American Colossus: The Grain Elevator, 1843 to 1943 by William J. Brown, 472 pages, photos, published by Colossal Books. Paperback, $29.99.

FAIRPORT - Arcadia Publishing, well known publishers of local and regional history books, has published a new book entitled “Fairport and Perinton,” which features many rare views of the Erie Canal. The book is by local authors William Keeler and Keith Boas.
For more than a century, the town of Perinton and village of Fairport, just east of Rochester, have thrived on the banks of the Erie Canal and along the railroad. Through vintage photographs, the reader can see what changes have occurred over time.

NEW YORK CITY - The Erie Canal is one of New York’s best-kept secrets. History lovers, of course, know that the opening of the canal in 1825 shaped our nation’s future.
What many people don’t realize, particularly those living Downstate, is that the canal thrives today as an attractive waterway, home to both recreational boats and freight-moving tugs and barges. It is also a National Heritage Corridor and a tourist destination that can be vital to Upstate New York’s economy and its hopes for future economic development.

The New York State Canal System is scheduled to open for the 184th consecutive navigation season on Friday, May 1, weather permitting.

The New York State Canal Corporation is in the process of revising rules and regulations to allow snowmobiling on canal lands. This is also seen as an economic stimulus to canalside businesses a well as a good off-season use of the canal. But snowmobilers must abide by the rules.

As the Erie Canal cut into the earth east to west, it intersected another transit system that extended north and south. This north-south route was a secretive transit system known as the Underground Railroad. Escaped slaves sought freedom aboard the “Midnight Express,” a nighttime escape bound for the abolitionist north and free Canada. Many runaways found refuge by blending inconspicuously into abolitionist, northern, free black communities, like the Quaker communities of Pennsylvania.

In 1825 New York State’s 363-mile Erie Canal opened its waterway from Albany to Buffalo. Almost immediately, the trans-state canal route fueled an explosion of commerce and New York State was transformed into a chain of urban commercial centers. As commerce spread across the State, so did the lure for illicit activity that preyed on the canal’s prosperity. Nowhere was this inevitable aspect of canal life more evident than in the canal districts of the urban centers that developed along the canal route.

The New York State Canal Corporation’s historic tugboat, Urger, will again take its educational program to school children along the waterway, starting May 6 at Lock 8 in Oswego.

O. Robinson Casey, said to be the namesake of the famous baseball poem, “Casey at the Bat,” was working as a salesman at Keever’s General Store in Syracuse selling supplies to Erie Canal boatmen in the 1880s when he witnessed many acts of cruelty perpetrated on the animals that pulled the boats.
In those days, in spite of machinery, humans were still largely dependent on draft animals for pulling canal boats, farming and commerce, and in spite of that fact they were ill treated and sometimes starved.

WATERLOO - Waterloo will salute the origins of Memorial Day with a Living History Day during the 10th annual Celebrate Commemorate celebration. The 1860s will come alive at 9 a.m. on Saturday, May 23 on Oak Island. The day will feature an encampment by Civil War groups, including Reynolds Battery L, 1st New York Light Artillery, 148th NY Volunteer Regiment of Infantry, 140th New York Volunteer Infantry military and civilians and 33rd Virginians, the signal corps and cavalry.

WATERLOO - After nearly 20 years of meetings, planning and negotiating, construction will finally get underway on the Can-Sen Trail. The kick-off event is planned for National Trails Day, Saturday, June 6, beginning at Oak Island, Waterloo.

BREWERTON - The New York State Canal Corporation and the Town of Hastings have announced that new floating docks are now available along the Oneida River.

Canal dredge sinks in Palmyra - One of the Canal Corporation’s dredges sprung a leak and sank in the canal near Maple avenue on June 13, blocking boat traffic for several days.

ALBANY, NY -- The New York State Canal Corporation and the Town of Hastings today announced that the new floating docks will be available for use beginning Friday, June 19, 2009, nearly one full week ahead of schedule.

The 2009 CARP Tournament Series held May 14-16 in Baldwinsville, NY was once again a great success. Hosted by The Red Mill Inn since 2007, this event featured 42 two-person teams that fished for 50 consecutive hours and collectively combined to haul in over 33,000 pounds of 10+ lb. carp.

SYRACUSE - Work on a mural depicting Clinton Square in Erie Canal days is slated to be painted on the north wall of First Niagara Bank at 126 N. Salina St., across the street from the Post-Standard building.

LYONS - A journey of 50 years has brought together a small group of men now passing through Wayne County—that is fifty years since graduating from college. These three gentlemen met through a common interest: biking.

After first meeting and talking to each other, the three discovered that they had all graduated in 1959.

Hundreds of volunteers along the Erie Canal recently participated in “Clean Sweep,” a canal clean up effort stretching from Waterford to Tonawanda, in conjunction with Earth Day. Here, members of the Lyons Main Street Program and Trailworks worked on the Black Brook trail from Lyons to Clyde.

