Talk:Erie Canal/Archive 1

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Idle Title

I added an appropriate title. For7thGen 23:00, 23 July 2006 (UTC)

Does anyone else find the part about homosexuals building canals to be a bit...speculative? --Er 04:25, 19 January 2006 (UTC)

At the moment, these two sections contradict each other:

Although the canal was first proposed in 1869 it was not commenced preperations for building. [in the introduction]

and

\

Can anyone clear up the confusion? (I doubt that Jessie Hawley had the idea and then waited nearly a century to share it with Ellicott ;)]. fabiform | talk 20:47, 20 Mar 2004 (UTC)

"a series of legislation renamed the Barge Canal back to the Erie Canal, and its use was restricted to recreational traffic."

It's still used to carry barges occasionally. I don't know the status of the legislation, though. - Omegatron July 4, 2005 16:04 (UTC)

Jesse Hawley

The influence of Jesse Hawley on the building of canal is fairly controversial, and not at all as direct as the current information in the entry would imply. The Hawley question (indeed, the whole issue over "who" came up with the idea and promoted the building of the canal) ought to be treated in a little more depth. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.58.35.159 (talk) 01:17, 8 June 2009 (UTC)

You're absolutely correct about this problem with the article; we almost need a subsection for a brief listing of the cast of characters who might also be credited. -A user —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.79.48.83 (talk) 22:49, 6 March 2010 (UTC)

Lock and crossing listing

I have created a table to list all 34 locks, their locations, and lift.

Crossings were temporarily removed as the list was incomplete and unverifiable.

I have the code to replace crossings if anyone feels it is of value and would like to reinsert it.

Where'd My Work Go?

Gee, I spent a lot of time adding pages about the Erie Canal locks. I had pages for Locks E1 - E13, with photos, text, and a template on each page, with more work to do. Now they aren't even listed in the "Pages in category "Erie Canal"". My old link just redirects me to the main page. I see the Erie Canal crossings "Bridges" pages are still listed. The table with the lock lift doesn't give you much of a sense for what the locks look like or what's around them or the history involved. I'd be pleased to see that reinserted, otherwise I'd feel like all my time was spent for nothing. HCO. ([[User:128.113.107.4|128.113.107.4}})

If they were free-standing articles, it's possible they were deleted (in which case an administrator can probably recover them). Otherwise, it's possible they were moved (renamed), but in that case, an automatic redirect from old name (your chosen name) to the new name should have been created. If your work was an edit to an already-existing page, take a look at the page's "history" and see if you can find your work. Atlant 17:59, 7 June 2006 (UTC)
They were all redirected per an AfD discussion at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Erie Canal Locks. Actually, the consensus was "merge and redirect," but no one has merged them yet. It's on my to-do list, but feel free to msg me if you want to get started on it.--Chaser T 22:16, 10 June 2006 (UTC)

Request for Clarification

My congratulations to people who contributed to such a good article.

However, in the section Competition, its 3rd (and longest) paragraph ends with the words "; it (the Erie Canal) continued to compete well with the railroads through 1882, when tolls were abolished."
It's as though the (canal) tolls being abolished in 1882 had stopped the canal's competing well with the railroads. This does not make sense. If I were trying to clear it up, I would first verify that the railroads had charges which were NOT called tolls, while the canal charges WERE called tolls. If I'm wrong and the correct wording really is "when the railroad tolls were abolished", then please just insert the word railroad and the matter will be closed. My thanks to whomever knows about railroad tolls vs. canal tolls and clarifies the text. For7thGen 22:53, 23 July 2006 (UTC)

Duplicate photos

The photo of Lock 32 at Pittsford is a nice one, but I question whether it should be duplicated in this entry for two different captions.

Tree stump puller diagram

The "tree stump puller" in the diagram seems unlikely. The horses are pulling a rope attached to an axel that is smaller in diameter than the wheel to which the chain is attached. If I understand the mechanics of it, this would make it harder to pull out the stump than simply attaching the rope to the stump directly. The diagram is also a rough pencil sketch. Is someone able to comment on the authenticity and suitability of the diagram? modify 13:08, 23 September 2006 (UTC)

Canal Section Terminus Error?

