The Berger Family Album

New York State

Nate Onboard a Packet Boat On The Erie Canal

Alex wrote:

The Erie Canal was started on July 4 1817 in Rome New York and was finished 8 years later in 1825. The canal is 363 feet long and 4 feet deep. It is 40 feet wide at the surface and 28 feet wide at the bottom of the canal. All told there were about 82 locks on the canal. The Erie Canal cost about $7,144,000, but paid for its maintenance by its tolls. The top speed on the canal is 10 miles per hour. All the bridges on the canal are about 20 feet above of the water. The Erie Canal went from Troy (Albany) to Tonawanda (Buffalo), New York.

Barges on the Great Lakes and the Erie Canal were different. The barges on the Canal were only about 50-60 feet long while the barges on the Lakes could have been 100-1000 feet long. The barges on the canal were small because they had to fit through the locks. All boats on the Erie Canal were pulled by 2 mules or donkeys. The man driving the mules rode on a cart with the tow rope attached to the back. The tow rope was 200 feet long. When two boats needed to pass each other, the boat that was going upriver had to yield to the boat going downstream. The mule driver stopped the boat that had to yield and let its rope submerge. Then the boat with the priority was pulled over the other boat's rope.

I thought that the Erie Canal was a major feat for mankind. It was amazing as long as you were not a mule. I would recommend visiting the Erie canal and taking a boat up the canal.




Nate wrote:

We visited the Erie Canal at Rome, New York. The Erie Canal starts at Lake Erie and ends at Albany. The Canal is 363 miles long. The boat we rode on was called a packet boat. It was specially designed to carry passengers. In the old days, there were barge races and they would race teams of horses. The fastest time was six days.

As we rode the packet boat we sang,"...I got an old mule and her name is Sal.... fifteen miles on the Erie Canal...She's a good old worker and a good old pal...fifteen miles on the Erie Canal...We've hauled some barges in our day....filled with lumber, coal and hay... we know every step of the way from Albany to Buffalo..."