Rome, New York Canal. On July 4, 1817 construction on the canal began in Rome. The Erie Canal reaches a summit in Rome, attaining an elevation of 420 feet. The first phase was completed in 1825, connecting the Hudson River by waterway to the Great Lakes. It resulted in an increase in trade and traffic between communities around the Great Lakes and New York City, stimulating development along the route. Jesse Williams founded the first cheese factory in the United States at Rome in 1851. Williams also developed the process used today for large-scale cheese manufacturing. There were numerous dairy farms in the
Great Lakes its impact on the environment. On December 18, 2006, the Coast Guard announced its decision to withdraw the entire proposal. Officials said they would look into alternative ammunition, modifying the proposed zones and have more public dialogue before proposing a new plan. Dynamically updated data Great Lakes The Great Lakes (), also called the Laurentian Great Lakes and the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of interconnected freshwater lakes located primarily in the upper mid-east region of North America, on the Canada–United States border, which connect to the Atlantic Ocean through the Saint Lawrence River. They consist of