The Erie Canal: Diary Entry from 1825

By Gabriella Chuang (SMHS ‘20)

In my Honors US History class, I learned about something called the Erie Canal. In this regard I specifically learned that:

• The canal is “a 363-mile waterway that connects the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean via the Hudson River in upstate New York.”

• The canal “traverses New York state from Albany and passes through Seneca Falls to Buffalo on Lake Erie.”
• The canal “was considered an engineering marvel when it first opened in 1825.”
• The canal “provided a direct water route from New York City to the Midwest, triggering large-scale commercial and agricultural development — as well as immigration — to the sparsely populated frontiers of western New York, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan and points farther west.”
• The canal “transformed New York City into the young nation’s economic powerhouse.”

After I had learned what appears above, my teacher encouraged me to write a 750–1000 word Historical Diary Entry, with this diary entry to be written from someone who was between the age of 16–25 and living near the canal in 1826.

In the Historical Diary Entry appearing below, I assume that I was an unmarried 21-year old female resident of Seneca Falls, New York and living with my parents in a house overlooking one of the 35 locks found alongside the Erie Canal.

I also assume that I was writing my diary entry on October 26, 1826, one full year after the completion of the construction of the Erie Canal and while in a deep state of longing to travel in any direction aboard an Erie Canal packet boat.

Erie Canal Packet Boat, 1840 Era

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Dear Diary:

The town is celebrating the fact that one year ago today the canal opened, with this opening marked by Governor DeWitt Clinton heading down the canal towards Buffalo in a packet boat called the Seneca Chief.

What a site that was. This packet boat, adorned with cannons to give the governnor a proper cannon salute, symbolically opening the door to the west from the Hudson.

In any event, today’s excitement also stems in large part from the fact that for the past 365 days, the Erie Canal has brought vast amounts of newfound wealth and an even greater influx of travellers and settlers into the town of Seneca Falls and the surrounding area.

For me personally, the canal has meant not only new neighbors but also some new friends, like the Hansens. The couple moved in a little more than three months ago via the canal from Troy, a town just east of the Hudson River, with the river connected to the canal.

Ever since construction began on the canal, I have wanted to set out on the calm water and let the wind carry me west to a new town with new opportunities.

Unfortunately, however, father says a girl my age shouldn’t even fathom leaving home; I should be thinking of finding a husband and settling down. But he doesn’t understand the appeal of the crisp air engulfing my senses and the sweet desire for real freedom.

Sometimes I stand on our porch and imagine how a cool and exhilarating October breeze would feel on my face while I standing on a bow of an Erie Canal packet boat headed west! I so long to travel, especially aboard one of these horse-drawn passenger boats.

Sarah Hansen has told me so much about these wonderfully slow but totally enthralling modes of transportation. She’s also told me great stories about all the different types of people traveling via the Canal towards Seneca Falls from the Hudson.

One of her better stories was about a fellow who almost lost his cargo while traveling through one of the locks near Liverpool.

Another good story she recounted to me featured a young man named Jesse Williams and described his plans of heading to the city of Rome with dreams of starting a cheese factory.

So many unique people with their unique stories pass through on the canal every day… I wonder how many have interesting backgrounds like these. Sarah said the low bridges are an entity of their own. Apparently, she and Mr. Hansen were forewarned that the low bridges were dangerous if not heeded because one canaller told them of this one woman who met her death almost two months after the canal’s opening when she fell asleep with her head on a box and didn’t wake up when the captain called out “low bridge”. Poor girl’s head was crushed to pieces, they say.

For me, hearing Sarah’s stories just makes me wanna skip town now and leave my old life here for good. But I know I won’t get to leave this blasted place unless I marry a man willing to move away. Not a pleasing option, but maybe I’ll be inspired to set out on my own eventually. Perhaps I’ll fake my death or disguise myself as a trader.

No, life on the canal for a young woman is asking for extra challenges. I can’t take that leap until I’m certain I won’t be sent back

Maybe someday, even if it’s twenty years from now, I can band together with other women who want to escape the tortuous role society has given us. If I could just find a way to branch out to women who feel the same, perhaps I could bring us together here in Seneca Falls to discuss just how we, females, together, can work to leave all of these old world social norms and expectations behind…. But these are mere dreams.

I guess that’s all for now, reality is calling — Father says we have to go into town to celebrate the anniversary of the canal opening and I need to make myself presentable…

SOURCES

History.com Editors. “Erie Canal Opens.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/erie-canal-opens.

“Erie Canal.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 12 Dec. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erie_Canal.

“Jesse Williams & the Cheese Factory.” Culture: the Word on Cheese, 5 Nov. 2014, culturecheesemag.com/cheese-iq/jesse-williams-cheese-factory.

“Traveling the Erie Canal, 1836.” Eyewitness to History, www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/eriecanal.htm.

Neuman, William. “Life in the Slow Lane: Navigating the Erie Canal.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 17 Sept. 2009, www.nytimes.com/2009/09/18/travel/escapes/18canal.html.

“Canal Corporation.” Canal History — New York State Canals, www.canals.ny.gov/history/history.html.

Schulman, Marc. “1825 Erie Canal Opened.” History Central, www.historycentral.com/Ant/Eirie.html.

The Erie Canal, YouTube, 21 Dec. 2014, https://youtu.be/0-gIFYOCIfE. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeWitt_Clinton#Erie_Canal

ACADEMIC HONESTY STATEMENT

I declare that this work is my own work and that I have correctly acknowledged the work of others. This work is in accordance with the SMHS Academic Honesty Policy and its guidance on good academic conduct and how to avoid plagiarism and other assessment irregularities.

• Ella C.