CAMILLUS - A project to restore the Nine Mile Creek Aqueduct at Camillus Erie Canal Park has resumed after a six-month winter hiatus. It is slated to be complete by Oct. 31.

NEWARK - This contemporary lock, located just east of the historic combine of locks at “Lockville,” offers multiple possibilities. Being operational, visitors can witness boats locking through the chambers on a daily basis.

SYRACUSE - An art exhibit depicting the lives of those who work and play on the fabled bodies of water that border New York City’s five boroughs will be displayed April 8 to 30 at the Erie Canal Museum in Syracuse.

LYONS -- If there are any remains of original Erie Canal or “Clinton’s Ditch” locks and other structures, Mark DeCracker of Lyons is sure to find them. He is equally determined to ensure their proper preservation or at least marked with signs.

GLENS FALLS - The Warren County Bikeway, several trails in Saratoga, the Glens Falls Feeder Canal Trail, and Erie Canalway Trail are already popular destinations for tourists. Now with widespread and growing interest in completing the Champlain Canal Trail and developing other new trails, more and more cyclists will be choosing to take their vacation in the area and looking for places to stay and ways to eat and play.

FORT ANN - One of the many exciting development plans this year along the canal is the restoration of Locks 16 and 17 in the village and town of Fort Ann along the old Champlain Canal.

SCHUYLERVILLE - Fundraising efforts continue to help establish Hudson Crossing, termed a “Bi-County Educational Park” project, that is located between the Hudson River and Champlain Canal Lock 5 Island, within the Towns of Saratoga and Northumberland. It is a mile north of Schuylerville and is easily accessible by water, on foot via the Old Champlain Canal Towpath, or by vehicle/bicycle via Route 4.

FORT HUNTER - The hamlet of Fort Hunter will hold its 25th annual Canal Days celebration from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on July 11 and 12.
Admission and parking are free. This community-wide event is old fashion family fun. Canal Days is dedicated to the historical significance of the Erie Canal and its impact on New York State.

BROOKLYN - A 10-week speaker series of programs at the Waterfront Museum this summer highlights ship preservation projects and waterfront profiles.

ALPLAUS - The Alplaus Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary will hold its fourth “Paddling for a Cure” event on Sunday, July 19, 2009. As in the past, proceeds, pledges and donations will benefit the American Cancer Society specifically for breast cancer research, awareness and support.

HERKIMER — Rand McNally, America’s largest and most trusted mapmaker, has brought nationwide attention to Erie Canal Cruises as a “must-see” destination in the annual Best of the Road program.

FORT HUNTER - The Schoharie Crossing Visitor Center is presenting a temporary exhibit entitled “Canals around the World” now through Oct. 31.

Canal opens - On May 1, a brief ceremony was held in Waterford marking the opening of the New York State Canal System for the 2009 season.

FORT HUNTER - The Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site Visitor Center, located at 129 Schoharie Street, Fort Hunter, is now open for the 2009 season. In addition to the Visitor Center, the boat launch located at the end of Hartley Lane is open for a $5.00 fee.

ALBANY - On May 13, riverboat commuter service between Albany and Troy will return to the Capital Region for one special day.

Duncan Crary Communications of Troy has partnered with Dutch Apple Cruises of Albany to host one day of Hudson River commuter service to and from work in Albany and Troy. Commuters may ride the Dutch Apple to Albany or Troy in either direction before and after work.

UTICA - Continued work on one of the most massive canalside cleanup operations in recent history, restoration of Utica Harbor is slated to get underway soon, according to Carmella Mantello, director of the New York State Canal Corporation. This will create “a great opportunity for future waterfront development,” Mantello said. The goal is to transform this heavily polluted area into a potential state-of-the-art recreational boating area.

A new Web site has been created to inform the general public on the history, development and water-related events held frequently at the Port of Waterford, where the Erie Canal meets the Hudson River north of Albany. Waterford is the site of the annual Tugboat Roundup that annually draws thousands of visitors.

If there's any way the New York State Canal System can be revived the major commercial waterway it once was, Oswego Port Authority Director Jonathan Daniels will find it.

OSWEGO -- The board of directors for Harborfest has named Tom Van Schaack the new executive director for Harborfest.

LYONS - The possibility of hiring someone to travel along the canal and solicit new memberships was discussed at a recent meeting of the Canal New York Marketing and Business Alliance.

ALBANY, NY -- The New York State Canal Corporation, in conjunction with Parks and Trails New York (PTNY), a statewide non-profit organization, and the Canalway Trails Association New York (CTANY), is organizing the sixth annual statewide Canalway Trail Celebration on National Trails Day, Saturday, June 6, 2009. The theme for this year’s National Trails Day and the Canalway Trail Celebration is “Take in the Outdoors.”

WATERFORD The Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor Commission announced today numerous events and festivals in the National Heritage Corridor that are receiving event sponsorships in the amount of $500.

