October 26, 1825, 200 years ago: The Erie Canal opens, connecting Buffalo on the Niagara River with Albany on the Hudson River, and thus connecting the Great Lakes to New York City. It has been called America's first superhighway.
It means that no longer must goods be delivered over land, through the Appalachian Mountains that separate what's now known as the Northeastern U.S. and the Midwestern U.S. It cut delivery time by several days.
This goes on to make the City of New York the biggest and richest City in the country, and (at least, for the rest of the 19th Century) the State of New York the biggest and richest State in the country. It also enriches Great Lakes cities like Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit and Chicago. It also makes the sports teams eventually founded in those cities commercially viable.
A canal from the Hudson River to the Great Lakes was first proposed in the 1780s, but a formal survey was not conducted until 1808. The State legislature authorized construction in 1817. Political opponents of the canal, referencing its lead supporter, Governor DeWitt Clinton, denigrated the project as "Clinton's Folly" and "Clinton's Big Ditch." But the canal saw quick success upon opening on October 26, 1825, with toll revenue covering the State's construction debt within the 1st year of operation.
DeWitt Clinton was born on March 2, 1769 in what is now New Windsor, Orange County, about 65 miles north of Midtown Manhattan, He served as secretary to his uncle, Governor George Clinton, who became the longest-serving Governor of any State in the Union to this day, and would serve as Vice President in the 2nd term of Thomas Jefferson and the 1st term of James Madison.
He appointed DeWitt to head the Council of Appointments. Under the law of the time, this allowed him to control patronage in the State, including allowing him to appoint the Mayor of New York City and County Sheriffs, as these were not elective offices at the time. He used this position to stall the political career of the man who preceded his uncle as Vice President, Aaron Burr, who wanted to succeed Uncle George as Governor.
DeWitt Clinton served in both houses of the State legislature, and for nearly 2 years in the U.S. Senate. He served as Mayor from 1803 (appointing himself) until 1807, and again from 1808 to 1810. He was elected Lieutenant Governor in 1810, on the ticket of Daniel Tompkins. When Tompkins was elected Vice President under Madison in 1812 -- because Uncle George had died in office, the 1st Vice President to do so -- DeWitt became Governor, despite having been nominated by the Federalist Party for President, and having lost that election to Madison. As Governor, he pushed the Canal through the legislature. He served through 1822, and was elected again in 1824. He died in office on February 11, 1828.
At the time, the 363-mile length made the canal was the 2nd-longest in the world, after the Grand Canal in Chia. Initially 40 feet wide and 4 feet deep, it was expanded several times, most notably from 1905 to 1918, when the "Barge Canal" was built, and over half the original route was abandoned. The modern Barge Canal measures 351 miles long, 120 feet wide, and 12 feet deep. It has 34 locks, including the Waterford Flight, the steepest locks in the United States.
The Erie Canal's peak year was 1855, when 33,000 commercial shipments took place. It continued to be competitive with railroads, including the New York Central Railroad and the Boston & Albany Railroad, until about 1902, when tolls were abolished. Commercial traffic declined heavily in the latter half of the 20th Century due to competition from trucking and the 1959 opening of the larger St. Lawrence Seaway. The canal's last regularly scheduled hauler, the Day Peckinpaugh, ended service in 1994.
Today, the Erie Canal is mainly used by recreational watercraft. It has also become a tourist attraction in its own right, as several parks and museums are dedicated to its history.
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