It was the 1761 success of the Bridgewater canal in Great Britain which led to a strong interest in canals and their uses. In the United States George Washington picked up on this interest and invested heavily in the Patowmack Canal. Many wanted to create a canal that would link the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean. There was a proposal in 1784 to build such a canal, but it did not receive the proper funding and the project never materialized. The champion who would finally bring the pieces together was Jesse Hawley who, while in debtors prison after a failed business venture, would start pressing for plans to create a canal. Soon he found supporters and began to address some of the issues such a project would entail.
Great challenges came from the fact that the canal would have to pass through dense virgin woods, and rise about 600 feet on its journey to the Great Lakes. Locks could only handle twelve feet at the time so a minimum of fifty would have to be constructed. The cost was enormous, so much so that President Thomas Jefferson called the project, "a little short of madness" and rejected it. But Hawley peaked the interest of New York Governor DeWitt Clinton who embraced the project and secured seven million dollars to finance construction in 1817. Critics objected to the expense and called the project "Clinton's Folly" and "Clinton's Ditch".
On July 4, 1817 construction began at the Hudson River and would continue until October 26, 1825. As each section was completed it would open to much fanfare. There were 18 aqueducts and 83 locks; it was four feet deep and forty feet wide. It could carry boats with up to 30 tons of cargo. The canal was called by many the eight wonder of the world, and is still considered one of the greatest engineering marvels in human history.
Throughout the years the canal has been expanded and sections of the original canal retired. Today the modern canal is still in use, and has seen an increase in freight traffic due to rising fuel costs. The modern Erie Canal can move a short ton of cargo 514 miles on just one gallon of diesel fuel, nearly double the fuel efficiency of a freight train.
Today is the anniversary of this completion of this marvel of engineering.
-Professor Walter
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