Erie Canal: The Early Years w/ Craig Williams - Third Thursday Lecture Series Ep. 3

   Using seldom-seen manuscripts from the first days of the Clinton's Ditch in the collection of the New York State Archives, Williams will provide an illustrated overview of how the people of New York State learned to survey, design, construct and operate this unparalleled engineering achievement.  Who took the first shovel and where?  Who did the rest of the shoveling?  Once built, who was going to maintain it and how?  New Yorkers were the first in the early American Republic to undertake such a massive public works project.  As the State is in the midst of the bicentennial of the Erie Canal, now is an especially good time to better appreciate this truly remarkable accomplishment.  Being Saint Patrick's Day, the contributions of the Irish and other immigrants will be appreciated!

   Craig Williams is president of the board of directors of the Canal Society of New York State. He retired in 2014 as a senior historian at the New York State Museum after more than thirty years of service. From 1978 to 1983 he was the director of the DeWitt Historical Society of Tompkins County in Ithaca and from 1976 to 1977 he was curator at the Erie Canal Museum. AS one of THE leading Erie Canal scholars, we are extremely appreciative of his work to preserve the rich history of the canal system and his years of dedication to sharing the relevancy that that historic system still holds for us all today. 

 Canal Society of New York State website:

https://newyorkcanals.org/

Canal Society of NY on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/CSNYS/

 

This program was offered for free by Schoharie Crossing on Thursday, March 17, 2022.  If you’d like to provide a monetary donation or become a member of the 501c3 Friends of Schoharie Crossing, you can do so by visiting: https://the-friends-of-schoharie-crossing.square.site/

 

Schoharie Crossing website:

https://www.parks.ny.gov/historic-sites/schohariecrossing

 

Books mentioned:

Artificial River by Carol Sherrif

Erie Water West by Ronald E. Shaw

Heaven’s Ditch by Jack Kelly

History of the Canal System in NYS by Noble Whitford

Canal Boatman by Richard Garrity

 

Great images and documents related to the Erie Canal 

NYS Archives Digital Collections: https://digitalcollections.archives.nysed.gov/

Erie Canal Mapping Project: https://www.eriecanalmappingproject.com/ 

The Erie Canal: https://www.eriecanal.org/  

 

Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site

129 Schoharie Street – PO Box 140

Fort Hunter, NY 12069

SchoharieCrossing@parks.ny.gov

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