Clouds of mosquitoes enveloped the men and greedily pounced on every patch of unprotected skin. It was so hot that their shirts were sticking to their backs. Just a few weeks ago, a late blizzard had covered the land with metres of snow. Nevertheless, the small group dragged their axes and theodolites through the dense forest of black birch and hemlock, surveying the swampy terrain and drawing maps.
What drove Benjamin Wright and his helpers into the inaccessible wilderness in the north of the American state of New York in the early summer of 1816 was the fear of the fathers of the country that they would be left behind economically within the still young United States.
Politically, heavyweights from the South dominated the scene. Men like George Washington or Thomas Jefferson, who were only too keen to channel the nation's further expansion westwards and the expected trade through their native Virginia. Although the huge city of New York bordered the Great Lakes to the north, which also made this development possible, there were more than 400 kilometres of barely developed territory between the navigable upper reaches of the Hudson River, which flows into the Atlantic at New York City, and Lake Erie. The few settlers there were already looking north to Pennsylvania or even Canada to sell their goods. New York itself was in danger of being left behind in the truest sense of the word.
4 July 1817: The first sod is turned in Rome
The only solution to connect the country was a canal, as known from Europe. However, the distance to be travelled and the unforgiving nature defied any comparison with the waterways of the Old World. There, they had largely dug through already cultivated land. The expense seemed as gigantic as the risk, while the benefits were dubious. Early supporters of the canal, such as the well-travelled, aesthete writer Elkanah Watson and the much more down-to-earth businessman Joseph Ellicot, were therefore regularly showered with scorn and derision. More than ten years had to pass and endless political battles had to be fought before the bold idea could be realised - and even then only because the influential governor of the state, DeWitt Clinton, also committed himself wholeheartedly to the project.
The aforementioned Benjamin Wright was given the task of finding a route for the canal - if one existed. After gruelling months in the summer of 1816, the engineer finally returned from the wilderness with good news: construction was indeed possible.
The eastern part of the canal route would follow the valley of the Mohawk River upstream from the Hudson River - in the neighbourhood of the non-navigable river. It would then pass Oneida Lake through the marshland to the south. After that, the "dry" western section had to cross the Niagara steps just before Lake Erie. A formidable twenty-metre threshold of solid rock.
Work began the very next year, initially on the comparatively simple centre section, with short sections being awarded to local contractors, mostly farmers or traders - a system that proved successful.
4 July 1820: The middle section is released
This first section was completed in 1820. However, five more years were to pass before the final "marriage of the waters" could be celebrated: First, the Cohoes Falls in the east had to be bypassed - 18 lock chambers were needed to cover the 80 metre difference in height. Rivers could only be crossed with aqueducts, wetlands only with dams. The hardest part, however, was the Niagara stage: for two years, the Irish workers blasted a ten-kilometre-long breach through the hard dolomite until this last gap in the silver ribbon was closed.
The celebrations lasted for weeks: The governor himself kicked off the celebrations on 26 October 1825 - with a boat parade and a cannon salute. On board the "Seneca Chief", the procession travelled from Buffalo to New York, where Clinton poured fresh water from the distant Lake Erie into the salty Atlantic in a solemn ceremony. The procession then set off on the return journey to Buffalo to report that the "wedding" had taken place.
September 1824: The canal reaches the Niagara stage
For travellers, the Erie Canal opened up a whole new world of comfort: while the stagecoach still took two weeks to travel from Albany to Buffalo, the canal boat reached its destination in just five days despite travelling at walking pace. But there were other, tangible advantages: "What a relief it is," wrote an early passenger from England about his canal journey, "to glide along in complete peace. Without the bruises caused by potholes and roots even on the best road in this wilderness. Not crammed together, as in the narrow cabin of the coach, inevitably surrounded by the manifold exhalations of my fellow travellers".
However, the transport of goods benefited even more. Freight rates for important local goods such as potash salt and lumber fell by up to 90 per cent on the canal; local farmers and manufacturers could now afford to ship their products to New York City - and from there to other states or even beyond. The opening of the canal provided the decisive impetus for the future metropolis at the mouth of the Hudson to rapidly become not only the most important port in the USA, but also its most important financial centre.
Conversely, the Erie boom also led to more and more settlers moving to the north-west of the state and into the Erie Canal catchment area, which soon stretched across the Great Lakes and as far as the Ohio River valley. The canal became the "mother of cities" such as Rochester and Syracuse. When construction of the canal began, Buffalo had 500 inhabitants - today it has a quarter of a million.
26 October 1825: Governor Clinton celebrates the "Wedding of the Waters"
The wheels of economic growth turned faster and faster. Governor Clinton's promises came true: his home, soon to be proudly nicknamed the Empire State, became the driving force of the entire country and the key to its future. The success made such waves that a veritable canal hysteria broke out in the United States: planning, clearing and digging began everywhere. The Erie Canal was also given several feeder canals, but due to its shallow depth and small lock chambers, the network soon threatened to burst at the seams. So it was widened, deepened and lengthened. Whereas previously only boats up to 30 tonnes were permitted, the permitted size now rose to 240 tonnes. The towns on the banks grew at the same rate: more hotel rooms, more warehouses, more banks were needed. And more bars to shorten the waiting times in front of the manually operated locks.
