The Erie Canal: The Road West

by Mary Jo 

I've got an old mule and her name is Sal,

Fifteen years on the Erie Canal!

She's a good old worker and a good old pal,

Fifteen years on the Erie Canal!

We've hauled some barges in our day,

Filled with lumber, coal, and hay,

And every inch of the way I (we) know,

From Albany to Buffalo!

 

 

Did you grow up singing this Erie Canal work song, usually known as "Low Bridge?"  Or do I know it because the Erie Canal was a part of my childhood?  I grew up in Western New York in the farm country between Rochester and Buffalo, and the Erie Canal was an important piece of the New York State history we studied somewhere around 6th grade.  I'll bet most kids who grew up in New York State can tell you that DeWitt Clinton was the visionary governor who built the canal.  It was called "Clinton's Big Ditch," but it changed the world.

The Erie Canal had a major role in making New York City a great world city because it was the first economical means of transportation from the interior of America to the East Coast.  Before the canal, pack mules and carts pulled by draft animals were the main form of bulk shipping.  They were slow and expensive. 

With the Erie Canal, barges could carry grain from the Great Lakes to Buffalo and across Upstate New York to the Hudson River and down to New York City.  Shipping costs were cut by 95% and it became feasible to transport grain from America's rich heartland to a port where it could shipped around the world.  Because grain is heavy and didn't bring high brices, it was hard to transport very far unless processed into a higher value product such as whiskey. <G>  Built between 1815 and 1825, the Erie Canal is celebrating a 200th anniversary that runs for seven years.  It's a good time to reflect on its importance.

Chorus:

Low bridge, everybody down,

Low bridge 'cause we're coming to a town.

And you'll always know your neighbor,

And you'll always know your pal,

If you've ever navigated on the Erie Canal!

Several years ago, the Mayhem Consultant and I took a trip up to see Niagara Falls, and we made a side trip on the Erie Canal from a site in Lockport, NY.  (This solves the mystery where there are a number of towns across the state that have "port" in the name even though they're inland.

Our short journey on the canal was a fun way to experience history, and I remember seeing a private yacht sailing in the opposite direction with a life jacket wearing dog on the deck. <G>  We saw six geese a'swimming, too!

f you're ever in Western New York, I recommend visiting the modern, updated canal that has evolved from the original, literally ground breaking canal.  And if you're there, you can sing to Sal, the mule who was a good old gal!

Mary Jo, adding a picture of Niagara Falls since that was also part of this little holiday: