Twelve and a Half Miles The Erie Canal in Cayuga County The Web Edition Section Three By Michael Riley

Transcription

1 Twelve and a Half Miles The Erie Canal in Cayuga County The Web Edition Section Three By Michael Riley 1

2 Table of Contents for Section Three Chapter Page Twelve- Montezuma 3 Thirteen- The Cayuga and Seneca Canals 12 Fourteen- The Seneca River Aqueduct 15 Fifteen- The Cayuga Marshes and Seneca River 22 Sixteen- Bridges 27 Seventeen- The Barge Canal 29 Bibliography 32 Other Sections include; Introduction One Maps of the Trail and Canal Two- Clinton s Ditch Three- The Canal Enlargement Four- Locks Five-Culverts and Ditches Six- The Water Supply System Seven- Cold Spring Pump and Fountainville Eight-Weedsport Nine-The Centerport Aqueduct Ten- Centerport Eleven-Port Byron This web edition was written as an updated version of the book Twelve and a Half Miles which was self published in It is intended by the author to be free as a pdf file. February 1,

3 Twelve- Montezuma Montezuma had been around for almost thirty years before the Erie Canal came to the area. A small salt spring had been found in a creek to the north of the present village and the manufacture of salt had started as early as The salt trade, along with fishing and transportation of goods along the Seneca had given the impetus to the settlement of the small village. In 1810 DeWitt Clinton made these observations about Montezuma: Montezuma is in No. 80 Brutus, in the town of Mentz, and is situated on a strip of land between the river and Cayuga marshes and marsh in the rear, and cannot therefore be healthy. It contains few houses, which have sprung up in a short time. The hill furnishes a beautiful prospect of the marshes, and the Seneca and Canandaigua Rivers winding through them. A few scattering trees of willow and elm are to be seen. The whole was clearly a lake, choked up by alluvions. The channel of the river is said to be in the tract of the greenest grass. Dr. Clark, one of the present proprietors, formerly of New York, and John Swartwout, the former proprietor, have handsome houses on this hill. The journal then goes on to talk about the nature of the salt works, and the manufactory of red earthenware in Montezuma. From 1813, we get this description: Here is an extensive manufactory of salt and a handsome compact village of about 30 houses, and the place bids fair to increase rapidly in business and population. In 1810, the whole population of this township was Montezuma was an important place before the canal was constructed. Being on the Seneca River, it became a shipping point for rafts and river boats. But this business would not last. As sections of the canal were completed, they would be filled with water and brought into use. This would spur development and generate much needed tolls. Montezuma would lose its standing as a river port and take on a new role as the western end of the canal. The construction of the canal was relatively easy from Utica to Montezuma and it was completed in December of Boating to points east began in For people traveling west on the canal, their boat ride would end at Montezuma and they would need to board stagecoaches to continue their journey. From Montezuma, the traveler would ride the stage south toward Seneca Falls following the Genesee Turnpike or west toward Rochester along the Montezuma Turnpike. This business would last until 1822 when the canal contractors were finally able to complete the canal through the swampland that lay between Montezuma and Clyde. Unfortunately, the route of the canal ran south of the old village, dictated more by topography then location of existing settlements. As Clinton s Ditch was developed, the village had to move slightly south from the location of the 3

4 The map shows Montezuma in The Erie Canal runs from right to left, the canal to the salt wells is on the top with the basin, the Cayuga and Seneca runs off the bottom. salt springs and river to the banks of the new canal. Some period maps reflect this shift with notes stating, To old village. In a 1824 gazetteer, we get this brief look at the village: Montezuma Village has a Post- Office of the same name, a small collection of houses, some salt springs, and it had a manufactory of salt, but I believe little is now done here in this way. In the early 1800 s the salt springs produced a good amount of brine. From 1810 to 1813, 60,000 bushels of salt was produced. By 1824, the quantity was down to 18,000 bushels although the wells were being drilled deeper in search of more and better quality brine. What is curious is that the gazetteer fails to mention the canal. With the new canal came an easier way to ship salt produced in Montezuma. A side cut canal was dug from Clinton s Ditch to the salt springs located slightly to the north. But it is hard to say how 4

5 Montezuma in Notice the salt wells to the north of the village. A small canal was built from the main canal to the wells. Although the enlarged canal was not yet in use, the newer canal is shown as the black line, Clinton s Ditch as the dashed line. At this time, the idea was to bridge the Seneca River on two aqueducts, one on each side of Kipp s Island. This plan was changed later, and the smaller river channel was rerouted into the larger channel. much this side cut was actually used since the salt springs were already becoming an on-again, offagain business. The Seneca River was both a blessing and a curse. The canal had to cross the river (more on this later), yet the river offered a connection to points south and even west. Between 1820 and 1828, boats could exit the canal by floating out into the river. From here, the boats could head west along the Clyde River toward Clyde, or head south to Cayuga Lake and Ithaca. Once the canal was constructed to the west (1822) and south (1828) the river lost its importance. The Enlargement The enlargement of the canal in the 1850 s made some changes in the alignment of the canal in the village. Certainly the most notable of the changes was the construction of the second longest aqueduct on the canal (more on this later). The building of the aqueduct necessitated some changes to the canal in the village. The most drastic change was to lift or elevate the canal up off the low land just to the west of the village. This elevation change was needed to lift the canal up to the height of the new aqueduct that was to cross the river. This new aqueduct eliminated the need for the problematic river crossing, and got the canal out of the flood plain. (again, more on this later). It also allowed the canal to be straightened to the east of the village. In many of the maps in this chapter, the old canal can be seen as a series of dotted lines. The enlargement also made way for another feature, the large basin. 5

6 The Basin During the construction of the enlargement, a six hundred foot basin was built just to the east of the C&S junction. This was much like truck parking lots today. Boats could pull out of the line of the traffic as the crews rested or waited to meet other boaters. Unlike the small basin in Weedsport, this basin was built and maintained by the State. It was never allowed to silt up and thus was in use until the end of the canal. Along the bank of the basin stood icehouses which were used to store ice cut from the basin. This ice could only be used for cooling beer, and had to carry the labeled canal ice. But, there is most likely a larger reason for this basin. If you noticed at Lock 51 and Lock 52, the canal, if we were to look at it as a profile, is stepping down from Jordan to the Seneca River. So by canal standards, the canal at Montezuma is about sixteen feet lower than it is at Jordan. And if we were to come from the west, we would find ourselves stepping down from Lake Erie to Monte- 6

