Erie Canal Flowing Water

Open for 200 years, the Erie Canal system still shapes New York’s cities, economy and culture

Auburn Correctional Facility in Auburn, New York

Story by Sadiya Kherani

As upstate New York boomed in the decades after the Canal opened, it attracted a peculiar industry: prisons.

Story by Claire Harrison

Using the Erie Canal, Joseph Smith Jr. spread his new gospel and paved his way into religious canon.

Story by Kendall Luther

More than a trade route, the Erie Canal was a conduit for change, inspiring new ideas and connecting activists.

Story by Madeleine Oliveras

Canal laborers introduced styles and processes that are appreciated by breweries and beer lovers today.

Illustration: Baseball's origins along the Erie Canal in the 1800s

Story by Jack Belanger

Early squads from Buffalo, Syracuse and Rochester have a rich history that continues to impact America’s pastime today.

Story by Julia Carden

The Town of Lyons honors its history producing mint oils and Erie Canal roots through art and preservation.

View of the Andrew's St. Bridge, looking east, during a flood in Rochester, NY on July 26, 1920. Photo by New York (State). Department of Public Works

Story by Nate Harrington

The rise and fall of New York cities mirrors the growth of the Canal that created them.

Erie Canal Lock 17 in Little Falls, New York

Story by Pablo Bauzá

Water gave life to the town in Herkimer County, continuing to nurture the home of one of the Erie Canal’s biggest locks.

Story by Michela Flood

Discover how the Erie Canal connected communities, fueled economic growth and continues and transformed New York and the nation for 200 years.

Story by Nate Harrington

The cycle of infrastructure injustices in Syracuse could be ended if the teardown of I-81 is done right.

Story by Kiran Hubbard

Even 200 years later, these gravity-powered elevators still shape New York’s waterways and communities.

Story by Nate Harrington

As the Canal’s usefulness wanned, a businessman proposed a radical project to return the Canal corridor to prominence.

Aerial photo of Syracuse City Hall in Syracuse, New York

Story by Jesús Feliciano-Batista

From Gothic banks to Romanesque halls, Syracuse’s historic architecture reflects its canal-driven prosperity.

Story by Brycen Pace

Will Buffalo tear down their grain elevators, or preserve the invention that made the city a superpowered port?

Bald eagles take up to four years to start growing their iconic white head and tail feathers. February 26 2025, Syracuse NY. Photo by Maddi Jane Brown.

Story by Sofia Abdullina

After white settlers turned Onondaga Lake into one of the most polluted in the nation, something remarkable happened: the eagles returned. 

Story by Ankit Bandyopadhyay

During the Erie Canal’s 200th anniversary, Indigenous community members look at its creation as a source of generational trauma.

Illustration depicts Native Americans as they work among longhouses at various tasks in an unidentified Iroquois village.

Story by Jana Seal

The Haudenosaunee were ready to live alongside settlers. The illegal seizing of their land for the Canal showed the settlers’ intention.

An organic farm stand. Boxes of yellow and green courgettes.

Story by Ellie Rockoff

From Three Sisters to crop rotation to seed preservation, Haudenosaunee farmers continue to share their wisdom.

Story by Manaswini Pillai

Designer and entrepreneur Mary Homer uses fashion to spotlight Indigenous voices and culture.

Story by Daisy Polowetzky

The Broken Plastics project transforms microplastics from water pollution to art displays.

Photographs of Fairport's draw bridge taken and fine-tuned during post production by Nikki Bittner. The bridge constantly changes colors, making it Bittner's favorite muse, she said.

Story by Ally Watkinson

Dozens of original paintings, sculptures and photos are on display at Fairport’s Railroad Street Artworks, just blocks from the Canal.

The performance of "The Refuge" at the Montezuma Audubon Center on November 2, 2024 that was part of the Albany Symphony's Water Music NY: More Voices Festival.

Story by Mathilde Refloch

The Albany Symphony’s Water Music NY series brings together diverse composers whose works explore the Erie Canal’s history. 

Clara Riedlinger in her studio at Rochester Contemporary Art Center is one of the Erie Canal artists in residence. She is a photographer and uses different format cameras from film to digital and also includes video.

Story by Julia Carden

Clara Riedlinger captures the historic spirituality of Central New York through photography.

Artist Beverly Owen painting the latest mural from the Mural Mania art mission at the Liz and Dave Beebe Camillus Erie Canal Park in Onondaga County on Thursday, June 20.

Story by Julia Carden

A mural in the Canal town helps to illustrate and remember its connection to the waterway.

Story by Gia Rebstock

Just steps from the Canal, the Arkell Museum showcases American art and Mohawk Valley history from the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Story by Julia Carden

Allyn Hess Perry shares the history of her 170-year-old home along the original Erie Canal.

Steve Kinne packs his audio equipment at the Manlius Public Library on March 19.

Story by Jack Belanger

Veteran birding expert Steve Kinne is teaching others how to listen to the world around them — one birdsong at a time.

Canal Keepers Podcast

Story by Canal Keepers Staff

A podcast about the people who keep the spirit of the Erie Canal alive after 200 years.

Story by Ellie Rockoff

A new generation of farmers and food advocates are reconnecting the region to its agricultural heritage.

Opioid addiction illustration by Cole Ross

Story by Anna Ginelli

Harm-reduction strategies have helped push the overdose death rate down, signaling a promising shift in the battle against the opioid epidemic in New York. But the fight is far from over.

The "Nine Mile Creek Aqueduct," which carries the Erie Canal over Nine Mile Creek, part of the Camillus Erie Canal Park on October 10, 2024 near Camillus, New York.

Story by Jesús Feliciano-Batista

The Erie Canalway Challenge attracts thousands of outdoor enthusiasts every year, inspiring them hit the trails, paths and waterways.

Story by Annie Labarca

Over the past half century, an army of supporters has helped bring the historic Camillus Erie Canal Park back to life.