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[title]Two-hundred years ago, the Erie Canal opened its waterways and changed the course of American history as we know it. Along with solidifying New York City as the commercial and cultural capital of the country, the canal—which stretches 350-plus miles to connect New York’s Hudson River and the Great Lakes—ushered in a wave of industry, technology, transportation and settlement deeper into the United States, more than earning the moniker “The Nation’s First Superhighway.”
That storied history, as well as its continued engineering and economic impact, is being celebrated this year for the canal’s big bicentennial anniversary. And to join in the historical fun, we’re highlighting some fascinating secrets and lesser-known factoids about the canal. Here are 10 things you might not know about the Erie Canal, you can thank us later!
1. It’s considered America’s first practical school of civil engineering
That’s because it was largely built by amateur engineers and inexperienced builders. Canals were commonplace across the pond in England and Europe at the time, but the artificial waterway was the largest infrastructure project of its kind stateside.
Across the eight years that it took to complete the canal (from 1817 to 1825), the canal’s workforce received hands-on training in civil engineering and technology as they were forced to develop innovative solutions to the project’s numerous challenges, from high costs to geographical barriers.
One such innovation was the canal’s lock system, inspired by those found abroad, which raises and lowers boats to effectively navigate the canal’s varying elevations.
2. It was a route for freedom seekers on the Underground Railroad
The Erie Canal didn’t just have economic and technological impact, but also social influence, helping then-radical ideas like women’s suffrage and abolitionism to flow along its banks throughout New York State.
A clear-cut example of that social reform is that many freedom-seeking Black Americans used the canal’s towpaths and boats as a means of transportation, heading north to Canada to flee slavery in America. Nearby canalside communities, especially those harboring strong abolitionist sentiments, became safe havens for such freedom seekers, providing shelter, food and other much-needed assistance to those escaping slavery.
3. The Erie Canal was not a hit with then-President Thomas Jefferson and other political bigwigs
Despite its sheer success—the canal made back the approximately $7 million (the equivalent of about $227 million in today’s dollars) it cost to construct in less than a decade—the idea of the Erie Canal wasn’t immediately accepted by some of America’s biggest political and economic minds.
That includes then-President Thomas Jefferson, who reportedly dubbed the project “little short of madness.” Other high-profile opponents included James Madison and James Monroe, due to the high expense of the construction project—many mockingly referred to the canal, whose staunchest supporter was NYC mayor and later New York , Governor DeWitt Clinton, as “Clinton’s ditch” and “Clinton’s folly.”
However, it certainly looks like DeWitt had the last laugh: “The great Erie Canal will make New York one of the most splendid commercial cities on the face of the Earth,” Clinton once said.
4. The Erie Canal played a significant role in the outcome of the American Civil War
The construction of the Erie Canal inadvertently helped affirm a “Northern” versus “Southern” identity among American settlers—by opening up access to the country’s center, the New York waterway helped strengthen the bond between the Northeast and the Midwest, not only in terms of transporting food and materials but also the regions’ cultural and social ties.
That canal-fueled connection helped make the Northern states a more united and economically strong front against their Southern brethren as secession threatened the nation. Along with helping to shape regional American identities as we know it, the Erie Canal also brought in more immigrant communities deeper into the U.S., including the Irish and Germans, many of whom favored the Union.
5. The Erie Canal used to be way smaller than it is today
Despite its great impact—fostering economic growth, spurring social change and helping unite a country at a time of great civil unrest—the Erie Canal was actually a lot smaller than the waterway we now know.
Originally, the canal was only 40 feet wide and four feet deep; those figures have been expanded numerous times over the years to accommodate increasing traffic and larger boats. In fact, more than half of the original canal was destroyed or abandoned during one such period of expansion, the construction of the New York State Barge Canal between 1905 and 1918.
The current Erie Canal has dimensions ranging from 12 to 23 feet deep and 120 to 200 feet wide, with locks that are 310 feet long to help vessels navigate the waterway’s changing elevations. With its wider and deeper than its past self, the O.G. canalway was actually longer way back when: as 363 miles, as opposed to today’s 351 miles, it was the longest artificial waterway in all of North America.