Erie Canal
The 585 kilometer ditch that opened the Great Lakes to the Atlantic in 1825 and made New York America's port.
Overview
Dug largely with hand tools and animal power between 1817 and 1825, the canal ran from Albany to Buffalo through 83 locks. Freight costs between Buffalo and New York fell by roughly ninety percent, tolls repaid construction quickly, and Midwestern grain began flowing east through New York rather than down the Mississippi. Canal mania swept the Northeast, and New York outpaced Philadelphia as the country's commercial capital. Railroads took the freight and the barge traffic declined, but enlarged versions worked into the 20th century. Today the waterway carries modest bulk cargo and a busy leisure traffic.
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