In the fourth paragraph of the Construction section, the canal's Eastern Section is described as running "from Rochester to Albany". I believe this should instead be "from Utica to Albany", since Rochester lies along the Western Section, between Syracuse and Buffalo. Thus:

Western Section - Buffalo to Syracuse MIddle Section - Syracuse to Utica Eastern Section - Utica to Albany

The canal profile diagram, which is referenced in the article, seems to indicate that Montezuma is the demarkation between the Western and Middle Sections. However, I cannot find confirmation of this and the Construction section is rather specific in describing Syracuse as this point of transition. Brooks.Peters 17:25, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

Capitalization in section headings

See [1] which says it's not "Capitalization in Section Headings." Jim.henderson 03:15, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

West Shore Railroad

Interesting, that some anonymous editor thinks this particular railroad should not be mentioned, who keeps knocking it out and being reverted, and who hints at exasperation in his edit comments. He keeps on logging in from different addresses. Yet, neither he nor the rest of us have mentioned this persistent, sporadic, clueless but perhaps well meaning activity on the talk page. Anyway, here's his opportunity to discuss the question. Jim.henderson 06:30, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

Stuffed

2 things. First, the first ship (?) to transit the Canal was allegedly Seneca Chief. Verify & include? Second, & hinted at, was the economic effect: it moved the financial capital of the U.S. from Philadelphia to NYC. Verify & include? Trekphiler 12:39, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

The Seneca Chief was the name of the ceremonial boat that Gov. Clinton rode on during the Grand Celebration. I don't know if it was really the "first" boat to transit. Keep in mind that most of the Erie Canal was open and in use by boats before October 1825. They just finished the last segment that year. -A user

Tense issue

Last sentence of third paragraph in first section reads, "...in 1817, Clinton was successful in convinced the New York State legislature..."

Should say, "...convincing..."

Onondaga Escarpment - not Niagara - from Canastota to Rochester

In the Section "The Route", "Onondaga Escarpment" should be substituted for "Niagara Escarpment", as the Niagara's eastern terminus is at Rochester. So, "From Canastota west it ran roughly along the north (lower) edge of the Onondaga Escarpment, passing through Syracuse[....]"

No doubt some text could be added to introduce the Niagara from Rochester to Buffalo, as the Niagara scarp/Lockport locks story is critical to the article.TrevorX 03:20, 6 May 2007 (UTC)

When barges crossed

In the "History" section, it says "When barges crossed there was a quick unhitching and re-hitching of the draft animal teams while the barges continued due to momentum." This should say something like, "When barges crossed under bridges there was a quick...." I'm only newly registered, so I'm not allowed to make this change. Will someone authorized please make this correction? Awillmore 01:23, 8 June 2007 (UTC)

This has now been clarified by someone, by instead adding, "With only one towpath for traffic in both directions, when barges crossed...." This is now accurate, whereas my suggestion above was not! Thanks. Awillmore 16:08, 15 June 2007 (UTC)

You're welcome and yeah, I should have mentioned it. Personal inspection helps. I've never seen the Erie Canal but a couple years ago I bicycled 50 miles along the Delaware Canal, which has a towpath, and the Delaware & Raritan Canal which (in that part) doesn't. Slippery erosion under a bridge nearly dumped me into one of the locks of the DC, while the D&R posed no such hazard. The experience helped me understand 19th century canal operations in general. One of these days I have to take railroad trips to the Erie and to New Brunswick to inspect and bike their respective canals and confirm that their towpaths were laid out the same way. Oh! I haven't checked the Wikipedia articles of the canals I've seen! Jim.henderson 00:49, 16 June 2007 (UTC)

Finch 1925 account of Erie Canal upon 100th anniversary

I just came across the Finch account at "THE STORY OF THE NEW YORK STATE CANALS GOVERNOR DEWITT CLINTON'S DREAM" by Roy Finch, 1925, and have added it into the article as an external link for now. Perhaps it has interesting material and can be used as a reference in the main text. It is semi-official, being written by a state employee and being provided at a State website. doncram (talk) 18:48, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

I did the 4/11/08 edit

I got timed-out before saving.

So I sign it here.

