Syracuse didn’t exist when the Erie Canal opened 200 years ago. That changed quickly as the city saw its fate rise and fall with the Canal. Today, 80% of upstate New York’s population still lives within 25 miles of the canal system, one of many signs of its incalculable and continued influence on the region and the state.
The Canal didn’t just change New York, though. It carried ideas like Mormonism west and ushered in an era of relentless land grabs that dramatically shrank the Haudenosaunee homeland. Yet many Haudenosaunee still make their homes here, make art here and fight to have their influence on American democracy recognized.
The area has plenty of problems, including higher rates of opioid overdoses and a long legacy of environmental racism tied to infrastructure projects like the Canal. But the opioid death rates are starting to fall, and there’s some real progress to celebrate. That includes the return of eagles to the shores of Onondaga Lake and the development of recreation along the Canal, including world-class birding.
Those are just some of the 34 stories written by student journalists with help from dozens of other student editors, photo journalists and designers. The stories populate the five channels on the project site: Canal Culture, Corridor Living, Foundations & Frameworks, Echoes of Erie and Here First.
The package also includes the Canal Keepers podcast, which features a series of episodes on notable people along the Canal corridor.
None of this work would have come to fruition without the project’s funders, Newhouse alumnus David Flaum and his wife, Jackie. Their generosity allowed for stipends to support a crew of reporters who worked to get the project started in the summer of 2024; to compensate our student leads who have hundreds of hours invested in the project; to allow for reporting trips along the canal; and much more.
