Reflections on the Erie Canal

About the Documentary

Explore the past, present and future of the Erie Canal on its bicentennial anniversary.

In 1825, the state of New York inaugurated a monumental economic engine — the Erie Canal. Born from an audacious ambition to secure financial power and seal New York’s status as the Empire State, the canal was a triumph of engineering and determination. Two hundred years later, the human-made thread crossing the state of New York from west to east has a much broader legacy that deserves definition and exploration.

While many New Yorkers are familiar with the origin story of the Erie Canal, there remain untold stories from the time of the canal’s birth. From the people who built the canal to the Indigenous communities disrupted by it, the canal revolutionized a nation still yearning to harness its potential and establish its identity. The canal unleashed a powerful movement — of people, ideas, materials, wealth, and innovation.

Today, the singular historic purpose of the canal has been replaced by a broader significance. Together, the Erie, Champlain, Oswego, and Cayuga-Seneca canals span 524 miles and serve communities in ways unimaginable to their creators. New York’s canals are a source of community, recreation, a habitat for wildlife, and a resource to mitigate the impacts of a changing climate. The infrastructure of the canals also exists as a historic monument in need of maintenance and reinvestment.

In Reflections on the Erie Canal, we look back on the two-hundred-year journey of the Erie Canal and contemplate its future.