--24.148.0.125 (talk) 01:34, 12 April 2008 (UTC)

The Holley, NY Erie Canal Spur

An oft neglected portion of the Erie Canal concerns the, what I call, the Holley Spur. I don't know when it was created to link downtown Holley, NY to the main canal but from what I have seen (having personally lived in Holley for the better part of twenty-one years) of its remnants, it certainly is worth a historical look. The is a map of Holley circa 1900 in the Holley library which shows this spur at it's height! I have look at the map (it is in the librarians office) and am constantly held in wonder at it's (the spurs) design.

In the 1990s from what I gather having talked with Mr. Ron Vendetti, who put for a lot of effort into his work, and having seen a good portion of it's results, work was started to highlight this spur. And in the 1990s a portion of the walking trail was dedicated by an ancestor of Dewitt Clinton.

Though Holley is small, the history of this spur and it's existence should engender more study of this spur which was created due to the unique geology of having a ravine pass right through the heart of the Village.

I hope this spurs (all puns intended) more study of this Erie spur which I feel is quite unique in relation to the Erie Canal.
(----) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Stryderbill (talk • contribs) 09:01, 30 August 2008 (UTC)

Refimprove tag and/or downratings of this article

I reverted a refimprove tag and downrating of this article, in favor of discussion here. This is a high profile article, used by many students i believe based on the freuency of random changes to it. I think it harms the article and the readers' experience to have a tag that just tars it, without explanation. If there are improvements to be made to the article, please make them, or make specific suggestions here, please. doncram (talk) 08:05, 26 January 2009 (UTC)

While I respect your revert, I feel that nine inline citations (each used only once) is far from enough to promote to B status and a {{refimprove}} is more than necessary. And I don't think referencing a reader's experience is enough to claim non-usage of the tag. That would be like saying if Barack Obama were deficient in references, no tag should be used because it doesn't look pretty. Number 1 of the six B-Class criteria requires suitable referencing and while it does not label a number of references per length of an article, this article sure could use more. This article can very much benefit from additional source and it's my experience that these tags help secure them. ~ ωαdεstεr16«talkstalk» 15:50, 26 January 2009 (UTC)

Erie Basin

How come there is no mention of the Eastern Terminus of the Erie Canal, otherwise known as Erie Basin. It was built in Brooklyn to function as the eastern transfer point between the canal and ocean going transport, and as a central terminal for canal access to Long Island. It still exists, although it has recently been converted from industrial transportation to commercial, residential and Recreational use. SSG Cornelius Seon (US Army, Retired) (talk) 16:42, 9 April 2009 (UTC)

Advocacy by Robert Fulton for the canal

See Cadwallader D. Colden (1817). The Life of Robert Fulton. New York: Kirk & Mercein. pp. 275–299. OCLC 123163823. Colden reprints Fulton's exchange of letters with the governor explaining the economics of the proposed canal.LeadSongDog come howl 21:16, 19 May 2009 (UTC)

Photo of Nine Mile Creek Aqueduct

In late 2008, the four courses of Nine Mile Creek at the Aqueduct were dredged. In 2009, the wooden trunk of the aqueduct was replaced and rewatered. Boats of the Camillus Erie Canal Park now cross the aqueduct. A dedication of the restored aqueduct is planned for May 22, 2010. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Canalsusa (talk • contribs) 15:04, 23 March 2010 (UTC) wow

clear map?

Why no clear map of the Erie Canal near the top of this article? It reminds me of the mainstream media news in which the geographical information related to the news story is routinely omitted. Rtdrury (talk) 04:50, 26 July 2010 (UTC)

Hope that helps.Nconwaymicelli (talk) 07:57, 5 September 2010 (UTC)

Canal excavated material in New Jersey???

From the Impact section - "Earth extracted from the canal was transported to the New York city area and used as landfill in New York and New Jersey."

