layers of history on erie canal
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Layers of History in the Erie Canal
A Brief History of the Barge Canal
The Barge Canal is a modernization of the venerable Erie Canal, so a bit of history of the latter is necessary to understand the history of the former. The original Erie canal grew up between the years of 1817 and 1825, cut from Lake Erie to the harbor of New York city. Within ten years of its completion, the canal had cut the cost of shipping freight that distance from over a hundred dollars per ton to four dollars per ton. It brought farm goods from upstate NY to the city, and manufactured or trade goods in the reverse
direction.
Over the years, the canal was continually enlarged; at its inception, it could carry boats with up to 30 tons of cargo, but by 1862 this limit had risen to 250 tons. However, in 1903 it was decided to perform a massive enlargement and modernization to the State of New York's canal system. The locks and lifts of the new canals were powered by steam rather than mules, and the barges were drawn by tugboat. The new system took ten years to complete, and by that time the canal system could support boats up to 42 feet wide and carrying 2000 tons of cargo. When these improvements were completed, the canal was in active competition with the
established rails and the growing highway system - within sixty years its use for cargo traffic had ceased.
The Canal Now
The Barge Canal system was the fusion of several distinct older canals, including the Erie, and that name remains on most maps...