The Erie Canal

The first record of a public official coming out in favor of a canal from the Hudson River to Lake Erie is dated 1803 when Gouveneur Morris, a member of the First Continental Congress, made the suggestion to Surveyor Gen. Simon DeWitt. Finally after a series of surveys, explorations, estimates, projections and small appropriations, a law was passed on April 11, 1811 "authorizing a commission to expend up to $15,000 for a truly comprehensive study of the project." The act incited the following classis admonition to the commissioners. "The Commissioners must nevertheless have the hardihood to face the sneers and sarcasms of men, who, with too much pride to study, too much wit to think, undervalue what they do not understand and condemn what they cannot comprehend

Five years later the commissioner filed its final report and the Legislature immediately acted to provide funds and authority to proceed with construction. The "first spadeful of earth was turned" west of Rome on July 4, 1817. Land owners along the canal route thought so favorably of the project that they gave the needed land to the State. The agent charged with procuring the right of way from Utica to the Seneca River reported that 90% made volunteer concessions. initial construction was authorized to b~gtn on the "middle section" of the canal. This represented a 96 mile stretch extending from Rome to Montezuma. The "middle section" was selected with the thought that the Legislature would be less likely to abandon the project by leaving the ends undone.

The Erie Canal project began to effect the economy of contig-uous areas very early. The Auburn Advertizer in its issue of July 23, 1817 reported that land in the area of Cayuga and Seneca Lakes had already doubled in value. Citizens were enthusiastic about the prospect of soon being able to ship salt and plaster (gypsum) out of the area. The next issue of the paper claimed that " ...... ten miles of the Great Western Canal will unquestionably be completed this year. Five hundred men are daily employed in the work." An ad in the Cayuga Republican issue of April 10, 1822 states that Hovey & Wethy, Canal Cont'ractors, would hire five hundred laborers to work on construction cg the canal throu.qh the Montezuma marshes. The day rate would be $12.00 - $13.00 per month. The job was to be completed by mid-July 'before the marshes become dangerous."

The recruitment of Irishmen for canal digging started on a large scale in 1818. Some recruiting was done in Ireland but mostly was accomplished in New York City with promises of big wages and attractive fringe benefits (like whiskey. ) It is said that twenty-five per cent of the workers on the construction of the canal were Irish.

The middle section was officially opened to transportation in May, 1820, when a canal boat left Montezuma and was towed into Syracuse. A new era of transportation had begun for Cayuga County.

The Weed family of Auburn constructed a "Canal Basin" in the present village of Weedsport. This resulted in a shift of the population center from Macedonia 3/4 of a mile south toward the center of the present village of Weedsport. The Basin was used as docking area and turnaround for canal boats where they could also be repaired. The locality was first known as Weed's Basin, later as Weed's Port, and finally became Weedsport.

Unfortunately, information relating to the population centers on the canal from 1816 through 1859 is only meager. Auburn was the only area village large enough to support a weekly newspaper but apparently because of the editor's aversion to Gov. DeWitt Clinton, the canal was rarely mentioned. In our era it seems almost incredible that a project as momentous as the Erie Canal could be proceeding nine miles from Auburn and not be worthy of direct mention.

Edward, Elihu and Walter Weed were sons of Smith Weed, an Albany merchant. The Weed sons settled in Auburn and engaged in business there. Edward and Elihu constructed a "Basin" on the east side of the Erie Canal within the site of present Weedsport and gave the Village its name. Wslter Weed may have been a party to the Basin project but at this time there is no verification of his association in the venture. He did, however, open the first hardware store in the new settlement.

PLAYING BALL - 1873

Any person who shall play at ball in any street, lane or s]_!ey, within the corporation; shall be liable to a penalty of not less than one dollar or more than three dollars for each offense.

