they started digging the erie canal at rome, new york.
they started digging the erie canal at rome, new york.
where did they start digging the erie canal?
rome , new york
old erie canal state historic park









































the old erie canal state historic park encompasses a linear segment of the original erie canal's long level section. it extends westward from butternut creek in the town of dewitt, just east of syracuse, to the outskirts of rome, new york. the park includes restored segments of the canal's waterway and towpath which were in active use between 1825 and 1917. it is part of the new york state park system.









































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old erie canal state historic park
the development of maria stein was also influenced by the creation of the miami and erie canal. in the early 19th century, there were few roads and mass transportation to the region occurred on waterways such as the great lakes, the ohio river and smaller tributaries. recognizing the impact that the erie canal in new york state had on its development, the ohio legislature in approximately 1825 authorized the digging of two canals, one in the eastern part of the state (the ohio canal) and a second, the miami and erie canal, in the western portion of the state, both connecting lake erie with the ohio river. over the next 20–30 years the miami and erie canal gradually took shape as segments were dug and pieced together to create a canal spanning the entire distance between toledo and cincinnati. while the canal, remnants of which exist even today, did not run through maria stein, its location just away defined the development of the town over the next century. initially the canal provided a source of cash for workers who dug the canal. this enabled them to pay down the loans on their farms, purchased from the government for $1 per acre. the canal also provided a route for immigrants to reach maria stein. after its completion it provided transportation for farm goods to developing urban centers in toledo and lake erie to the north and dayton, cincinnati and points further down stream on the ohio and mississippi rivers to the south and fostered the development of railheads to connect with the canal, facilitating the industrial development of the surrounding region. many farmers in maria stein and surrounding towns worked on their farms and held a second job in one of the many surrounding manufacturing plants. this enabled them to weather the cyclical nature of farm revenue and create a prosperous hybrid rural-manufacturing economy. maria stein has remained almost entirely a farm-based community because of its lack of a canal or railroad to transport manufactured goods to market, whereas surrounding communities, minster, new bremen, celina and st. marys had either railways or the canal and as a result developed robust manufacturing businesses.
maria stein, ohio