Albany, New York forming a continuous water route from the Great Lakes to New York City. Unlike the current Barge Canal, which ends at nearby Waterford, the original Erie Canal ended at Albany; Lock 1 was north of Colonie Street. The Canal emptied into a man-made lagoon called the Albany Basin, which was Albany's main port from 1825 until the Port of Albany-Rensselaer opened in 1932. In 1829, while working as a professor at the Albany Academy, Joseph Henry, widely regarded as "the foremost American scientist of the 19th century", built the first electric motor. Three years later, he discovered electromagnetic self-induction (the
Milo, New York area of , of which, of it is land and of it (13.37%) is water. Milo lies between Keuka Lake and Seneca Lake, which define respectively the west and east town lines and are two of the Finger Lakes. The Keuka Lake Outlet flows between the lakes in the north part of the town and helped determine the course of the Crooked Lake Canal. New York State Route 14, New York State Route 14A, and New York State Route 54 are north-south highways in the town. As of the census of 2000, there were 7,026 people, 2,824 households, and 1,790