultimately failed in ’98 w/ the
collapse of two more arches. There have been several attempts to bring
additional awareness to the diminishing stability of the structure in the last
20 years. Being on @preservenys
#SevenToSave list is the most recent.
The Canal Society of NY nominated the Aqueduct, & it is easy to see
why so many advocate for this important, historic -yet still fully relevant- structure.
Check out the
#IGStory today for more images, a cool map & 3D laser stuff!
____Additional
Comment_____
From the 1968
Prospectus for Schoharie Crossing: “…This magnificent 624-foot cut limestone
structure ranks as one of the finest pieces of monumental construction in the
entire country. Many of its thirteen
piers and fourteen 40-foot arches are intact, -a most impressive sight. This aqueduct, although built for function,
achieved the rare combination of grace and utility. Following its construction, engineers from
Europe came to view the remarkable accomplishment of carrying a canal high
above the river; and artists came to sketch it, carrying their pictures back to
England to be used for designs on Staffordshire pottery and other works of art.
Although
there were 15 other aqueducts in the Eastern Division from Utica to the Hudson
River, and lengths varied from 22 feet to 1,137 feet, the Schoharie Creek
Aqueduct was outstanding; and, in ruins, is a dramatic reminder of the force
and foresight of the Canal Builders.”
---
Whoot #FBF is
here! As promised, let’s take a moment to go over the “how” the #ErieCanal
-& more specifically the #SchoharieAqueduct – was built. Simply put, by
hand with ingenuity & determination. Surveyors turned engineers designed
#ClintonsDitch & laborers made it happen.
The original
Erie was completed in 1825 & opened w/ much fanfare. Gov. DeWitt Clinton
was lauded by most. Success however falls squarely on the shoulders of those
who built it & worked it. Men used axes, shovels, picks, & ploughs to
dig the canal prism. Simple machines & innovations like the stump puller,
tree feller, pulleys & cranes made the work a little easier. Politics were
the hard part, along with ego & financing.
The contract
for the #SchoharieCreek Aqueduct was let in July 1838: awarded to Otis Eddy.
Work was to be completed by Oct1840 but w/ economic recession, delays in
construction were instructed by commissioners thus indebting Eddy further to
creditors for interest on construction materials. Spring 1843 & again in
1844 saw calls in NYS Legislature to appropriate funds to finish the Jordan
Level & get the canal in line w/ the aqueduct.
Schoharie
Aqueduct was constructed during low water conditions, making use of coffer dams
as well. Limestone blocks set on wooden
footings were laid w/ precision & attn to detail. Arches supported the
#towpath, piers faced the flow of water, & a wooden trough would hold the
waters of the canal. Iron wedges leveled the stone as masonry set, & iron
drains kept the path dry. Towpath fill was pulled from the creek bank, &
thus deposited w/in pre-Columbian artifacts created by nomadic hunter/gatherers
who made use of the strategic waterways of the creek & #MohawkRiver.
The aqueduct
contains history far greater than its own 177 years. Made from ancient ocean
sediment rock, filled with glacial stone, soil deposits, & human tools, traveled
across by thousands, witnessed by millions, it stands as a testament to what we
can all achieve if we set goals & put forth determination.
---
I’ve* had an
incredible week posting all about the #SchoharieCreek #Aqueduct here at
Schoharie Crossing for the Preservation League of NY. The sun has set on my takeover, but not for
the amazing Erie Canal structures we are preserving and advocating for! My hope is that over the last week you have
come to see the beauty and importance – not just historically, but in the
present and for the future – of the Schoharie Creek Aqueduct.
Follow the
Friends of #SchoharieCrossing on their #IG acct @FriendsOfSchoharieCrossing and
continue the journey as we advocate for the amazing #history of the Erie Canal!
*David from
Schoharie Crossing has taken over the @PreserveNY acct all this week to
highlight the aqueduct!
*We've eliminated some of the #hashtags at the end of posts to streamline this a bit. Most common tags were:
#PreserveNY #preservation #historicpreservation #preservationadvocacy #keepcanalboatsafloat #savetheurger #eriecanal #nysbargecanal #canal #canalhistory #nyshistory #schoharieaqueduct #schohariecrossing #sxshs #mohawkriver #mohawkvalley #seventosave #7tosave
And the other IG Accounts tagged in were often for the NYS Canal Corporation, Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor, NYS Parks, and the local Fulton-Montgomery Regional Chamber of Commerce.
___________________________________________
Check out this great snipbit of drone footage covering the
Empire Lock #29 and Lock 20 area of Schoharie Crossing
by
Call of the Loon Productions out of Liverpool, NY.
See the entire short documentary at:
________________________________
