Before there was good old American know-how, there was good old American figure-it-out-as-you-go. And few projects illustrate this better than the Erie Canal.
In the early 1800s, the United States was expanding westward. There were no railroads or highways, so getting goods from the Atlantic coast to the western frontier was a problem.
The distance from New York City to Cleveland, Ohio was only 460 miles, but it took 17 to 20 days to get there because of rugged roads. Pack animals could complete the trip easier than wagons pulled by teams, but the most a pack animal could carry was about 250 pounds.
What if we cut a 40 foot wide, four foot deep man-made water way from Albany on the Hudson River to Buffalo on Lake Erie? If it could be done, trade would increase exponentially. A barge could float tons more than a wagon could carry.
If the trench could be dug, the dirt from it could be piled on the down-hill side to create a roadway called a towpath. A rope could be tied to the front of a barge, and then horses or mules on the towpath could pull the vessel. A rudder on the back of the barge would keep it in the middle of the canal as it was being towed.
Brilliant.
Now all we had to do was figure out how to dig a 363-mile canal through rugged, uphill terrain.
The federal government thought the idea impossible and refused to fund it. However, in 1817, the governor of New York convinced his legislature to provide seven million dollars for the project.
Construction began on July 4, 1817, at Rome, New York. It took two years to complete the first 15 miles. At that rate, it would take a life-time to finish the whole thing. But American figure-it-out soon became American know-how, and the work progressed faster and faster.
The canal was completed on October 26, 1825, just seven years after work began.
There were not just cargo barges using the canal, but also passenger boats. Being towed along smoothly on a boat was much more comfortable than bouncing along on a wagon.
During the day, passengers could ride up on top and enjoy the weather and scenery, but at night they had to stay below in the cabin.
The reason was, many bridges were built over the canal and some were not very high. During the day, the bridges could be seen, but not at night.
Recently, I came across a recording of the Erie Canal Song sung my Pete Seeger. It reminded me of singing that song in elementary school. When we sang the chorus, “Low bridge, everybody down. Low bridge, we’re coming to a town,” we would all lean forward as if going under a bridge.
Hearing Pete sing that song made me think not just of my own elementary school, but that of our nation, as well. Our country was young, and we were not afraid to figure things out as we went along.
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