7 zuma. So, in short, Montezuma is at the bottom of a large bowl. And as the water flows downhill from the east and west, it meets at Montezuma. So the basin served as a expansion tank, a place to allow the energy of the water to dissipate. As you might be able to make out in the postcard view, it was a very large body of water. Another source describes Montezuma as it was in 1860; Montezuma is located upon the Seneca River in the west part of Town. The Seneca and Cayuga canals here unite with the Erie Canal. Salt and some other articles are manufactured. Population 650. Salt was first manufactured in Montezuma about 1798, but the business was abandoned about 1840 in consequence of the brine becoming too weak to successfully compete with the salt springs of Syracuse and Salina. Strong brine springs have lately been discovered and the manufacture of salt has been successfully resumed. These salt springs like those of Onondaga, belong to the State." By now, the springs were producing a few hundred bushels per year. But despite all this activity, Montezuma was still a small village extending only about three blocks along the canal. (There is some question if Montezuma was ever a real village, or if it was as it is today, a hamlet within a town.) There was no real stream to supply waterpower and the railroads never built into the village. Montezuma was a true canal town. Compare the preceding 1859 and 1875 maps and you will see very little change over this sixteen year period. The 1867 Cayuga County directory shows less then half of the two-hundred fifteen residents listed themselves as farmers, whereas in the same directory over half the population of Weedsport and Port Byron listed themselves as farmers. In Montezuma, fourteen people worked on the canal and seventeen were employed as carriage makers, blacksmiths and livery owners. Eight people worked at grocery stores, the same as Weedsport, which was three times the size. Three people found work as fishermen where none are listed with this occupation in the other villages. The one thing Montezuma needed was a railroad. The route of the New York Central railroad passed far to the north to avoid the worst of the Cayuga swamps which lay directly to the west of the village. Plans were made to build a railroad from Port Byron to Montezuma and then south to Union Springs. In 1875, a map shows the proposed line of the Cayuga and Northern Railroad. The line begins in Port Byron Depot, with a connection to the New York Central Railroad. After running south and crossing the canal on the west side of Port Byron, the railroad runs right down the south side of the canal to Montezuma, then south along the Cayuga and Seneca Canal. This line was never built. Later, the West Shore Railroad would bypass the village to get around the swamps, as would the Rochester, Syracuse and Eastern trolley line. As a canal village the residents were deeply affected by any change in the canal use. After the Civil War, the canals were losing business to the railroads. But Montezuma would not just fade away. It went through a number of boom times from 1890 to In 1892 the Weedsport paper reported: Montezuma, heretofore supposed to be a dead town, is picking up. Its population has been increasing by removals from Weedsport. The cement works at the former place are doing a rushing business, which explains its revival. The cement works referenced in the article were actually in Seneca County, about two miles west of the village, but the owner lived in Montezuma and many of the workers came from the area. In 1890, an Auburn paper reported, Dr. Duryee of New York City, proprietor of the new cement works, was in town last week. A boatload of machinery arrived last week. A force of men are at work. All indications are favorable to success in the enterprise. Dr. Duryee was Dr George Duryea of Orange, New Jersey, the principle investor in the Duryea Portland Cement Works. But the story really does not begin with Dr Duryea, it begins years before 7

8 8 Montezuma in 1859 (left) and 1875 (below). When compared to Weedsport and Port Byron, the hamlet of Montezuma showed little growth in sixteen years.

9 when men from New York City financed the building of a large fertilizer company based around the mining of marl from the swamps west of Montezuma. The first business operated under the name The Lake Guano and Shell Fertilizer Company. This company became the Albemarle Fertilizer Company in Apparently the business operated by striping off the top muck layers and open strip mining the marl deposits underneath. The marl was dried and sold as fertilizer around the area and as far away as New York City. By the late 1880 s, the business was shut down, and businessmen from the city were looking at ways to revive the business. It was found that the marl could be dried and used to produce cement. Dr. Duryea was brought in and the new Duryea Cement Company was in business. But this business would not last. On June 21, 1893, the plant burned to the ground with a fire so bright that people in Auburn thought Montezuma was burning. Dr. Duryea promised to rebuild, but instead moved to Arizona to help build the Theodore Roosevelt Dam. Soon another change in the canal would deeply wound the small village. In the early 1900 s, work on the Barge Canal began. This new version of the canal changed the route to the Seneca River, a mile to the west. The junction of the Cayuga and Seneca Canal was to be moved onto the river, a few miles to the west. The effect of the Barge Canal on Montezuma was a slow but steady decline in population. In 1900, one thousand people lived in and around Montezuma. Nine found work on the canal. In 1910, nine-hundred forty people live there. By 1920, the population has dropped by a third, to sixhundred eighty. The removal of the canal had killed off the groceries, the blacksmiths, the boat yards, and hotels. Montezuma had a brief resurgence during the building of the Barge Canal. In 1920, eighteen people found work on the new Barge Canal, three years after the closing of the enlarged Canal. Half of the canal workers were working on the steam dredge Montezuma, and others were working on tugs and scows along the Barge Canal. Men working on the new canal would come into the hamlet to drink and spend the night. There was much work that needed to be done to make the very shallow river suitable for barge traffic. The river had to be dredged to twelve feet, and the Richmond Aqueduct had to be removed. But this business was short lived, and the Village was almost done in by the abandonment of the Erie Canal. In the summer of 1918, the same year that traffic was turned to the new Barge Canal, businesses began to burn in Montezuma. First the Montezuma creamery went up in flames and within a week, the Exchange Hotel. The Cayuga Chief reported: There were no guests Sunday, as the place [the hotel] had enjoyed but a poor business since the taking away of its liquor license. No cause was found for either fire. The Drydock The boat yard was first started by William Thorn and Joshua Martin. The 1867 County Directory shows that Thorn and Martin were boat builders and proprietors of a dry dock. The census of the period show that Thorn may have been the financial backer of the business and Martin was the manager of the yard. Thorn was busy running the village and his grocery business. Martin is listed as a boat builder in Seneca Falls in 1860, and a boat builder in Montezuma in What happened to the business is unknown. An article from 1881 states that the firm is up and running and employs five men. But later articles show that Thorn, who died in 1905, had tried to commit suicide in 1903 and was very poor and in bad health. The dock sat idle for some time, but was purchased in 1894 by George Meil of Verona, NY and was run as George Meil and Son. The Meil family had been in the business of boating for many years and must have seen the idle drydock on their travels across the state. The business employed fifteen 9

