Eastern merchants had no easy way to sell things such as axes and plows to those in the West. "At the time, it took nearly a month or more to get a barrel of flour from the shores of Lake Erie along the Mohawk Trail to the Hudson River."(Harness, 3) .
A water route, connecting the coast with the now Midwestern settlements was essential. As early as 1724, Cadwallader Glolden, surveyor of the Province of New York, had realized that such a route could be dug between the Hudson River at Albany and Lake Erie at Buffalo. By building a canal between these two points, it would be possible to ship goods by boat from New York City, up the Hudson River to the entrance of the canal at Albany, through the canal to Lake Erie and into the Great Lakes. It would mean that all the vast territory around the Great lakes would be opened to trade with the East.
It was not until 1810, however, that a practical canal route was surveyed. Seven more years went by before the first shovelful of earth was dug on the fourth of July, 1817. The canal was to become the famous Erie Canal.
Money was very scarce in America, so the high wages paid by the canal contractors attracted thousands of immigrants -mostly Irish- as well as farmers and villagers along the route. The 80 cents to one dollar a day that laborers were paid was often three times the amount laborers could earn in their home countries.
To speed up the work the contractors began using horse-drawn scrapers and ploughs instead of the traditional wheelbarrow, pick, and shovel. "This was a new idea and perhaps marked the beginning of American Leadership in efficiency with machines."(Buehr, 35) .
Still, progress was slow. Steam shovels and cement had not yet been invented, so the walls had to be laid up stone by stone. Many locks had to be built, dams were needed to hold the water that kept the canal filled and the locks operating, and spillways and control gates were installed to prevent washouts and floods.
The canal was to become the famous Erie Canal. ... From the beginning, the Erie Canal was an enormous success. ... Before the railroads, the Erie Canal was the main route to the West. ... The success of the Erie Canal was also a turning point for New York City. ... The Erie Canal and its neighbors became known as the New York State Canal System. ...
The opening of the Erie Canal also gave Cleveland a new dream: cut a canal that would link Cleveland to the Ohio River. ... the canal matched the dimensions of the Erie Canal: 40 feet wide, 4-1/2 feet deep. The Erie Canal was 363 miles long; the Ohio Canal would be 307 miles. But the Ohio Canal would be more difficult to build because it would require twice as many locks as the [Erie Canal]. The route of the Ohio and Erie Canal is shown in the map on the following page. ...
Although the California Gold Rush is an extreme example people of the pre phone era were also quite creative with their means of communication; the opening of the Erie Canal best shows this. ... The Erie Canal was a big deal for everyone within its vicinity since the Hudson and Lake Erie were now linked. ... People goods and information could now be floated to their destination via the Erie Canal. ... The Erie Canal was a big deal for everyone within its vicinity since the Hudson and Lake Erie were now linked. ... People goods and information could now be floated to their destination via the E...
Canals became a great asset when the roads became impassable. Most all of the canals were constructed to link three kinds of areas: "back country" to tide water, canals would transverse between older states and the Ohio valley, and the many western canals would link the Great Lakes and waterways running to the east. The Erie Canal started in Albany on the Hudson River and traveled up the state of New York to Buffalo to Lake Erie. The canal ran for a distance of 364 miles. By the 1840's the United States had 3,326 miles of canals. ...
By the 1800's, steamboats made an emergence, and canals became a popular means of transportation. ... For that reason, they made the Erie Canal. Construction on the canal began in 1817, and by the year 1845, more than 3,300 miles of canals were being used. By the 1860's, however, the boom of canals was nearly over. ... This led to the emergence of canals being used for transportation, and allowed for easier travel. ...
Although canals were as old as Egypt, only about 100 miles of them existed in the United States as late as 1816. Construction costs aside, in a rough and mountainous country canals presented formidable engineering problems. ... In 1810, while serving as state canal commissioner, he traveled across central New York and convined himself that it would be practicable to dig a canal from Buffalo, on Lake Erie, to the Hudson River. The Erie Canal, as it was called, was a remarkable accomplishment. ... Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and half a dozen lesser towns along the canal flourished. ...
The Erie Canal is born, which is the biggest construction project in the western world in the last 4,000 years. ... A wall of solid limestone 60 feet high, just 30 miles from the finish line is, Lake Erie. This canal would link the Atlantic Ocean to the middle of America. ... But, politically the canal is a huge gamble. ... As a result, eight years of digging, over 1,000 lives lost, the cost over one hundred million dollars, the Erie Canal opens in 1825. ...
The Erie Canal would connect a port of New York City by beginning at the Hudson River. ... On July 4, 1817 construction of the Erie Canal began in Rome, New York. On October 25, 1825 the entire length of the Erie Canal was complete. ... The Erie Canal reduced shipping costs significantly. ... After the opening of the Erie Canal, the urban to rural ratio began to change dramatically. ...