The 11th annual cross-state bicycle tour along the Erie Canal—Cycling the Erie Canal—is scheduled for July 12-13. This is an eight-day, 400-mile, recreational bicycle tour from Buffalo to Albany along the Erie Canal.

During the annual opening day of the New York State Canal System on May 1, officials announced that they will seek to safeguard water quality and protect recreation by calling for the entire 524-mile system to become a federally designated “No Discharge Zone.”

BALDWINSVILLE - A wide array of objectives and the past year’s accomplishments were discussed at the recent annual meeting of the Canal New York Business Alliance at the Red Mill Inn in Baldwinsville.

ALBANY - The Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor has created a “passport” program to encourage people to visit National Park historic sites in New York State. It involves 16 cultural heritage areas.

The New York State Museum has received a $3.1 million federal transportation grant to make mechanical upgrades to the “Day Peckinpaugh,” paving the way for the historic canal boat’s transformation into a permanent floating museum dedicated to sharing the history and heritage of the state’s canal system.

The New York State Canal Corporation’s historic tugboat Urger will again take its educational program to school children along the waterway, starting May 6 at Lock 08 in Oswego.

WATERFORD- Today the President signed the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009 that includes language to extend the authorization of the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor for five years. The measure makes valuable federal resources available for communities from Albany to Buffalo. The Corridor extends 524 miles across the full expanse of upstate New York, and encompasses 234 cities, towns and villages that border the New York State Canal System.

Former Erie Navigation Company cement carrier ‘Day Peckinpaugh’ has received a $3.1 million federal grant to allow the vessel to become a permanent traveling museum. The ship, which was owned by Erie Navigation until sold for $9,000 to the New York State Museum in 2005, was formerly used to carry cement down the New York State Barge Canal and last laid up in Erie on September 9, 1994. It was towed from Erie by the tug Benjamin Elliot on July 11, 2005.

The Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor Commission recognized recipients of the 2009 Erie Canalway Heritage Award of Excellence at a ceremony during its recent meeting in Ithaca.

TONAWANDA - The North Tonawanda History Museum will host weeklong activities in that building during Canal Fest of the Tonawandas from July 19 through 26. This will be the sixth year of participation in Canal Fest activities for the five-year-old organization. The first five years they had a booth on the Sweeney Street campus of the festival, the largest such festival in the state. Museum Trustees credit Canal Fest as having provided an unbeatable opportunity for exposure as a new organization.

SPENCERPORT - The Spencerport Depot and Canal Museum won honorable mention in the Erie Canalway Heritage Award of Excellence program for 2009.

The Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor Commission has awarded the Village of Brockport its 2009 Erie Canalway Heritage Award of Excellence. Spencerport Depot and Canal Museum in Spencerport and the Erie Canal Discovery Center and Lockport Visitor’s Center in Lockport won honorable mention.

Heritage Tourism is the new buzzword in the tourism industry. What better place to discover our heritage than the Erie Canal. The Western Erie Canal Alliance, representing the five counties of the Western Erie Canal Heritage Corridor, is pleased to offer three tourism workshops, May 12 in Macedon, May 19 in Albion and May 26 in North Tonawanda.

The Erie Canal has been the birthplace historically for the rising up of economic revival in our nation. It was first known as Clinton’s Ditch, after New York Governor DeWitt Clinton, who staked his political career on what proved to be a wildly successful venture.

A series of workshops to promote tourism along the canal through western New York will be held in May, sponsored by the Western Erie Canal Alliance (WECA).

MEDINA - The days when mules drew boats on the Erie Canal will return this summer when Medina Stone Farm, in conjunction with Bon Voyage Adventures, offers an hour and a half boat ride on the waterway.
Doing the honors will be “Reb” and “Yank,” well-known draught mules who are also used on wagon and sleigh rides at the farm. The mules towed the replica canal boat “Lois McClure” into Medina when the vessel was touring the canal in 2007.

New Technical assistance to help canal waterfront communities in upstate New York with their economic development and quality of life programs are among the major goals of the Western Erie Canal Main Street Program.
Jayme Breschard, senior planner and regional coordinator of the program, said that program specialists are currently working with the city of Lockport and the villages of Albion and Lyons. The program is specifically targeted to communities along the Western Erie Canal Heritage Corridor.
More specifically, she said the goals are:
To empower canal communities to establish successful, comprehensive, ongoing local revitalization programs.

HOLLEY - Holley is a village of 1,700 inhabitants in western New York It is located between Brockport and Albion. In the early days of the Erie Canal, canal boatmen sometimes called the site ‘Salt Port,’ but the name was eventually changed to honor Myron Holley, one of the chief promoters of the Erie Canal.

Due to the higher elevation of the new Barge Canal west of Fairport, it was necessary to construct 16 highway lift bridges between there and Fairport and Lockport which have been in operation since the waterway opened in 1917.