Thomas Jefferson called the Erie Canal “little short of madness.” He couldn’t have been more wrong. Now, 200 years later, New York’s canalside villages, towns, and cities are celebrating all the ways this waterway shaped the state and, really, the entire country.
Built in eight years and paying for itself in just nine, the canal was 363 miles of earth—initially 40 feet wide and four feet deep—scooped out by amateurs (the only engineering school back then was West Point) and stretching from
Albany on the Hudson River to Buffalo on Lake Erie. The epic project, completed in 1825, is what made New York the Empire State. It’s hard to overstate how important the Erie Canal has been to America. But here goes.
The jewel of the canal was Buffalo, which connected the Atlantic Ocean with the Great Lakes. American Express and Wells Fargo were both founded there to handle the influx of wealth. Nearby Niagara Falls set a template for the National Parks Service. Kodak was founded in Rochester. General Electric debuted in Schenectady but soon dominated Utica. Syracuse gave us the Schubert Organization—one of only three Broadway theater owners—and basketball’s 24-second shot clock. Both Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony used the Erie Canal as a way to increase the spread of ideas of equality and equity.
“The Civil War could’ve ended very differently without the Erie Canal,” said Anthony Greco, director of exhibits at the Buffalo History Museum (he’s an excellent podcast host, too). Even before it was built, supporters claimed it would “bind the union” and it did exactly that—by transporting food and goods, obviously, but also by strengthening the economic and social ties between the northeast and the Midwest.
The various canal museums are packed with similar surprises—especially Buffalo’s Buffalo Maritime Center, Rome’s immersive Erie Canal Village, and Syracuse’s Erie Canal Museum. The canal wasn’t just a thoroughfare of materials and labor, but also of ideas—“our earliest Internet,” said Greco. As such, these museums don’t shy away from difficult conversations. “It never should have been built,” said Melissa Leonard, a Tonawanda Seneca descendant and the chair of the Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion Committee at the Buffalo History Museum. She helped write some of the museum’s scripts, which highlight how the canal tore through indigenous territory. “But the bicentennial helps us continue a conversation about land—not about owning it, but about how important it is to our culture.”
For the bicentennial, cities along the canal are pulling out all the stops. The Flotsam River Circus is a free event full of circus performers, musicians, and puppeteers traveling on a self-described “ramshackle raft” from now until the New York City finale on September 14 (they perform both on and off the water). Every Friday until August 22 in Newark or Sundays until August 31 in Spencerport there’ll be Music on the Erie, a free concert series that also includes raffled prizes. In Fairport, the Colonial Belle is running Erie Canal cruises themed around pirates, murder mysteries, and knitting. (Fun fact: Jimmy Fallon routinely pops up in Fairport as a guest bartender.) A global canals conference hits Buffalo September 21 to 25. And the truest historical highlight: a replica of the historic Seneca Chief, a famous Erie Canal boat, will travel from Buffalo to New York from September 24 to October 26. Oh, and the New York Lottery recently announced an Erie Canal-themed raffle with 15 prizes of $1 million in honor of the canal giving birth to America’s first “self-made millionaires.”
Besides the events, the anniversary serves as a great excuse to plan your own Erie Canal road trip and visit some of these cities and towns. (Make sure your playlist includes Bruce Springsteen’s cover of the popular folk song.) Here’s what to see and do along the route.
The Buffalo History Museum has a special exhibit on the Erie Canal.| Wirestock Creators / Shutterstock.com
Buffalo
America’s first electrified city still packs plenty of wow, from spicy wings to heart-throttling Bills games. Soar in a tethered hot air balloon overlooking Niagara Falls at Live on Air Fallsview Balloon Ride, then soak yourself in the Cave of the Winds, an outdoor deck built in the throes of the falls, where the falls naturally create hurricane-grade turmoil. Practice milking a fake cow or playing in a treehouse’s digital interactive waterfall at Explore & More, a children’s museum that also hosts happy hours after citywide scavenger hunts for adults. The Buffalo History Museum has a special exhibit on the Erie Canal that includes an interactive multimedia experience. When you get hungry, head to Ballyhoo, a hidden gem for cocktails served with monster sausage sandwiches (try the Steak House, with creamed spinach). And be sure to visit Duende, a bar and otherworldly arts haven amid the abandoned silos of Silo City with wild sculptures and live music most nights. Brave the night at the Richardson hotel, a former mental asylum.
Rochester
Called “America’s first boom town” because of the Erie Canal, Rochester united Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass as friends in freedom. You can see a statue of them in conversation at Susan B. Anthony Square Park (so I guess we know who won the argument). The food here is garbage—and that’s a good thing. Rochester is famous for its “garbage plate” of macaroni salad, home fries, a cheeseburger patty, and local Zweigel hot dogs (get one red and one white) all doused in meat sauce. Try one at Genesee Brewery overlooking the city’s stunning urban waterfall and wash it with a local cream ale. Photography fans should check out George Eastman Museum, a gilded immersion into the mansion and gardens of the founder of Kodak. But the guaranteed family crowd pleaser is the Strong Museum of Play, a wild ride through games of today and yesteryear with more vintage arcade games than the best Chuck E Cheese of your childhood.
Syracuse
Tom Cruise’s hometown pops with jazz festivals and one of the strongest food scenes outside of NYC. Try the local dish, salt potatoes, and all that’s on offer at the Great New York State Fair from August 20 to September 1. The canal’s imprint here cuts deep—literally: The thoroughfare downtown is called Erie Boulevard because it’s a paved-over patch of the canal. While you’re there, search Wildflowers Armory for locally made treasures, try Peruvian fare at Inka’s, and dip into Pastabilities for some famous Hot Tom spicy tomato oil. And holy smokes! There’s a fifth-generation candlemaker here—Cathedral Candle Company—that provides candles to the Pope for his papal visits to the US. Get yours and pray for a Bills Super Bowl win.
The Great New York State Fair has dozens of rides and attractions. | Taylor Matice / NYS Fair
Utica
A city of refugees where more than 40 languages are spoken, Utica is also one of the canal’s best-preserved towns. Go back in time with a stay at the Pratt Smith House, a B&B built in 1815, 10 years before the canal debuted. You can also take a free self-guided tour of Fountain Elms, a Victorian mansion built in 1852. Fast-forward 36 years for a beer at the 1888 Biergarten & Tavern. Do dinner at Tailor & the Cook, located in an 1893 warehouse, which offers regional seasonal dishes like pan-seared five-spice duck breast with mentsuyu sauce, beet gazpacho, and the local delicacy: chicken riggies (a spicy tomato chicken rigatoni dish).
Rome
Home of Woodstock 1999 and the nation’s first cheese factory (built in 1851), Rome is where ground first broke for the Erie Canal, in 1817. You can actually stay at the 1808 home—now a bed & breakfast—of Joshua Hathaway, the first man to stick a shovel in the ground and begin the excavation. Definitely pay a visit to Fort Stanwix, a full-scale reconstruction of the 1758 fort that played important roles in the French & Indian War and the Revolutionary War.
Albany
New York’s state capital, Albany is the oldest-surviving colonial settlement north of Washington, D.C.Hamilton buffs will want to tour the Revolutionary War-era Schuyler Mansion, but the real centerpiece here is the New York State Museum, where all of these cities, towns, and villages come together to tell the fuller story of the Empire State—exhibit topics range from George Washington to queer history. Sit down for a meal at Allie B’s Cozy Kitchen, where soul food recipes passed down over generations of the owner’s family will make you feel right at home.
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Richard Morgan is a Thrillist contributor.