10 men and appears to have been quite successful. Newspaper articles show that the business built canal boats, steamers, and flag boats for use in the harvest of flag in the swamps. George died in 1902 and the business passed to his son, Solomon G. Meil. Solomon died in 1909 and the business passed into the hands of his family. By this time, work on the barge canal had begun and it was clear that there was little reason to keep the business going. A Tour of Montezuma (The local historical Society has an excellent in depth guidebook available for those who wish even more details) The best way to see Montezuma is to walk or bike around the village. It is small enough that you can park and easily walk from the east end to the Aqueduct and back. Park near the town offices in the ball field. This ball field is built in the area of the large basin. Look behind the Town of Montezuma office building for a culvert. This culvert can be seen on the 1875 map where the small stream wraps around the basin. The stream is part of Clinton s Ditch and seems to be used as a drainage collection ditch. The culvert allows water to flow to the north on into the Seneca River. Just next to this culvert stood a derrick for a salt well. Look for the rust orange color that shows the brine is still leaking from the well. Just to the west of the park stands the Clifford House, which is now the Montezuma Hotel. This business was opened later in the life of the Erie and once had three floors. The top floor burned 10

11 and the hotel was rebuilt with only two floors. Along Route 90, a historic marker stands where the canal once crossed under the road. The canal embankment runs east to the Thruway, but is on private land. As you walk toward the firehouse and past the VFW, you are walking on Erie Drive, a street that once was lined with businesses and shops. The Montezuma Firehouse stands at the junction of the Erie and Cayuga & Seneca Canals, and just behind the building, you can see where the two canals came together. On the other side of the C & S canal, you can see the remains of the crossover bridge abutment. This is the only canal bridge abutment that I know of in Cayuga County. This held one end of the change over bridge that allowed drivers and teams to cross the Erie Canal to make their way down the C&S canal. On the north side of the Erie stood the Exchange Hotel. This business also had a stable to hold extra teams for the line boat companies. The Exchange Hotel is one of the businesses that burned in A recently built trailhead welcomes you to the trail to the aqueduct, about three-quarters of a mile west. Just south of this junction is located C&S Lock 11. This lock is in someone's back yard, so please have respect for the homeowner and don t trespass. You will notice on the maps in this chapter that this is a single lock, rather than a double like the Erie Canal locks. The chamber is as big as the Erie Canal lock chambers, but since there was less traffic on the lateral canals, they only built one lock chamber. This holds true for all the lateral canals. If you are on foot or bike you can proceed along the canal to the west. If you are driving, go up the hill and follow the road around to Chapman Road. Follow Chapman back down to the canal. Where the road crosses the canal, there is a parking area where you can stop and walk down the towpath to the Richmond Aqueduct. You can also see Clark s Culvert by looking over the left side of Chapman Road. For the very adventurous, a short walk down the south side of the canal back toward the village will bring you to the site of Meil's dry dock. This small, two-chamber dry dock is very hard to see these days. You might be able to be define the dry dock as you walk around the pit where the boats were once repaired. The water from the dry-dock emptied into a small stream that ran behind the dry-dock. This water then flowed under the canal in Clark's culvert, then down to the Seneca River. As you walk along the towpath to the west take note of the hillside to the south. At the base of this hill on the berme side a paper mill was built in the later years of the canal. This mill processed flag, a plant harvested in the swamps and made it into paper. The harvest of the flag crop offered seasonal employment to many that lived around the area. In October of 1877, 50 people were working on the harvest of flag, which at the time was sent to Auburn. The value of the crop was slated at $ Another thing to take note of is how the canal is built up on top of the surrounding land, not dug into it. This was one of the improvements made during the enlargement, elevating the canal so it could cross the Seneca River on an aqueduct. It also got the canal out of the flood plain. As you walk along, watch for a side trail that will take you to the site of Clinton's Ditch Lock 62. This lock connected Clinton s Ditch to the Seneca River. The need for this lock was eliminated upon the opening of the aqueduct in This area is covered in more detail in a following chapter. As with all the villages along the canal, what to do with the abandoned canal was a large question. In Montezuma, New York State made plans to establish a bass hatchery in a section of the canal. Nothing was done with this idea and the abandoned canal has remained largely intact. 11

12 The two canal routes just to the east of the Seneca River. Chapman Road now crosses the canal where the Clark Street bridge is noted. The site of Lock 62 is on Clinton s Ditch. Lock 62 connected the canal to the river. To protect it from flooding it was located back away from the river s edge. Thirteen- The Cayuga and Seneca Canals In the days before the opening of the Erie Canal, there was another water route from Schenectady to the Finger Lakes. By using the Mohawk River, Oneida Lake, Oneida River, and the Seneca River, a person could pole, push, tow, and otherwise manhandle a small boat carrying about one ton of goods along this water highway. There were many attempts to improve this route from the late 1700's into the early 1800's. The Western Inland Navigation Company worked on the Mohawk River and Wood Creek east of Oneida Lake constructing locks and clearing the river bed. To connect Seneca and Cayuga Lakes, the Seneca Lake Navigation Company had built and opened the first lock around the falls at Seneca Falls by But this work was done by private companies that depended on tolls to cover the construction costs of river improvement and lock building. This limited what work could be done and they all went broke, but they did demonstrate the need for this type of transportation improvement. The Erie Canal replaced this natural route across the State. But in doing so, it bypassed the Finger Lakes. For boats to reach the Cayuga and Seneca Lakes, they needed to leave the canal at the Seneca River crossing in Montezuma. From here they could follow the old river route to Cayuga and Seneca Lakes. But the route to and from the lakes was still very crude. Businessmen from the Finger Lake region made the case that a canal of twenty miles would open up another eighty miles of lake navigation. The State made surveys in 1825 and work on the C & S canal began in It was com- 12