I think someone is confusing the excavations from the NYC subway system which was used as land fill for Ellis island, etc. Hauling large amounts of excavated material all the way from Albany to NYC hardly seems plausible. I've placed a citation flag next to the questionable claim. — Preceding unsigned comment added by DCwom (talk • contribs) 12:18, 15 March 2011 (UTC)

The Canal System is operated using money generated by Thruway tolls

Statements like the one the header above are almost never accurate. Generally as a matter of public policy, everything goes into a general fund. It's very unusual for money to be earmarked for a particular purpose and without a citation I would recommend it be removed by someone who knows something more about the Canal. 67.241.98.126 (talk) 02:48, 17 March 2011 (UTC)

There is some confusion about the Canal's exact relationship to the Thruway Authority that needs to be cleared up. -A user — Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.230.238.139 (talk) 12:14, 22 July 2011 (UTC)


http://www.thruway.ny.gov/about/factbook/part2.html: "On November 5, 1992, legislation formed the New York State Canal Corporation, and the New York State Thruway Authority took over the operation and maintenance of the 524-mile New York State Canal System. The Canal System, which was formerly operated by the New York State Department of Transportation, is comprised of the Erie, Champlain, Oswego and Cayuga-Seneca Canals. The historic waterway provides seasonal navigation between the major water bodies of New York State."

http://www.thruway.ny.gov/about/financial/budget-books/2012/2012-budget.pdf: Pages 4 - 11 show the sources of revenue for the NYS Thruway Authority, which is a public-benefit corporation. They claim 0.3% federal money and nothing from the state.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_state_public-benefit_corporations — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.124.134.210 (talk) 22:33, 13 April 2012 (UTC)

Great Lakes - Atlantic connection?

Why does this article say the Erie Canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean? Surely the St. Lawrence River is navigable. Akwdb (talk) 21:34, 1 October 2011 (UTC)


It sounds like this depends on your definition of "navigable" and "Great Lakes."

This... http://www.vsr.cape.com/~powens/riverhistory.htm ...has pictures of boats/ships in some of the rapids on the St. Lawrence. -And discussion of what kinds of ships could make it on the St. Lawrence before the canals. I would think that the navigability would vary with flow, too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Lawrence_Seaway "Because of the virtually impassable Lachine Rapids, the St. Lawrence was once continuously navigable only as far as Montreal. Opened in 1825, the Lachine Canal was the first to allow ships to pass the rapids. An extensive system of canals and locks, known as the Saint Lawrence Seaway, was officially opened on 26 June 1959 by Queen Elizabeth II (representing Canada) and President Dwight D. Eisenhower (representing the United States). The Seaway now permits ocean-going vessels to pass all the way to Lake Superior."

(BTW, I found a reference to construction of the Lachine Canal beginning in 1680!)


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Welland_Canal "...but the actual construction [of the first Welland Canal] didn't start until July 1825." The First Welland Canal opened in 1829... Before the Welland Canal opened, getting past Niagara Falls would have been difficult.

The western ends of the various incarnations of the Erie Canal were upstream of Niagara Falls, getting you to more Great Lakes than the St. Lawrence - until the Welland Canal in 1829... — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.124.134.210 (talk) 23:33, 13 April 2012 (UTC)

Updated Finch book downloadable without charge

I'd like to point out this very informative booklet, which appears to be authoritative, since it is published by the New York State Canal Corporation. Since it is freely downloadable, it is available to anyone who wants to see it. This may be a good source for many of the needed citations for the article. I suggest citing the page number (and not forcing the reader to search the entire book) by following the style of some of the cites I've already inserted into the article. Just refer to the existing cite, using <ref name="Finch" />, and then follow it with {{rp|42}}, where "42" is the page number, for example. To see this ref style in use, look at how the refs for the "Waterford Flight" appear in the article.

Happy citing! Reify-tech (talk) 13:57, 9 March 2013 (UTC)

I've updated my above recommendations on citing page numbers, to use TEMPLATE:RP, which is easy to use and eliminates redundant reference text. Reify-tech (talk) 17:09, 14 April 2015 (UTC)

"Swamp fever"?

Under the section "Construction" is the following sentence:

When the canal reached Montezuma Marsh (at the outlet of Cayuga Lake west of Syracuse), over 1,000 workers died of swamp fever and construction stopped.

