One of the most significant endeavors of the developers of New York State was the
creation of The Erie Canal.

Stretching some 363 miles from the Hudson River at Albany to Lake Erie at Buffalo, The Canal was authorized by Legislative Vote in 1817 with construction begun at once. Completed in 1825, The Canal opened shipping lanes from the east coast to the Great Lakes. Where previously, goods and building supplies were shipped westward by horse drawn wagons, The Canal enabled much larger payloads to be transported faster at at less cost.

The 363 mile long Canal originally was constructed with 84 locks (allowing vessels to rise or lower to the water level upstream or downstream) at a cost to the state of $7,143,000.00. Collecting tolls from the shipping vessels allowed the State to recoup it's investment in short order.

At the time, there were no railroads in the United States and The Canal was the choice of transportation companies for the shipment of imported goods that were shipped up The Hudson River from New York City and The Port of New York. Albany, at the start of The Canal quickly grew into a major transportation hub from which the western regions of New York State were developed. All along The Canal route, cities sprang up and industries were developed.

From it's terminus in Buffalo, and the connection to The Great Lakes, The Erie Canal became an artery to mid-west development as well.

With the development of the railroads, a faster alternative was offered to shippers of goods westward. Soon The Canal was used only by those seeking economical shipping and having looser delivery schedules. For several years, The Canal was used below it's capacity while the railroads flourished and grew.

Then, in a demonstration of one of America's first monopolies, the railroads started charging exhorbitant rates for shipping cargo. Seeking relief, the shippers soon returned to The Canal as their main source of transporting goods.By then, The Canal had fallen into disrepair and in the early 1900's a major reconstruction was undertaken, widening the canal, as well as adding several locks to improve navigatability. When the reconstruction was completed, in 1918 The Erie Canal became The New York State Barge Canal. The NEW Canal remained for many years as the main transport route for midwestern grain shipments to The Port of New York.

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