Then came the railway. Although the route through the wilderness was not much easier than building a canal, once completed, even the toughest mules on the towpath had no chance against the "iron horse" on the railway track next door. The "Mohawk and Hudson Railroad" made a start the year after the canal opened, but the Canawlers did not give in so easily.
Steam now also rose above the water, initially from tugboats. However, before it was finally possible to switch to even larger motorised cargo ships at the turn of the 20th century, the canal had to be widened again. This time, the narrow old route parallel to the Mohawk River was abandoned. Modern times had now made it possible to tame the wild river and make it navigable with barrages. By the time the work was completed in 1918, the number of locks between Waterford in the east and Lockport in the west had more than halved from 83 to 36.
New life as the "New York Barge Canal"
While old sections of the canal were now cut off and forgotten and reclaimed by nature, the waterway, now officially known as the New York Barge Canal, experienced a final flourishing after the First World War.
However, it was no longer possible to return to the times of the mid-19th century. In 1959, the expansion of the St Lawrence Seaway between the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean was completed, a direct connection that even large ocean-going vessels with twenty times the load capacity of a canal motorship could use. Inland, the articulated lorry increasingly dominated highways and interstates - and the chrome-plated 40-ton trucks were not only faster than canal traffic, but also much more flexible in the extensive and ramified geography of the USA and Canada. Almost a century after the "Grand Canal" reported its highest freight rates, the decision was made at the end of the 1970s to stop modernising the locks.
But the Erie Canal (which is now called that again) is proving to be just as tenacious as the people who conceived, enforced and built it 200 years ago - even if the volume of freight has long since ceased to play a role: Around 200,000 tonnes are currently registered annually. On the Rhine, it is four times as much on a single day.
Tourist area dominates the waterway
Today, the attraction of what was once the longest man-made waterway in the world clearly lies in tourism, on land and on water. The entire historic course of the canal from its spectacular start at Cohoes Falls on the Hudson River - where parts of the old lock staircase are still preserved alongside the large locks of the Barge Canal - to Canalside, the old end point on Lake Erie in Buffalo, was declared a national heritage site by Congress in 2000.
A large number of museums and visitor centres, such as those in Lockport, Syracuse, Palmyra and Canastota, provide insights into the eventful history of the canal, as do the preserved sections and remains of former locks and aqueducts - some of which have been renovated with great voluntary help, others overgrown by the forest.
The still navigable, modern canal, which is celebrating the 100th anniversary of its opening this year, belongs largely to water sports enthusiasts, especially motor boaters in addition to paddlers, although the numbers vary greatly. Along the course of the structurally weak and sparsely populated Mohawk Valley, even in the high season, you will primarily encounter boats travelling through, such as a Hatteras from Miami or a Grand Banks from Honolulu, surprisingly exotic in this northern hinterland.
From Oneida Lake onwards, the number of skippers increases significantly
Especially in the last, westernmost section near Canastota - the closer you get to the Great Lakes - it is hardly less lively, especially at weekends, than Berlin's waters or the Grand Canal in the lagoon city of Venice.
At first, the course of the canal is still cut deep into the rock of the Niagara Escarpment, then the banks become shallower - and more populated: cyclists and walkers use the parks, boathouses crowd the waterfront - and in front of them, lots of traffic, from the classic Chris Craft launch to fully loaded bowriders and cigarettes with bubbling big blocks. See and be seen - which also applies to the sheriff on his jet ski.
One last rusting bridge and one last bend in the canal, then a large sign announces the way to Lake Erie - and suddenly the entire west of this vast country lies open before your eyes.
District information on the Erie Canal
Nautical information: The current length of the Erie Canal is 584 kilometres from its confluence with the Hudson River near Waterford to its confluence with the Niagara River north of Lake Erie near Tonawanda. The clearance is 6.40 metres and the water depth is 4.25 metres. Maximum speed: between 5 and 30 miles/hour (8 or 48 km/h), depending on the section. 36 locks (usable chamber length: 91.40 m) must be passed along the canal, the call is made via VHF channel 13. Operating hours: 7 am to 5 pm. Navigation is unproblematic, there are plenty of public moorings near the town. In 2018, the canal is open from 18 May to 10 October. Seasonal prices: 75 US dollars (8 to 12 metres), 100 dollars (over 12 metres). Further information: www.canals.ny.gov ; eriecanalway.org
CHARTER COMPANIES (selection): Mid-Lakes Navigation (canal boats), western part, www.midlakesnavigation.com - Canal Princess Charters (houseboats), western part, www.porchesofpendleton.com - Erie Canal Cruises (canal boats), centre section, www.canalcruises.com - Boat Oneida (pontoon and fishing boats), Oneida Lake, www.boatoneida.com
The course of the Erie Canal:
