Walk the original Erie Canal Towpath, Visit Museums, Look Inside Life On The Canal, Ride a Train, Explore The History of the Forts that shaped our Nation, Join Community Events…

There is ALWAYS something to do at Erie Canal Village.

 

Sign on route 49/46 in Rome, N.Y., marks the spot where digging for construction on the Erie Canal began.  Erie Canal Village caretakes the breaking ground of the Erie Canal, the historic Clintons Ditch, and the enlarged Erie Canal.

The Erie Canal in New York is part of the east–west, cross-state route of the New York State Canal System. It originally ran 363 miles from the Hudson River in Albany to Lake Erie in Buffalo. It was built to create a navigable water route from New York City and the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes.

Construction began on July 4, 1817, at Rome, New York. The first 15 miles (24 km), from Rome to Utica, opened in 1819. At that rate, the canal would not be finished for 30 years. The main delays were caused by felling trees to clear a path through virgin forest and moving excavated soil, which took longer than expected, but the builders devised ways to solve these problems. To fell a tree, they threw a rope over the top branches and winched it down. They pulled out the stumps with an innovative stump puller. Two huge wheels were mounted loose on the ends of an axle. A third wheel, slightly smaller than the others, was fixed to the center of the axle. A chain was wrapped around the axle and hooked to the stump. A rope was wrapped around the center wheel and hooked to a team of oxen. The mechanical advantage (torque) obtained ripped the stumps out of the soil. Soil to be moved was shoveled into large wheelbarrows that were dumped into mule-pulled carts. Using a scraper and a plow, a three-man team with oxen, horses, and mules could build a mile in a year.

Thinking of having an event or group get together? 
Think Erie Canal Village!

Schedule the use of the Packet Boat Cafe, or the scenic Village green for outdoor fun.

Cost?  For those showing a Rome address, it is the minimal cost to cover electricity and staff.  It is our hope to provide a place for the community first.  This is possible through the hard work of volunteers helping preserve history for an entire generation.

Does your social or other group need a meeting place?  How about the Orientation building?  Plenty of seating and a speaker podium.

Sign up on the Contact page.

 

Other Great Places
To Visit

Rome Sports Hall of Fame and Museum

Fort Rickey Discovery Zoo 

Peterpaul Recreation Park

Fort Stanwick

Griffiss International Sculpture Garden and Nature Trail

 

Erie Canal Village is managed by a non-profit with onsite management . The organization is dedicated to the preservation of the Village as well as overseeing the daily operations of the museums on site, the original canal “Clinton’s Ditch”, its Nature Trails, train operations, events, and more.