Here "swamp fever" links to our article on Equine infectious anemia. However that disease is only known in horses and other references I checked explicitly say it does not affect humans. So perhaps this was instead a then-current local name for malaria? --96.233.85.146 (talk) 21:23, 25 June 2013 (UTC)

Instead of workers, maybe it was over 1,000 horses that died? Literal "horse-power" was important in construction then. --96.233.84.250 (talk) 21:04, 11 October 2013 (UTC)
It was humans who died. "swamp fever" was the current name & probably it was malaria. see Gerard Koeppel (2009). Bond of Union: Building the Erie Canal and the American Empire. Da Capo Press,. p. 212.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link). Rjensen (talk) 21:21, 11 October 2013 (UTC)
Thanks for following up on this. --71.174.162.63 (talk) 08:33, 20 October 2013 (UTC)

Erie Canal goes west on the Mohawk River (fact correction)

[Re: "...that originally ran about 363 miles (584 km) from Albany, New York, on the Hudson River to Buffalo, New York, at Lake Erie....] The Hudson River goes north from New York City to the vicinity of Albany and thence farther north -- not west. It is joined there by the Mohawk River, which does go west, and the canal follows the westbound Mohawk River. See map at http://www.eriecanal.org/maps/NYScanalmap-1896.jpg.

68.118.203.21 (talk) 21:57, 6 September 2013 (UTC) Pam Shorey

Clarification of lead section

1. "The Erie Canal is a canal in New York that originally ran about 363 miles (584 km) from Albany, New York, on the Hudson River to Buffalo, New York, at Lake Erie, at the time completing a navigable water route from New York City and the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes."

Presumably the word "originally" means it no longer runs this same route, yet there is no explanation in the lead about how the current route differs (unless it is the cryptic sentence below). This is basic factual information that really ought to be in the lead.

2. "In 1918 the approximate western half of the canal was enlarged to partially become the New York State Barge Canal which ran parallel to the eastern half and forms its new eastern branch to the Hudson."

This is hard to understand.

86.160.218.11 (talk) 20:56, 18 December 2013 (UTC)

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment

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Stylistic issues

This article has tons of style issues. It almost seems like it was written as a group project by a class of high schoolers. Is it possible this actually happened? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 137.187.40.110 (talk) 20:36, 17 June 2019 (UTC)

How many locks?

The introduction mentions 36 locks. However, the specifications (at the right) say
Locks 83
Not wanting to fiddle with matters I don't know well, I leave to someone else to decide why is this difference.

200.28.233.190 (talk) 03:53, 27 May 2015 (UTC)

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For the construction section

This new book discusses immigrants who worked on the Erie Canal and other transportation projects The Filth of Progress: Immigrants, Americans, and the Building of Canals and Railroads in the West by Ryan Dearinger, 2015, University of California Press. Maybe useful for expanding/referencing the construction section.Jodi.a.schneider (talk) 00:41, 24 November 2015 (UTC)

Proposed merge with Long Level

Suggest merging the first two (short) paragraphs of the above-referenced stub article into this parent article. Perhaps convert the remainder of the stub article into a disambiguation page.DA Sonnenfeld (talk) 22:11, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

  • Oppose - a historical name and extant stretch known for that history is not a name to bury in part of another article. // FrankB 07:42, 10 August 2016 (UTC)
Resolved
 – Removing merge tags as duration since hanging sufficient and discussion shows no consensus.

// FrankB 07:42, 10 August 2016 (UTC)

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These two links seem to be indexes. Are they still relevant and do they lead anywhere? Martin of Sheffield (talk) 10:26, 27 February 2016 (UTC)

National History Day

This is for help with National History Day — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.101.226.232 (talk) 23:15, 1 March 2016 (UTC)

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http://www.nyscanals.gov/corporation/commercial-shipping.html and https://web.archive.org/web/20150707225012/http://www.cr.nps.gov/nhl/designations/Lists/NY01.pdf lead to 404s. Martin of Sheffield (talk) 19:58, 5 May 2016 (UTC)

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"The Hudson is tidal to Troy, New York"

I can't get past this phrase, which seems not to make sense, especially in the context of the [2] article (last paragraph in section). The Tidal river article states that a river cannot be tidal beyond 62 miles, not the 150 miles from NYC to Troy. Further, how is the tidal nature of a river beneficial to shipping; for what goes up at high tide will go back down again? Or is the benefit in the predictability of the tidal variation? --Quisqualis (talk) 02:27, 2 February 2017 (UTC)

