Erie Canal Museum - Lecture Series, Part 2

Yesterday I took my oldest grandson, Mike, to the Erie Canal Museum. I rarely get to spend time with my grandchildren individually, so it was a wonderful day for me.


The topic was Canal Basics, presented by Assistant Director/Curator, Andrew P. Kitzmann.

I grew up in Syracuse and having studied the canal in school and more recently in the course of my family history research I wasn't expecting to learn anything new. I was wrong. In the course of an hour and a half I learned quite a few things and it was an enjoyable lecture.

Mr. Kitzmann was kind enough to include Mike, the only child in attendance, by talking about the roll children played on the canal. Boys as young as eight were expected to work two 6 hour shifts each day traveling with the mules on the towpath. Adding an hour before each shift to feed the animals and an hour at the end of the shift to clean and care for them resulted in 16 hour days. When asked if he'd rather work on the canal or go to school Mike was quick to vote for school. Something that I was not previously aware of was that men would meet the immigrant ships in New York City to find boys to work on the canal. This has me rethinking the family story that has been handed down that Michael Camfield was indentured to a farmer and then went to work with horses on the towpath.

In 1800 New York was a wilderness of old growth forest, something that is nearly impossible to envision now. Prior to the building of the canal it took 6 - 8 weeks to travel from Albany to Buffalo. The canal shortened the trip to 6 - 8 days. I can now drive from Albany to Buffalo in 6 hours or less.

If you had ancestors that migrated across New York at any time in the 1800's there is a good chance that the Erie Canal and/or one of the feeder canals played an important part in their lives. My ancestors worked on the building of the canal. Later they owned businesses or worked along the canal.

There are three more lectures left in the series:

Tuesday, March 11, 2008 at 1:00 p.m.
Art Cohn, executive director of Lake Champlain Maritime Museum.

Saturday, March 11, 2008 at 1:00 p.m.
Randy Duchain, author of "New York Waters," with book signing to follow.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008 at 10:30 a.m.
Andrew Kitzmann, Erie Canal Museum, "Canal Inspired Architecture."

Erie Canal Museum
318 Erie Boulevard East
Syracuse, NY 13202

Mon.- Sat. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Sun. 10 a.m.- 3 p.m.

Erie Canal Museum - Upcoming Events

I was able to attened a very enjoyable lecture at The Erie Canal Museum this afternoon. (More on that later!) They have more great lectures scheduled and a new exhibit will open next month. If you live in CNY mark your calendars and I hope to see you there!

Lecture Series

Tuesday, February 19, 2008 at 10:30 a.m.
Andrew Kitzmann, Erie Canal Museum, "Canal Basics." at 10:30 a.m.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008 at 1:00 p.m.
Art Cohn, executive director of Lake Champlain Maritime Museum.

Saturday, March 11, 2008 at 1:00 p.m.
Randy Duchain, author of "New York Waters," with book signing to follow.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008 at 10:30 a.m.
Andrew Kitzmann, Erie Canal Museum, "Canal Inspired Architecture."

Exhibit

February 6 – March 17, 2008 The Art of the Draftsman

The success of the Erie Canal was based in large part to meticulous planning and preparation of surveys, maps, and geologic studies of the proposed route. This exhibition will explore the intended routes of the canal and the surveyors conducting the studies. The primary theme of the exhibition will be a chronological exploration of the changes in the canal route as the system was expanded and modernized over a period of 100 years. Maps will include early pre-1800 Inland Lock Navigation Canals, Benjamin Wrights Survey Journal, NYS engineering, birds eye, and various local and town examples from throughout the 1800s.

318 Erie Boulevard East
Syracuse, NY 13202

Mon.- Sat. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Sun. 10 a.m.- 3 p.m.