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Clinton’s Unbelievable Ditch. KC Miller and Lauren Moroz. THE BEGINNING OF THE ERIE CANAL. A canal is an artificial waterway for navigation, and irrigation, etc. It is different from other water passages because it was dug by hand with shovels.
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Clinton’s Unbelievable Ditch KC Miller and Lauren Moroz
THE BEGINNING OF THE ERIE CANAL • A canal is an artificial waterway for navigation, and irrigation, etc. It is different from other water passages because it was dug by hand with shovels. • In 1810, Mayor DeWitt Clinton had the idea of building the canal. Some politicians named it “Clinton’s Ditch” or “Clinton’s Folly.” They thought it was ridiculous and impossible. • The Erie Canal was started on July 4, 1817. Work began in Troy. The canal was finished in 1825. The canal was built because shipping goods between Lake Erie and New York City cost $100.00 for 1 ton and took more than 3 weeks. Afterward, the cost dropped to less than $10.00 per ton, and the trip took just seven days (1 week). In addition, about 1,000 people-per day- traveled the canal.
Geography • Lake Erie and the Hudson River, which is connected to the Atlantic Ocean, are connected. • Some cities that are along the Erie Canal include Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Albany, and Utica. • Some towns, villages, or valleys that are along the Erie Canal are Tonawanda , North Tonawanda, Lockport, Middleport, Medina, Albion, Holley, Brockport, Spencerport, Brighton, Pittsford, and Fairport.
How the Erie Canal is/was used • The effect of the canal was immediate and dramatic as settlers poured west. The explosion of trade proposed by Governor Clinton began, spurred by freight trains from Buffalo to New York of $10.00 per ton by Canal, compared with $100 per ton by road. In 1829, there were 3,640 bushels of wheat transported down the Canal from Buffalo. • The Erie Canal is still in use. You can bike along the towpath and boat on the water. Many people walk their dogs on the towpath to get exercise. Or you could just walk!
Interesting Facts • The Erie Canal cost $7,000,ooo.00 to build. • The Erie Canal was 363 miles long, 40 feet wide, but only 4 feet deep. That may sound shallow, but it was deep enough for its flat-bottomed boats. • A lock enables a boat to pass from a section of canal at 1 water level to another section at a different water level. • A lock works when a boat going from a lower level to a higher level enters the lock through the lower gates. • The original Erie Canal had 83 locks.
About the Authors Lauren Moroz Hi! I’m Lauren, and I have brown hair and brown eyes. I am interested in the violin and the oboe, although I don’t play it. I also like to play the piano. I like to play with my dog, Barley, too. I found that DeWitt Clinton was the governor of New York at the time the most interesting. Hi! I am KC, and I have blue eyes and light brown hair. I’m interested in basketball and nature. I like to invite my cousins to my house to play often, and I found that they paved over part of the canal in downtown Syracuse to make roads the most interesting.
Sources: “The Erie Canal.” PBS Kids Go! 14 Apr. 2011 <http://pbskids.org/bigapplehistory/building/topic1.html>. “The Erie Canal: A Brief History.” NYS Canals. 14 Apr. 2011 <http://www.canals.ny.gov/cculture/history/>. “The Erie Canal: A Journey Through History.” ePodunk. 14 Apr. 2011 <http://www.epodunk.com/routes/erie-canal/index.html#>. “Images of the Erie Canal in Syracuse.” The Erie Canal. 14 Apr. 2011 <http://www.eriecanal.org/Syracuse.html>. “Locks on the Erie Canal.” The Erie Canal. 14 Apr. 2011 <http://www.eriecanal.org/locks.html>.