The Tidal river article is a stub with no references at all, and should not be relied on at this time; it needs a lot more work in itself. The tide at Troy is insignificant for shipping; the fact that it can still be detected (after a time delay for the wave to propagate upstream) is still of interest, because it demonstrates how deeply the Hudson River valley was carved out by past floods draining an enormous glacial meltwater lake.. Reify-tech (talk) 07:24, 2 February 2017 (UTC)
The geological reasons for the overall routing of the Erie Canal should be better explained in the article. I will try to add this when I have time, unless somebody wants to do it first. Reify-tech (talk) 07:27, 2 February 2017 (UTC)

Page numbers in references

I would like to point out a technique used in Wikipedia to show the page numbers in footnoted references, without triggering an absurdly large number of nearly-identical full citations. The abbreviated format is described at Template:Rp, which was designed specifically to handle this problem. This and other useful techniques for efficiently formatting useful references are explained at WP:REFSTART. I have consolidated a number of redundant refs in the article; you can look at the Wikisource to see how I did this. Cheers! Reify-tech (talk) 07:24, 2 February 2017 (UTC)

My personal preference is for the {{sfn}} approach which has the advantage that citations can be ordered alphabetically, not in a random order depending upon first use, see ¶6.2 in WP:REFSTART. Notwithstanding that though, well done; {{rp}} is much better than repeated citations. Martin of Sheffield (talk) 10:22, 2 February 2017 (UTC)

The longest in the world??

"When completed in 1825, it was by far the longest canal in the world and greatly effected the development and economy of New York, New York City, and the United States." The Grand Canal (China) was 1784km vs 874km of the Erie Canal. 85.216.195.2 (talk) 05:45, 28 July 2017 (UTC)

Yeah, I am skeptical of the claim, which is unsourced and badly-written. I think I'm going to remove it, if it hasn't already happened. Reify-tech (talk) 15:59, 28 July 2017 (UTC)
Actually, it was sourced from the New York Times (but still could be in error). If the Grand Canal was in active use over its full length, then it outranked the Erie Canal, and this should be noted in the article here. It would be preferable to explain the fine points in a footnote, rather than simply tweaking or deleting an overly sweeping claim, to prevent it from being repeatedly revived later. Reify-tech (talk) 16:09, 28 July 2017 (UTC)
the linked NewYorkTimes article sais"So did skeptics who cautioned that the project, more than twice as long as any other canal on the globe. (The Languedoc — now known as the Canal du Midi — was then the longest; at about 140 miles, it linked the Mediterranean and the Bay of Biscay in southern France.) " wich kinda point out no mentioning of grand canal and so a total european bias of the author of the article. Still thats a question, wheather the Grand canal was functional in 1817, but i dont think, that the NYT article can state that.
Also, i dont get it, why is it in the right box of the article it says that the lengh is 843 km, while in the text it says that the actuall Erie canal is only "Originally, it ran about 363 miles (584 km) from Albany, on the Hudson River, to Buffalo, at Lake Erie. " and the picture of the profile of the original canal states the same 363 miles. 843km fugure is related to the whole canal system from Erie lake to New York, the Erie canal being the part of it. So we need to make the Erie canal lenght 363 miles, or call the article with a different name. Im sorry, im new to this wiki editing, it just that i use wiki a lot, and such false statement article makes me kinda confused) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.216.195.2 (talk) 15:25, 31 July 2017 (UTC)
You have caught some serious inconsistencies; it is often helpful to have a set of fresh eyes look at an article from top to bottom. The Erie Canal is indeed just a (large) part of the New York State Canal System, and the two systems are distinct, though closely related. I have corrected the infobox with a more accurate length figure. You are encouraged to continue examining the article for further inconsistencies, errors, and omissions, and to continue pointing them out here on the Talk page.
I have taken the liberty of converting your improvised Wikipedia reference into a more-direct Wikilink. It takes a while to learn how to edit Wikipedia fluently; I have added a Welcome message to your Userpage, with pointers to tutorials for beginners. You are encouraged (but not required) to open your own named Wikipedia account, as explained in the Welcome message. Your modest and constructive attitude are appreciated by other editors, who will be happy to help you come up to speed. Reify-tech (talk) 16:33, 31 July 2017 (UTC)
This is one reason why we should use reliable sources produced by experts in history, not news reports by experts in putting out the latest events. Nyttend (talk) 21:55, 21 March 2018 (UTC)