13 plete in November of The Canal was a little over twenty miles long and had eleven locks lifting boats seventy three feet, six inches. The C&S used ten miles of manmade canal and ten miles of improved river navigation, which means the river was made passable and a towpath built along the banks. To lower construction costs, the locks were made of wood instead of stone. The route of the Cayuga portion of the C & S canal lies totally within Cayuga County. From its junction with the Erie at Montezuma, the canal traveled south along the eastern side of the Seneca River. At first, the canal entered into Cayuga Lake at the very northern end. But Cayuga Lake is very shallow at this point and the wind and currents continued to form sandbars that blocked navigation. The Canal was rerouted further south to the village of Cayuga, where the water is deeper. The village of Cayuga was a busy place: It is an important station on the Central R.R., and it is connected with Ithaca by a daily line of steamers. To get to Seneca Lake, the boater would use the canalized Seneca River to Geneva. Without getting into something that is not in the scope of this work, let us say that getting to the two lakes was not the end of the line for the canal boats. Ithaca and Watkins Glen were major ports, along with the smaller ports such as Elmira, Hammonsport and even into Pennsylvania. From the 1830 s to the late 1870 s, there were other canals connected to the Finger Lakes. The Cayuga and Seneca connected these lakes and canals to the Erie. The Cayuga and Seneca Canal was one of a few canals that was enlarged during the period of Erie enlargement. The Clinton s Ditch size wooden locks were falling apart, and needed to be replaced. Since they needed to rebuild the locks, it was decided to construct them of stone to the new enlarged Erie dimensions. After that it was a simple task to enlarge the canal prism to the new 7 by 70 standard. The work on the enlarged Erie made it necessary to construct a lock at the junction of the C&S and the Erie in Montezuma. During the Clinton s Ditch era both canals were at the same elevation and the Cayuga merely intersected with the Erie. When the Erie was raised to cross the Seneca River on an aqueduct, it was three feet higher then the C&S. A new lock, C&S Lock 11, was built just to the south of this junction. When compared to the Erie Canal, the smaller lateral canals had short life spans and most were gone by Although the C&S was kept open, the closing of the other canals that fed into Seneca Lake decreased the number of boats using the canal. The C&S continued to be used right up to the final abandonment of the Erie. There was some debate if the C & S should be continued into the Barge Canal era. Initially the State wanted to close the C&S, but businessmen pointed out that the area around the lakes offered great quantities of salt and gypsum. A new cement plant promised many tons of yearly cargo. The State decided to keep the canal but with the old size locks. But after a while it was decided to include the C & S into all the Barge Canal plans, including full size Barge Canal locks. During the construction of the Barge Canal, three miles of the Seneca River was shifted about a half mile west. The best way to see this is to look at a map which shows the County line between Cayuga and Seneca Counties and the present route of the river. The County line follows the old river route. A Tour of the Canal There is very little to see of the old C & S canal. Beginning in Montezuma you will find the junction of the Erie and the C & S. Looking south, enlarged Lock 11 is visible but is on private property. If you could get to it, you would see that this lock is much different then the Erie Canal Locks 51 13

14 and 52. The Erie locks are doubles, meaning that two chambers sit side by side. One of the two chambers was lengthened to allow two boats to pass at one time. The C & S canal locks were all singles and although they were enlarged, they were never lengthened. To follow the old C & S you need to travel south on Route 90. As you head south toward Route 20 you will be able to see the canal on the right side. When you get to Route 20, take a right, then a quick left onto a small road. This road follows the route of the old canal all the way to the present day C & S Barge Canal Lock 1. The old canal split at this point. For boats heading to Cayuga Lake, the canal continued down the east shore to the village of Cayuga. Route 90 follows the old route very closely but there is nothing to see. In Cayuga you can still see the breakwater that sticks out into the lake which formed the canal harbor. Boats going to Seneca Lake would leave the Cayuga Canal and enter into the Seneca Canal. The Seneca section was a mix of manmade canal and canalized Seneca River. The route followed the Seneca River to Seneca Falls, Waterloo and Geneva. At Geneva, boats could enter into Seneca Lake. The current Cayuga and Seneca Barge Canal uses four locks instead of the eleven needed on the old canal. Boats now enter into Cayuga Lake at the northern end instead of going south to the village of Cayuga. The Seneca River was moved and straightened from the outlet to the junction with the Clyde River. Between Cayuga Lake and Seneca Lake, the Seneca River was dammed to form navigation pools. In Seneca Falls, a very large pool of water was formed during the construction of Barge Canal Locks 2 and 3. These locks have the same amount of lift as the famous Lockport Locks, and are an attraction of their own. This pool, now The route of the Cayuga section of the Cayuga Seneca Canal. The canal connected the lake at the Village of Cayuga to the Erie Canal at Montezuma. 14

15 called Van Cleef Lake, flooded over much of lower Seneca Falls. Sometimes during the winter, the State will drain off Van Cleef Lake, allowing a view of the old locks and the old section of the village. Fourteen- The Seneca River Aqueduct The construction of the Erie Canal had been relatively easy from the beginning in Rome to the Seneca River, a section about 90 miles in length.. For the most part, the land was level and the digging was easy. In just three years, boats were traveling between Montezuma and Utica. But just to the west of Montezuma lay two river crossings and six miles of the Cayuga marsh. Some early maps show that the canal Surveyors and Engineers wanted to get around these swamps by making the canal part of the Seneca and Canandaigua Rivers. They would canalize the river between Montezuma and Clyde. Near Clyde, the canal would leave the river and continue to the west in the manmade canal. These plans were abandoned at some point, very early in the construction of the canal. (It does appear that this route was used for a time by some as the canal was being constructed through the wetlands.) The Engineers had two methods for crossing a river. The first was to build an aqueduct; the second was to use the river as part of the canal. This was called a slack water crossing. To improve a slack water crossing, they would impound the water of the river behind a dam and float the boat across this pool. The slack water method was far cheaper and simpler, but left the canal operations subject to the forces of nature. Any variation in the level of the river, either high or low, could stop all canal traffic. But to build an aqueduct was very expensive, and this method was used when there was very little choice. The Seneca River was very shallow and slow moving, so a modified plan was put into use. A channel was cut across the bottom of the river, which made the river deep enough for the boats to cross from one side to the other. To cross the Seneca River, a boat in Clinton s Ditch went through a guard lock and into the river. The towing team crossed the river on a wooden bridge 1440 feet long, as they towed the boat across the river. On the other side of the river, the boat passed through another guard lock and back into the canal. The guard lock was there to protect the canal from floods, and to make up for any seasonal variations in the water level. To further protect the canal, the guard locks were set back from the river, and a channel was constructed to connect the locks / canal to the river crossing. In January of each year, the Commissioners made reports to the Legislature covering the construction and operation of the canals for the prior year. To help tell the story of the Seneca River Aqueduct, I have used these reports, which note the difficulties in crossing the Seneca River and building the Enlargement. I have noted the Canal Commissioner reports in italics, and my comments follow A new towing path bridge, fourteen hundred and forty feet long, has been built over the Seneca River, in place of the old bridge, which had become unsafe The navigation of the Seneca river level, immediately below the Montezuma lock, was attended with considerable difficulty, for want of sufficient depth of water in the boat channel, during a time of unusually low water in the river. It became necessary to keep a repairing scow, with men and teams, to assist loaded boats in passing, by taking off a part of their cargoes, and assisting in towing them through the shallow water. It is intended to deepen this part of the canal during the winter. The Seneca River was a very shallow river even during the years of normal rainfall. When a dry year caused the river to be lower, the boats did not have enough water to cross the river. The State tried to combat this problem by digging a channel in the bottom of the river. Also the State 15

