The Erie Canal: How a ‘big ditch’ transformed America’s economy, culture and even religion

By: Matthew Smith, Miami University, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: December 25, 2025

Words: 1,176

Last Updated: 2 weeks, 2 days ago

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By Matthew Smith, Miami University

Two hundred years ago, on Oct. 26, 1825, New York Gov. DeWitt Clinton boarded a canal boat by the shores of Lake Erie. Amid boisterous festivities, his vessel, the Seneca Chief, embarked from Buffalo, the westernmost port of his brand-new Erie Canal.

Clinton and his flotilla made their way east to the canal’s terminus in Albany, then down the Hudson River to New York City. This maiden voyage culminated on Nov. …

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