This year we celebrate the 200th anniversary of the opening of the Erie Canal. The Mohawk Towpath Scenic Byway parallels the Mohawk River and the Erie Canal between Waterford, Cohoes, and Schenectady. One of the strongest intrinsic values of our Byway is history. This provided an ideal opportunity to publicize the Byway and its connection to the waterway west.
Although the communities have been drumming the beat of the anniversary all year, the actual opening of the canal from Albany to Buffalo occurred in late October 1825. Major commemorative celebrations started with the construction of a replica of the Seneca Chief at the Buffalo Maritime Center several years ago. During the World Canal Conference held the last week in September the Seneca Chief, in a grand celebration left Buffalo Harbor for a re-enacted journey across the Erie Canal to New York City. Stopping at major historic canal ports along the way, the crew collected samples of water to pour in New York harbor like Governor Clinton did 200 years ago. On its journey to New York City the packet boat stopped at Schenectady on October 14 to provide tours to the public and educational field trip opportunities for local school children, bringing history to life.
Meanwhile, the Town of Clifton Park held a well attended Canal Festival in the hamlet of Vischer Ferry on the weekend of October 11 and 12. The weekend included a dedication of historic marker, a parade, food vending, military re-enactors, historically popular youth games, historic trade demonstrations, working canal lock model, tours of historic structures, hay rides to a historic lock, antique car show, folks songs on the Canal, a presentation by local historic artist Len Tantillo, and a stage performance of historic narrative and song The Remarkable, Irresistible Erie directed by Andy Spence.
History records that cannons were fired along the canal to signal the approach of the Seneca Chief 200 years ago and was an important way of telegraphing the opening of the original Erie Canal before the telegraph, telephone, or internet. Following suit this fall, anyone who owns a canon or has access to a historic military device put it to a constructive use! Locally a group of re-enactors of the Albany Militia gathered to fire their canon as the Seneca Chief approached Ferry Drive in Clifton Park.
The Town of Halfmoon provided Live music, picnic fair, and ceremony by noted dignitaries as the boat tied up at Terminal Road dock so the crew had a pitstop before descending the flight of the locks into Waterford Harbor. Here too, a canon was fired as the Seneca Chief moved on toward the Flight of Locks on Waterford.
The boat spent the day tied up at Waterford Harbor providing tours to the public and several large groups of school children from various Capital District schools. The crew provided educators that did an impressive job with program geared to grade school youth as they toured the interior of the Seneca Chief, planted a pine tree and explaining the perspective of indigenous people as the Erie Canal cut through native lands.
This series of events underscored the historic intrinsic value of the Mohawk Towpath Byway in a very real, tangible way where any number of lectures could never achieve. This history lesson conveyed to school children, to families, and older adults could not have been better or more appropriately conveyed.
Thank you to all of the town historians; local, regional, and state officials; along with all our volunteers for their cooperation in highlighting this milestone on the Erie Canal now as we reshape the canal’s purpose from a commercial asset that built the Empire State to a recreation asset we all can enjoy whether from shore or from the perspective on the water.
Friends of the Mohawk Towpath Byway 