16 kept a scow on hand to help unload boats so they did not draft so deep. Keeping in mind that most boats needed three and a half feet of water, the river level must have been very shallow at times To obtain the requisite depth for navigation across the Seneca river, without the use of an aqueduct, a cut three feet in depth, below the natural bed of the stream, will be necessary. The problem with this solution is that the manmade channel would quickly fill in with silt and debris flowing down the river. It is also pointed out that if the Cayuga marshes are ever drained, the water level in the river would also be lowered as a result. Then the canal commissioners would be again faced with the same problem During the past summer further examinations have been made with reference to the proper plan to be adopted for the enlargement from the line now under contract at the village of Jordan, to Pitt lock, on the west side of the Cayuga marshes. Although the enlargement of the Erie Canal had started six years prior, the canal engineers were still trying to figure out how to lay out the new route to avoid problems encountered by Clinton's Ditch. As we have seen in previous chapters, Clinton's Ditch between Jordan and Montezuma was so twisting that it was difficult to keep up the four-foot depth of water needed by the canal, let alone a seven-foot depth. There were three possible plans to be investigated. 1) Enlarge Clinton's Ditch, keeping all the twists and turns. They would keep the locks where they were, and continue to cross the Seneca river using the slackwater crossing method. 2) Follow a newer route to the Seneca river. At the river, they would bring together the Clyde and Seneca Rivers and cross both using one aqueduct. On the west side, a lock would step the canal down to the level of Clinton's Ditch and then enlarge the old ditch through the swamps. 3) Do all of number two above, and create a new, higher embankment across the swamps. This plan would take five miles off the old route, which would save time and water. If the swamp was drained, the canal would not be impacted, nor would it be greatly harmed by floods or drought. During the last year (1841) careful surveys were taken, with reference to a comparison of the merits of the several plans here described, and the selection of the one which, upon an estimate of expense and advantage, should be deemed most in accordance with the interest of the State. Maps of the surveys, and the necessary calculations and estimates are now in progress, and expected to be completed during the present winter The water in the Seneca river, through which the canal passes, has been much lower than usual the past season, and it became necessary near the close of navigation to use under-water excavators to deepen the boat channel, and employ teams and lighters to assist in passing loaded boats. It had been a very dry year. During these dry spells, the State continued to employ people to help the loaded boats over the Seneca river crossing, keeping a crew on hand twenty-four hours a day. This crew would unload the boat, putting part of the load onto a State scow. Both boats would be pulled over the river, the canal boat would be reloaded and sent on its way. The State would spend a lot of money to keep this crew on standby. The dry year made the State take some very drastic measures. All the water that could be drawn from the Skaneateles lake, the latter part of the season of navigation, was required to feed the canal. The water from Skaneateles Lake was fed into the canal at Jordan, and flowed to the west into the Seneca River at this crossing The unusual low water in the Seneca river through which the canal passes, rendered it necessary to incur some expense during a few weeks near the close of navigation, in aiding boats in their passage across the river; assistance in towing some of the heavy loaded boats was furnished, 16

17 and in some instances a lighter was employed. The boats were not just crossing the river at water level, but also had to pass through a manmade channel on each side of the river, into which the guard locks were built. Thus these boats had to be pulled, or sometimes dragged from one lock to the other during these low water levels The Canal Commissioners are still trying to determine what route would be best, although they seem to have decided on using the aqueduct to cross the river. The years of struggle to cross the Seneca seem to be forcing the Commissioners to use the aqueduct This debate seems to continue for another year. If this new line should be adopted, It has been seven years, yet a plan for this crossing still has not been finalized. But the problems of crossing the Seneca continue. During the dry portion of the season, it was found that in the level of the Montezuma marsh, there was not sufficient depth of water to pass heavy ladened boats. A dam was built across Seneca river, adjoining the towing path bridge, which raised the water about 8 inches, this relieved navigation from further difficulties. It seems strange that it has taken all these years to decide to build a dam to create a pool of water and improve this crossing. But a dam might be contrary to the goal of draining the swamps. On September 4 th, 1849, construction began on the Seneca River aqueduct. This aqueduct would consist of thirty-one arches, and extend a total of eight hundred ninety four feet. The engineer of the project was Van R. Richmond, whose name would be given to the aqueduct in the later years. The designers knew that this aqueduct would be the most difficult to build. The ground under the river was very soft and quite deep. Digging into the muck was quite a challenge, and holding back the soft ground was even harder. It is very hard to find actual references to the construction methods used, but we can find some clues. In an account book that lists the final costs and materials used, a line states that extra costs were added by the failure of a dam. This failure allowed water and silt into a pit that had to be bailed out and re-excavated. This points to the use of coffer dams. A coffer dam forms a little island in the river. Inside this island, a pit was dug, and piles were pounded into the soft ground. These piles were up to thirty feet long to reach the firmer ground under the muck. In total, 110,000 linear feet of piling was used. Once the piles were in place, a plank floor was built, much like we can see at the Centerport Aqueduct. On top of this floor, the stonework of the pier and arch was built. Once the thirty-one arches and piers were complete, a wooden trunk was built to form the sides and bottom of the canal. This is what carried the water of the canal. In all, one and a half million feet of lumber and planking was used. Although the Canal Commissioners had been talking about bringing the two rivers together for many years, the This engineer s drawing shows the piles driven under each pier. The floor and stonework is built on top of the piles. original plan called for two aqueducts. One aqueduct for the Se- 17

18 neca river and another for the Clyde (Canandaigua) River. This plan was changed after construction began, forcing the contractor to seek more money from the State Although work was progressing on the aqueduct, the State was forced to spend money on the Clinton's Ditch river crossing. Contracts were also made at the same time pursuant to the act, chap. 233, Laws of 1849, for enlarging the old locks at the east and west ends of the Seneca river level, to the same length and width of the other enlarged locks. The new canal between Port Byron and Montezuma was to be brought into use in the year of However, the aqueduct was not ready, so the two guard locks had to be made larger. This suggests that larger boats were being used on the canal at this time. Since the old canal was still in use in Port Byron, they could not be fully loaded to a 6 foot draft. One side of the stone lock chamber was removed and a wooden side was built to the larger size. Work on the aqueduct was proceeding so quickly that the Commissioners hoped that they could use it beginning in The Commissioners were looking forward to the opening of the aqueduct. The cost of completing the aqueduct and the work necessary to bring it into use, on the plan above suggested, would not exceed the sum of $125,000. It is believed there is no other point on the line of the Erie canal where an expenditure of a like sum would add more to the facilities of the navigation The hope of the Commissioners to use the new canal in 1853 was delayed due to a very rainy year. The new route from Port Byron to Montezuma was not used until September 4 th, The section of canal from Jordan to Montezuma continued to be a problem. A large expenditure was made last spring in widening and straightening the canal between Port Byron and Jordan, for the passage of the enlarged boats, and the new docking at Montezuma was required for the same object. The Skaneateles reservoir, as before stated, was exhausted in September, and considerable expense was incurred in cutting down the outlet to obtain a larger supply of water for the Jordan level. For the same purpose the waters of the Owasco Creek, at Port Byron, were taken from the mill and other machinery at that place, and temporarily appropriated to the public use, and the channel of the outlet of the Owasco lake was cut down so as to insure the supply. But for this last resource, navigation between Port Byron and Syracuse would have been suspended for many days. This cross section drawing shows the details of the stone piers, the wooden trunk, and the wood floor. Each pier is filled with rubble and topped with earth, so water can drain out quickly. The wooden floor extended across the river, but the piles were only under the piers. The 1862 map on the following page shows the amount of work that had to be done to reroute the rivers and canal. It is part of a larger map that shows the entire wetlands. 18

