What’s a scenic byway? …a road less traveled? “…a road or track not following a main route; a minor road or path.” Spring time is as good a time as any to reflect on what makes a byway.
All national scenic byways have at least one of the six intrinsic qualities: archaeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational and scenic. I think you will agree that the Mohawk Towpath Byway is rich with each one of these qualities and I would like to share share the thoughts, ideas, and suggestions that went into our Corridor Management Plan. It was put together by our “Advocacy Committee” under the guidance of the Mohawk Valley Heritage Corridor nearly two decades ago.
Let us look at each of these qualities, each with it’s own entry, and see if they are still as relevant today as they were twenty years ago. Your comments, ideas, and perspective would be greatly appreciated!
Cultural Intrinsic Qualities – see https://wp.me/p8Z8Z1-Sd
Natural Intrinsic Qualities – see https://wp.me/p8Z8Z1-RB
Recreational Intrinsic Qualities – see https://wp.me/p8Z8Z1-RN
Scenic Intrinsic Qualities – see https://wp.me/p8Z8Z1-ST
Archaeology as an Intrinsic Quality – see https://wp.me/p8Z8Z1-Tl
Historic Intrinsic Quality – see https://wp.me/p8Z8Z1-Tr This is our intrinsic quality, the one we focus all our efforts on. In fact the Mohawk Towpath Byway has been described as, “the short Byway with the longest history.” Now, how does your story fold into the Byway story?
Here’s a tip o’ the tam to all those who can trace their ancestry to the Irish labor force who built the Erie Canal. There were certainly other immigrant groups including Germans and and Brits who contributed to the project – the only water level route through the Appalachian Mountains. But Irish workers were the largest, most significant group working for 37 to 50 cents a day (and maybe a ration of whiskey).