THE PEOJECTED NEAV BARGE CANAL OF THE STATE 



OF NEW ^OKK." 



By Col. Thomas W. Symons, U. S. Army. 



In the years followinjjthe Revolutionary war the subject of naviga- 

 ble canals was a very absorbing one to our forefathers. In this new 

 and rapidly developing country in those pre-railroad days the impor- 

 tance of canals in the transportation world can hardly be a])|)reciated 

 at the i^resent time. Canals were projected all over the country, 

 and many were built. The attention and labors of the ablest men of 

 the period were devoted to canal schemes, their financing, locating, 

 and building. 



A good many of the canals that were built have succumbed to new 

 conditions and been discontinued, being unable to stand the competi- 

 tion of railroads. Some, however, have stood the test of time and 

 have remained important factors in the connnercial world to the 

 jn-esent day. AVithout question the most important of these early 

 artificial waterways was the Erie Canal through the State of New 

 York, connecting the Hudson River with Lake Erie. This canal, 

 although originally built of small size, played a very important part 

 in the settlement of the great West, oi- what was then the givat West, 

 by furnishing a route in connection with the Oreat Lakes by which 

 the products of the new western countiy could reach th«^ markets 

 along the seaboard, and by which in turn it could get its supplies of 

 clothing, tools, groceries, etc., at an economical rate for transporta- 

 tion. It is certain that the settlement and develoi)ment of the New 

 York and New England hinterland were enoruu)usly expedited by 

 the Erie Canal. 



Locally in New York State the effect of this canal was shown by 

 the increasing commercial imi)()rtance of New York City and the 

 establishment and development along the line of the canal of the 

 most important chain of cities in the country — Albany, Troy, Cohoes, 

 Schenectady, Little Falls, Utica, Rome, Syracuse, Rochester, Lock- 

 port, and Buffalo. 



a Reprinted, by permission, from the Bulletin of the American Geograpt-car 



Society, May, 1904. 



751 