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20 But the most serious difficulty originating in the great drouth of the season, was at Montezuma, on the river level. Temporary dams were built across the Seneca river and the Canandaigua outlet as usual by sheet piling, but the extreme low water made it necessary to keep up so much head upon the dams, that they were constantly undermining, requiring frequently to be reconstructed. The water being deep, and the foundation being very soft, permanent dams could not be constructed in time to give the required relief, nor without a very large expenditure of money. During this low water, a large force of men and teams were employed in assisting boats, and an efficient dredging machine kept constantly in operation, but not withstanding every effort that could be made, the detention to boats exceeded that of any previous season. In the spring of 1856, the aqueduct over the Seneca river will be brought into use, which will entirely relieve the navigation from the embarrassments to which it has always been subject at this point during seasons of low water. The work of cutting down the streams to allow extra water to flow into the canal cost the State $2, Work on the aqueduct was coming to an end. The waters of the Canandaigua outlet were turned last winter under the new aqueduct westward to its old channel, where the canal passes through it. This created its own set of problems. Now instead of having too little water, now they had too much, which generated a strong current. Extra teams were needed to pull the boats across this strong current, costing the State an extra $1, But this was less of a problem then dealing with too little water. The new aqueduct will be brought into use next spring, which will greatly facilitate navigation where it has for years been more obstructed than at any other point on the entire line of the canal. The aqueduct is over the Seneca river, and is one of the largest and most important structures on the Erie canal. It has a wooden trunk fifty feet wide in the clear, resting on two abutments and thirty piers of hydraulic stone masonry. The openings or water ways for the river, 31 in number, are each 22 feet wide and 11 feet high. The foundation floor covers an area of 79,783 square feet, or nearly two acres, and is supported by 4,464 bearing piles, varying in length from 15 to 30 feet. The towing path is carried over on 31 stone arches The Seneca River aqueduct was opened in the spring of 1856, to the great joy of the Canal Commissioners. Navigation west of Montezuma was much improved by bringing into use the Seneca River aqueduct at the opening of navigation last spring. Heretofore, in time of low water, detentions have been frequent and embarrassing in crossing Seneca River. Those delays are permanently removed by crossing the river with the aqueduct. It had taken thirty-one years to remove the difficult crossing of the Seneca River. However, until the work on the new canal was complete in Port Byron, the full benefit of this new aqueduct could not be put into use. That would take another year to complete. Until then, boaters continued to use the old line of the canal between enlarged Locks 51 and 52 (Port Byron to Jordan). There were five of these very long aqueducts built on the enlarged canal. The longest, over 1000 feet in length, was built across the Mohawk River just north of Albany. The Richmond, at 894 feet, was the second longest, followed by the Rochester, just forty feet shorter. The other two were the Rexford, which was across the Mohawk River just to the north of Schenectady and the Schoharie, which crossed the Schoharie Creek, about five miles west of Amsterdam. From the opening of the structure in 1856 to the closing in 1917, the Richmond Aqueduct performed beautifully. The obstruction of the Seneca River was removed from the route of the canal, saving the boaters and State both time and money. 20

21 The aqueduct in use and in present times. Notice the level of the river surface on the stonework and how it dropped due to construction of the barge Canal. When the voters of the State approved the plan for the Barge Canal in 1903, the fate of these long aqueducts was sealed. The new Barge Canal was to use the Mohawk and Seneca Rivers, and the aqueducts would be obstructions. As the rivers were dredged and brought into use as part of the canal system, the aqueducts were dismantled and removed. The Richmond Aqueduct remained in use until the very end, as the Barge Canal to the west of Montezuma was not ready for use until In the winter of 1917, cranes began to dismantle the stonework. Beginning at the eighth arch from the eastern shore, the stones were loaded into trucks that carried them to the west and dumped them along the towpath on dry land. The navigation channel for the new canal was in the middle of the river, so it was not worth the expense to remove all the stonework. So the State left eight arches on the eastern bank and three arches on the western bank. These can be seen today. Any arch structure needs equal pressure from both sides to stay together, so the removal of any part of the aqueduct will cause the rest to collapse over time. This can be seen at the Richmond Aqueduct as the end arches continue to fall over. It is also a good reason to tread lightly if you walk out to the end of the remains. 21

22 To view the remains of the Seneca River Aqueduct, drive to Montezuma and turn off Route 31 onto High Street. High Street is just west of the Rt 90 and Rt 31 intersection. Follow the road to the right, onto Chapman Road, until you come to the canal bed. Park your car in the parking area and walk or ride your bike about three quarters of a mile to the river. Here, you can walk out onto the aqueduct remains and down onto the riverbank to see the arches from water level. The trail is part of the Heritage Park system of trails, and it is very well marked and maintained. If you happen to be walking in this area during a flood stage of the river, you can see how the river covers the low land. It is an dramatic way to see how important the construction of the aqueduct was to the operation of the canal. On the west side of the river, three of the thirty-one arches remain on dry land. This offers a chance to walk under the stonework, giving you a sense of their size. The route to get there is a bit more difficult, following farming roads and ATV trails on the western side of the river. The trek is worth the effort, rewarding you with a river level view of the eastern shore and remains. To the west, you can find piles of stones that once carried the canal over the river. Fifteen- The Cayuga Marshes and Seneca River The swamps and low lands north of Cayuga Lake had been a source of misery for the early York State settler. The air was filled with biting insects and it was thought that breathing the air would make you sick. The soft ground made it impossible to build a road or settle a house and farm. So from the days of the first settlers, people expressed a desire to drain the water and reclaim the flat rich land for farming. In 1810, as DeWitt Clinton made his way up the Seneca River, he commented in his journal: There is scarcely any population on the river, owing to its unhealthiness. The settlements are back. In 1824, it was reported: "The vegetable putrefaction which takes place every season after the overflowing of these lands, operates as the main cause of the distressing sickness which prevails almost every autumn along the borders of the Seneca river, and for miles on either side " In all it was the opinion of the engineers that 9000 acres of swamps and another 20,000 acres of low land could be drained and reclaimed as farm and business land. Why is this important to the study of the canal? The canal had to pass through the Montezuma Swamps. The villages and canal had to be set back away from the swampy banks of the river. The soft wet ground made it almost impossible to form the banks of the canal. If you tried to dig, overnight the ground would flow back into the newly dug ditch. After the canal was complete, freight and passenger boats had to pass through the area, much to the discomfort of all. The goal of the canal was to open the western lands to settlement and if the swamps could be drained and reclaimed, many farms would raise thousands of dollars worth of produce that would be shipped along the canal. The Canal Commissioners were appointed to investigate this matter for two reasons. One, they knew how to dig a canal and control water and two, either correctly or incorrectly, people who lived around the swamps and along the Seneca River realized that excess water from the canal was dumped into the river at Montezuma. This canal water made it a canal problem. The Erie Canal was formed by a series of steps from Lake Erie down to the Seneca River. Montezuma is at a low point in the central section of the Erie Canal, and water from as far west as Lake Erie along with water from other feeders west of the Seneca River would drain out of the canal and into the Seneca River at the river crossing. Also water from Jordan flowed west down the canal to the Seneca River. This excess water that would not exist except for the canal. 22