The first Erie Canal popularly known as "Clinton's Ditch;" the "Grand Canal" and many other names - some complementary - was a dug ditch. That is to say the canal banks were at or slightly above the level of the surrounding soils. As the canal entered the downtown part of the Village it was located slightly to the east of present Erie Drive. The channel leading to the Basin crossed present South Seneca about half-way between East Brutus and Furnace Street, the width of the channel is not exactly known but the basin itself appears to have been about the same dimensions as the canal itself - four Teet deep and forty feet wide - and extended from Seneca nearly to South Street.

A cross section profile of the Basin was established when the Village sewer system was constructed in 1967. A bridge on Seneca Street carried hiqlhway traffic over the entrance charmel. Anyone driving along Erie Drive or South Seneca today - good pavement, substantial buildings and firm parking lots would find it hard to believe what the area was like in the late teens of 1800's when the cans/was put thru. The sewer excavation revealed a corduroy road about four feet below the present surface of South Seneca. The corduroy was built of logs six to eights in diameter, laid on stringers sixteen to eighteen inches'in diameter. The wood was apparently pine, in an almost perfect state of preservation - and well it should be. The soil upon which the road was built was a compact black silt - no chance for air penetration there. The sewer construction unearthed another interesting structure crossing Seneca Street from the south side of Furnace. It appears to have been a stone drainage waterway. A trench was dug and six to eiqtht inch loqls laid in the bottom. A layer of field stone was placed on the logs and finally the stone covered with another layer of logs. The structure was about three feet by three feet in cross section.

Although the Erie Canal officially opened in 1825 the first passenger boat on the Middle Section passed through Weed's Basin on ~the tenth of December 1819. Followinql is a first-hand account o~ that trip written by a passenger and published in the Cayuga-Republican, Auburn on December I5, 1819.

"The western part of the 'Middle Section' has been completed and navigated. Information having been given that the Canal from the Seneca River to Salina would be completed about the 10th instant, a boat was prepared at Seneca Falls with a temporary cabin and other conveniences, and notice given that she would leave Montezuma at 9:00 A.M. on the 10th instant. It so happened however that on the 9th instant the weather which for severs/days had been very mild and pleasant changed suddenly and at the appointed time for starting was very cold and unpleasant and to add to the difficulties to be encountered in this first voyage. the canal was covered with ice from one to two inches in thickness. A number of gentlemen with Mr. Holley, one of the ComInissioners, had however collected, and about half past eleven o'clock the boat with two horses attached to her left the Seneca River in defiance of the inclemency of the season and of ice in the canal. It was found on trial that two horses could propel the boat against the ice at the rate of rather more than two miles an hour. The party proceeded and arrived at Mr. King's in Mentz, a distance of about six miles, with two horses and with from fifty to seventy passengers. At Mr. King's two more horses were added, and the boat proceeded amidst the acclamation of the citizens and arrived at Jordan, a distance by the canal of nearly sixteen miles from the Seneca River before seven o'clock in the evening, having passed on the route three locks and stopping one hour at Mr. King's which is about six hours for traveling. There was two feet of water in the canal and the boat six feet in length and ten feet in width: On the morning of the eleventh instant it was found that the ice had increased so much during the night that it was deemed unadvisable to proceed fuurther, the horses were therefore hitched to the boat and the passengers returned in the same way to Montezuma. Much credit is due to Captain Arnsbury and his associates for their public spirit in fitting the boat so as to make it comfortable and pleasant for passengers at this inclement season."

"The opening of Clinton Ditch was an event of colossal moment to all citizens of the State but particularly to those along its route. People could now afford to ship their products to markets which were practically unavailable before. It cost as much as $100 to deliver a ton of freight to Albany by wagon. The canal assessment was only a few dollars.

Accordingly, when Governor Clinton and party proceeded on the trip from Buffalo to Albany with a keg or two of Lake Erie water to pour into the Hudson River, villages and hamlets along the route greeted the entourage with all-manor of celebrations. Port Byron welcomed the "boats from the west" with vollies of musketry and a handsome display of fireworks." As they departed an illuminated balloon was sent up. "A beacon was constantly blazing on the highhill south of the village, and the principal buildings were handsomely illuminated." The above quoted comments were prepared by one Willard L. Stone, official observer for the City of New York.

