After America's victory over Great Britain in the War of 1812, a wave of patriotism swept across the country during The Era of Good Feelings. During that period construction began on the Erie Canal, a project that would connect the Atlantic Ocean with Lake Erie. While the federal government approved funding for the Cumberland (National) Road, it took many years to finally complete and was more of a dirt path than an actual road. Congress was also petitioned to fund the Erie Canal but that fell through, so the state of New York took on the task, assessing tolls when it was finally completed to pay for its construction and upkeep. In many ways the Erie Canal was the nation's first highway because it was used year around, was ideal to haul cargo and people, and contributed greatly to the economic growth of the country.
Construction took eight years (1817 to 1825) to complete the entire 363 mile route. The primary complication was the 565 foot elevation difference between Albany and Buffalo. The complexity of the project prompted Thomas Jefferson to refer to it as "a little short of madness." A total of 36 locks were built along the route to gently raise and lower boats and barges to the appropriate water level.
Passenger travel along the canal took many forms. For a few pennies a person could travel in the open on deck with the other members of the laboring class. Accommodations could be extravagant on luxury barges. One passenger observed, "The table is supplied with every thing that is necessary and of the best quality with many of the luxuries of life." Many barges were freight only, taking trade goods and manufactures from the middle states to port facilities on Lake Erie and returning with a load of products originating in Europe or the Caribbean.
Travel was not speedy along the canal. As shown in the image above, barges were pulled by teams of mules or oxen along the banks of the canal. Regardless, the trip was much faster than by land and could be made just abut every day of the year. The canal provided the life blood for a number of towns and cities that grew along its route.
Soon the Erie Canal became part of American folklore. Painters and writers used the canal as the centerpiece for celebrating the growth of the country. The success of the project was so significant that other states and the federal government started investing in canal building throughout the northeastern states. Of course, as the nation moved west across the Mississippi River water routes became scarce, but by then a new means of transportation replaced the canal--the Iron Horse.
I've got a mule, and her name is Sal,
Fif-teen miles on the Er-ie canal,
She's a good ol' worker and a good ol' pal,
Fifteen miles on the Er-ie can-al,
We've hauled some barges in our day,
Filled with lum-ber coal and hay,
And ev'ry inch of the way we know
From Al-ba-ny to Buff-a-lo OH
-The Erie Canal Song by Thomas Allen
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