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24 In 1824 the State passed a law that put the Canal Commissioners in charge of investigating this matter. The Canal Commissioners in turn appointed three commissioners and an engineer who would be responsible for laying out plans for the drainage project. The Canal Commissioners appointed David Thomas as engineer. Thomas was a local man from Auburn well known for his work on the Erie Canal. He had surveyed the northern route from Rochester to Lake Erie. He was to survey the swamps and river from beginning to end and to make recommendations as to the work needed to help the river to drain faster. Through the surveys and his reports David Thomas pointed out that the Seneca River was most constricted at Jack's Reef. The valley of the river was very narrow, the reefs formed a natural dam, and all this was located on a tight horseshoe bend. There were two plans of action presented. To remove the rocks and gravel that formed the reef or cut a new channel through the bend of the river creating two routes for the river to follow. The new channel would be called the drain. To construct the drain would require a cut of twenty-one feet deep, plus a way to dispose of the spoils. Since the work was in a narrow valley it was pointed out that the spoils should not be placed where they might be in the way of the natural course of the river or in case the drain had to be made larger at a later date. After the report was complete the State Legislature appointed John McFadden, Ira Hopkins, and Job Tyler as commissioners for draining the swamps. Although the new commissioners decided to create the drain they did point out that they had little knowledge on which to base these decisions and revisions might need to be made in the plan. Work was started in The plan also called for a removal of other small sandbars in the river after the drain work was complete. Any project this large raise the question as to who will pay for all this work. The State did not feel that it was responsible and that those who would benefit should pay. This meant that the current or new landowners in and around the swamps should come up with the money. Then it was pointed out that any landowner in this part of New York did not have the means to come up with the money to pay for such a large undertaking. The Commissioners asked that the State pay for the project and in return, tax the land that became productive from this work. Problems with the work quickly arose. The contractors underbid the work or did not realize what they are getting into. The contractors asked for more money and did not complete the work. The Drainage Commissioners took matters in their own hands reletting work without following the proper procedure. In 1826 two of the Commissioners, John McFadden, and Ira Hopkins, were removed and one new Commissioner, John Jackway was appointed. Soon after Engineer David Thomas resigned although he was not held responsible for any of the wrong doings of the Commissioners. It was more a fact that the original Commissioners had not done what Thomas thought should be done which was to remove the gravel bars in the river. The decision to dig the drain was causing all the problems but since the work had already started on the drain the State felt the need to continue the work. This work continues on and off until It had cost the State more money than planned, but the new Commissioners report that, " we have no hesitation in declaring our firm belief that the Cayuga marshes and the other drowned lands in the valley of the Seneca river will be effectually reclaimed, and that what has heretofore been emphatically a region of sterility, disease, and death, will soon exhibit an extensive tract of land free from a pestilential atmosphere, beautiful in location, and of unexampled fertility." These great hopes did not come to pass for in 1830, this matter was again brought before the State Legislature. Once again a survey was made of the river to determine why the water level had not gone down. James Geddes was appointed the engineer to look into the matter. The State 24

25 also raised the idea of holding the Drainage Commissioners financially responsible for the failure of the work. A report issued in 1831 places much blame on the Commissioners appointed to oversee the work. For some reason in this report Job Tyler is not mentioned. Noah Dennis is in his stead and later the name of Jethro Wood appears as a Commissioner. The Commissioners had paid out money in advance of the work being done which was against the law. It was found that the Commissioners did not spend enough time actually overseeing the work. Instead they came in a various times just to make an appearance and check up on the work. In the new survey Geddes found that the drain was entirely too small for what was needed. During times of higher water the drain did help by allowing the river to flow through Jack s Reef but it was far too small for the amount of water in the river. During the low water season, the drain did nothing to speed up the flow of water in the river or help drain the water from the swamps. The goal of the work was to lower the level of water in the entire drainage basin area by about two feet. Geddes also pointed out that the overall flow of water in the river was hindered by the growth of plants. These plants, named eelgrass, slowed the movement of water thus creating a back up during the high water period that could last for many months. Geddes recommended that the river channel be cut down to allow the water to flow faster. The whole affair of draining the swamps seems to have been forgotten until But once again the issue comes before the State and the Governor appoints three more Commissioners to look into the drainage of the marshes. And once again an engineer surveys, makes maps and recommendations. The new Commissioners point out the following: The delay of this highly important and necessary work, for so long a time after the settlement of western New York, its suspension after a commencement, and its neglect until the last session of the Legislature, must be ascribed to the engrossment of the energies and resources of the State for the greater portion of the time, when the financial condition of the country would allow, in the prosecution of other great works of improvement. A translation: the State was spending most of its money building the enlarged Erie and other canals. In 1852, the new engineer, George Geddes, makes the following points. 1) The outlet of Crooked Lake (Keuka Lake) flows into the Seneca Lake, which in turn, flows into the Cayuga Lake, near its outlet. Basically, three lakes are discharging into one river. 2) The outlet of the Cayuga Lake is very narrow. The outlet of the Cayuga Lake is congested with eelgrass, which further slows the movement of water. 3) The fall of the river, from Cayuga Lake to Baldwinsville, a distance of over 38 miles, was only feet. 4) The Clyde River connects into the Seneca River near Montezuma. The flows from this river are sometimes so strong that the water backs up into the Cayuga Lake. 5) The drain that was cut at Jacks Reef does nothing to help drain the water during periods of low water. It does work during high water, but does little in helping to drain the swamps. 6) The contractors who had dug the drain in 1825 had deposited the spoils along side the drain. To widen the drain to make it useful would require that the spoils be removed first. This would be far too costly. Geddes suggests that the sand and gravel bars blocking the flow of the river be removed and the river bottom be lowered. By removing the largest bars it is hoped that the increased flow would help flush out the smaller bars. Once again this was the main recommendation of David Thomas, the first engineer. Geddes points out that if the bars had been removed from the bed of the river at 25