Mr. Stone continued to comment "At Weedsport, the company from the west were also greeted by a special illumination, and the firing of artillery. The Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and the several Committees were escorted to Hartford's, where they partook of refreshments, and received congratulations of the citizens of Auburn and Weedsport, through the Committees of these places, to which the Governor replied, and expressed the high satisfaction which his friends and himself experienced at their reception. At this place arrangements had been made for the celebration; but it did not take place, in consequence of an unfortunate accident, by which two valuable young men lost their lives. Shortly after the landing of the gentlemen from the West, a twenty-four pounder was accidently discharged, and Mr. Remington and Mr. Whitman, who were acting as gunners, were instantly killed." .The unfortunate accident took place on the morning of October 29, 1825. The young men were David Remington and Henry Whitman. Auburn's Cayuga Republican issue of November 2, 1825 reports "Remington was literally blown to atoms. Whitman survived about four hours. Both were in the prime of life and both have left young families to deplore their untimely exit."

Buildings on East Brutus were not as deep as the present structures which now extend a few feet over the surface of the old basin. The original buildings which were burned in the 1871 fire, extended to the very edge of the canal toI' facilitate landing. Vast amounts of freight passed thru Weeds Basin Warehouses since Weedsport was the principal port for Auburn.

Port Byron tried hard to secure a share of canal freight but Weedsport's position enabled it to "skim off" the lions share of Auburn's business since most of the merchandise came in from the east. Warehousing and draying were big business in Weedsport until the Auburn, Syracuse Railway was completed in 1839.

Prof. Hopkins reports the effect of the railroad on Weedsport as follows "Through traffic between Syracuse and Rochester on the Auburn branch of the New York Central began in 1841. The loss of the transfer and carriage of goods between Weedsport and Auburn was a severe blow to our little village. The principal public buildings were those erected to accomodate this business and many men were employed in the receipt, shipment, storage and transfer of goods between the two places. When the traffic was diverted to the railroad, the warehouses, once filled to their utmost capacity, stood empty; business was gone. In a day and night it had fled. The village looked deserted."

By the middle 1830's the "Clinton Ditch" could not accomodate the traffic and plans for enlargement were begun. The "Improved Erie" was seventy feet wide and built with high berms for sides rather than following the land-level as did the earlier Canal. This eliminated to a large extent the common problem of flooding which had often stopped traffic for weeks at a time. On the old canal most streams were feeders which further aggravated the flooding problem. In the middle section the tow-path was on the north berm of the canal and the heel path on the south. The heel-path was frequently called the berm and was nattower than the tow-path.

Westbound traffic had the right of way as did the faster packet boats which carried passengers. When meeting an east-bound boat, the west-bound had to stop, drop its tow-line and allow the other boat to pass. When a packet

over-took a slow boat the slow boat had to drop its tow-line and let the packet pass. These procedures frequently brought forth vituperative expletives hitherto unused by man.

The "Improved Erie Canal" was not completed across the State until 1863. The Weedsport section appears to have been built in the middle 1850's. The Centreport Aqueduct was constructed in 1854 and 55. The aqueduct carried the canal over a confluence of North Brook and Cold Spring Brook a short distance west of Weedsport village. North Brook was a feeder to the Clinton Ditch. Cold Spring Brook may have been a feeder but early maps indicate the presence of an aqueduct at the Canal crossing. The 1854 project directed the latter stream eastward along the south side of the canal and fed it into North Brook. The aqueduct stone work is still intact and is the prime feature of a roadside park constructed by the State Deparhnaent of Transportation with the assistance of the Weedsport Lions Club. The aqueduct trough was about 60 feet long and about 50 feet wide, the floor rested on 16 inch square oak sills placed 16 inches apart. The side and bottom planking was three and four inch thick planking, sawn from white pine or other similar woods. "In May 1857, three breaches at the Centreport aqueduct suspended navigation for eight days. The breaches were caused by heavy floods and admitting water onto green unsettled work."