Findings

The Congress finds the following: (1) Built between 1817 and 1825, the original Erie Canal traversed 363 miles from Albany to Buffalo. (2) The Erie Canal was the longest artificial waterway and the greatest public works project in North America. (3) The Erie Canal was one of the most important steps in the United States initiating its industrial revolution, rapidly increasing the productivity of agriculture and the spread of machinery and manufactured goods. (4) The Erie Canal cut the travel time between Albany and Buffalo in half and reduced freight rates by 90 percent. This allowed midwestern farmers and industry to have new access to distant markets. (5) The Erie Canal opened up the American interior for settlement and enabled a new flow of people and ideas. This fueled social reform movements such as abolitionism, women’s suffrage, utopian communities, and multiple religious movements along the canal corridor. (6) The Erie Canal continues to define the geography of upstate New York with 80 percent of the upstate New York population living withing 25 miles of the corridor. (7) After 200 years the Erie Canal is still a resource for its local communities as a close to home recreational destination for boaters, bikers, and walkers.