New York State Governor DeWitt Clinton believed a canal could be dug across his state in order to create an inland water route from the Atlantic Ocean to Lake Erie, a virtual "Gateway to the West". Many scoffed at the idea, called it "Clinton's Folly," but Clinton persevered and finally on July 4, 1817, digging began on the 363 mile long, 40 foot wide, 4 foot deep canal. The Erie Canal, also commonly referred to as "Clinton's Ditch", was officially opened on October 26, 1825, after eight years and seven million dollars. The ceremony included Clinton "wedding the waters" from Lake Erie with the Atlantic Ocean.
Travel time between New York City and Buffalo was reduced from six weeks to ten days by the Erie Canal. Carrying a steady flow of settlers and commercial traffic, the Erie Canal enriched all communities along its way. New York City became the greatest seaport in the New World and New York became the "EMPIRE STATE".
HM Number | HM1GTB |
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Series | This marker is part of the Erie Canal series |
Tags | |
Marker Condition | No reports yet |
Date Added | Saturday, September 27th, 2014 at 5:43pm PDT -07:00 |
UTM (WGS84 Datum) | 17T E 672904 N 4765337 |
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Decimal Degrees | 43.02105000, -78.87800000 |
Degrees and Decimal Minutes | N 43° 1.263', W 78° 52.68' |
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds | 43° 1' 15.78" N, 78° 52' 40.8" W |
Driving Directions | Google Maps |
Area Code(s) | 716 |
Closest Postal Address | At or near 1-3 Main St, Tonawanda NY 14150, US |
Alternative Maps | Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap |
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