The Erie Canal

The North Coast owes whatever prosperity and growth it's enjoyed since it was first settled in the 1790s to the Erie Canal. The canal was a monumental engineering feat, a tremendous boost to commerce in 19th Century America and, today, a delightful natural resource used recreationally by residents and tourists alike.

When completed in 1824, the Erie Canal opened the West to pioneer settlers giving them a way to prosper by shipping at an affordable price farm produce, grain, lumber etc. to the large urban markets in the East.