26 Jacks Reef way back in 1825, all this work would be complete by now and the reclaimed land would be in use. All these recommendations were put into a report that was sent to the State Legislature in February 1852 and Geddes main point about the size of the watershed that feeds through the Seneca River is quite correct. Most of the lakes and rivers in central New York drain down through the Seneca and the Oswego Rivers. To drop the level of Seneca and Cayuga Lakes, the entire river would need to be dredged so the many shallow riffs could pass more water and faster flow would result. If the normal flow of water could not be speeded up, any dredging effort would quickly fill in. Plus it was realized that lowering the level of the lakes could have a negative impact on the northern end of Cayuga Lake, which was very shallow anyhow. The docks in the Springport area might need to be rebuilt into deeper water. During the same time the mill owners along the Oswego River pointed out that the reduction of water in the marshes would hurt the flow of water to their mills. They were against this project. The reduction of water would also hurt the Seneca River crossing of the Erie Canal. While the Seneca River dredging project was under State review, citizens from the Baldwinsville area asked that the Seneca River be made navigable from Onondaga Lake to Cayuga Lake. In 1809, Jonas Baldwin of Baldwinsville, had constructed a small canal and lock around the riff in the Seneca River. The citizens of Baldwinsville asked that the Seneca River be made navigable from the Oswego Canal near Onondaga Lake west to Baldwinsville and then onto Jack s Reef. The dam at Baldwinsville already created a pool of water suitable for boat traffic west to Jack s Reef. After some study the State decided not to make the river navigable past Jack s Reef. After the 1853 report, work was started again on the idea of draining the marshes. An advertisement in the Syracuse paper asked for five hundred laborers. Liberal wages and two years worth of work were offered. By 1857 the work at Jack s Reef was complete at a cost of $125, Within two weeks the water level in Cross Lake was lowered four feet. Work was to continue upstream on the many bars that blocked the flow. In most places the channel was cut down nine to ten feet. After a very heavy rain the Commissioner s report that the floodwaters never reached the levels that they had in the past. Since the water was now able to drain faster many feet of flooding did not occur. However in 1860, the commissioners did report that the new higher canal embankment across the Montezuma marsh was going to cause problems to the south. Whereas floodwaters could find their way through the entire marsh before, the new embankment was going to dam off this flow. It was several feet higher then the old canal, constructed this way to allow the canal to cross the river on the new aqueduct. Now all water draining from the south to the Seneca River had to pass under the aqueduct, since the water could not just flow across the swamps. The backed up flow would affect areas as far away as Ithaca, and flood out many mills and docks. The commissioners ask for more dredging of the Seneca above and below the aqueduct to lessen these damages. The building of the Barge Canal was the final step in draining the marshes. The new lock and dam on the Cayuga and Seneca Canal built at the north end of Cayuga Lake controlled the flow of water into the river. The old Cayuga and Seneca Canal was moved from the old manmade channel to the river. The entire river system was dredged to a uniform twelve foot depth to allow navigation. The old drain at Jack s Reef was used as the new navigation channel. The work of the dredging and the new dam at the head of the lake allowed the river level to drop eight to ten feet. This work drained most of the water from the marshes and controlled the seasonal flooding, so the marshland began to dry up. Of course after the State finally got what it had wanted for one hundred years it became apparent that the wildlife that depended on the marsh was suffering. In 1937, the Federal Government bought 6,000 acres of the marshland to create the Montezuma Wildlife Refuge. The 26

27 Civilian Conservation Corps was used to build dikes and the land once again flooded. By 1942, birds were returning to the marshes. A ditch was constructed to connect the northern end of the lake to the marsh for water to be introduced back into the marshes. In 1825, the State felt that 29,000 acres of land could be drained and made into farmland. In the end, history does not record how much land, after all this work, was actually placed into productive use. Sixteen- Bridges Everyone knows the old song, Low bridge, everybody down, low bridge, for we re coming to a town. The bridge became the most famous symbol of life on the canal. American and European travelers wrote at great length about having to prostrate themselves on the deck of the boat to avoid getting their heads knocked off. Men and women of the villages stood upon them to watch the passing parade of boats. Children would stand on them as they teased the young mule drivers with chants and name calling. Seemingly no part of the canal was without a bridge. This held true for the very rural Cayuga County for in the twelve plus miles of canal, there were twenty-four bridges. As much as the bridges were a pain in the back (or head) for the canal passengers they were an important part of life for the County residents. Unfortunately for today s canal historian very few of these structures exist to this day. The bridges were initially built of wood set on top of cut stone abutments on each side of the canal. On the berme side the abutment would sit at water s edge but on the towpath side, the abut- The Brutus Street bridge, as seen from the south. The bridge is a Whipple type iron street bridge, complete with sidewalks. The towpath is on the left side of the picture. The docking area of Weedsport is on the right side of the canal, north of the bridge. (OBHS) 27

28 ment had to be moved back away from the canal so the towpath could pass under without obstructing the tow lines. For the enlarged canal this meant the bridge had to be seventy-two feet long. The width of the bridge could vary depending on location and use. For a farmer, the bridge could be just wide enough for his wagons and equipment. In a village, the bridge might need to accommodate two-way traffic, plus side walks. The construction methods could also vary. The State could get away with building the farmer a lighter bridge while a more substantial structure was needed along a well used road or in a village. No matter who used the bridge, all bridges had to be twelve feet above the surface of the water or nineteen feet above the bottom of the canal. This would allow an empty boat that floated very high in the water enough clearance underneath without damage to boat or bridge. Later as the process for manufacturing stronger iron was improved, the bridges were changed from wood to iron as they wore out and were replaced. The common style of the new iron bridge was the Whipple, named after Squire Whipple. These simple bridges were easy to construct and held up very well. They were cast in a foundry and bolted together at the bridge site. During the winter, a false work of timbers was built in the canal bed and the bridge was assembled on this temporary structure. When the bridge was complete, the false work was removed. Farmer bridges did not always warrant the cost of an iron bridge, and many were not changed or replaced. As the years went by, and the State grew weary of repairing the many bridges, they would argue against rebuilding these farmer bridges if another public road bridge was close by. After the abandonment of the enlarged canal, the iron bridges were sold or taken for scrap value. What remains to this day are bridge abutments or in simpler words, the stonework that held The West Shore Railroad bridge, to the west of Weedsport. Notice the high embankment the rail line is built upon. (OBHS) 28