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Unbalanced in mention of Immigrants

The article mentions at least twice the role of Irish immigrants in the early construcion and neglects to mention any other groups. Utica, for example, has a large Italian influence due to Italian construction workers. Nyth63 14:08, 9 November 2017 (UTC)

Facts on Main Points

  • Travel time from Albany to Buffalo by canal took 5 days.
  • Travel time from Albany to Buffalo by stagecoach took 2 weeks.
  • Cost to build canal was $7,143,789.
  • Took 10 years to regain full cost of the canal.
  • Total number of locks in the canal during 1825 was 83 locks.
  • Total number of locks in the canal of present day is 57 locks.
  • Elevation difference from Albany to Buffalo is 571 ft.
  • Length from Albany to Buffalo is 363 miles.
  • The Erie Canal was the second longest canal in the world.
  • The Erie Canal has many nicknames: "DeWitt's Ditch"; "Clinton's Ditch"; and the "Eighth Wonder of the World."

— Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.129.206.244 (talk) 01:08, 8 March 2018 (UTC)

It would help if you gave a WP:RS for these claims; otherwise, they cannot be used. Reify-tech (talk) 22:11, 21 March 2018 (UTC)

is this a likely problem?

Please join discussion at Talk:Ear_canal#is_this_a_likely_problem.3F

--71.121.143.181 (talk) 19:33, 28 June 2018 (UTC)

Saint-Simonians

@Smellyshirt5: The Saint-Simonians may have "influenced the creation of the Suez Canal", but this page is specifically about the Eire canal. I have searched through Barthélemy Prosper Enfantin, Henri de Saint-Simon and Saint-Simonianism but can find no references to the Eire canal. The fact that they were "major canal promoters" elsewhere does not mark them out as relevant to the Eire canal, any more than James Brindley is. Before reinserting them seek consensus here. Martin of Sheffield (talk) 22:57, 10 November 2018 (UTC)

I'm not sure you understand the reason that a "See also" section exists in an encyclopedia. It exists for readers who are curious about similar topics on the topic of the article. Clearly, the Saint-Simonians had an influencing impact on canal building. And, the Erie Canal is a canal.Smellyshirt5 (talk) 23:13, 10 November 2018 (UTC)
Similar and relevant. On a subject as wide as canals one could include every canal promoter, engineer and financier over the whole planet. The result would be a comprehensive list that did not assist the readers in any way. Please consider the relevance issue, vaguely related is not "see also" and at all times remember WP:RF. Anyhow, let's leave this for others to respond to, I'm off to bed in my time zone. Martin of Sheffield (talk) 23:25, 10 November 2018 (UTC)
Although the subject may have great breadth, the Saint-Simonians were doing their business at around exactly the same time as the Erie canal in the early 1800s.Smellyshirt5 (talk) 23:43, 10 November 2018 (UTC)

Parks and Museums Correction

Perinton Park is listed as being in Perinton near Fairport, but this is incorrect. It is confusing, but Fairport is a village that lies within the town of Perinton, NY, and Perinton Park is within the village limits. Therefore, the entry should say that Perinton Park is in Fairport, NY, not "near" Fairport. Jennyny (talk) 10:03, 2 June 2019 (UTC)

Not sure what this means...

In the intro paragraph, second sentence, what does "where Albany meets the Hudson River" mean? A city doesn't "meet" a river. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2603:9000:AC08:A600:34A6:11B4:E50E:8E61 (talk) 02:03, 22 September 2019 (UTC)

erie canal

does anyone know about the Erie Canal?

"Wide Waters" listed at Redirects for discussion

A discussion is taking place to address the redirect Wide Waters. The discussion will occur at Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2021 December 5#Wide Waters until a consensus is reached, and readers of this page are welcome to contribute to the discussion. signed, Rosguill talk 16:56, 5 December 2021 (UTC)

Erie Canal article

Who applies to people. Which or that would be more appropriate in the following passage in the article: ‘Prior to the opening of the canal pack animals who had a 250 pound (113 kg) maximum cargo capacity.’ 2001:8003:7C3A:7400:85EF:665E:7A0:93B7 (talk) 23:58, 16 December 2021 (UTC)

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