The Shipping News is a novel by American author E. Annie Proulx and published by Charles Scribner's Sons in 1993. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction , the U.S. National Book Award , as well as other awards. It was adapted as a film of the same name which was released in 2001.
136-468: The story revolves around Quoyle, a newspaper reporter from upstate New York , whose father had emigrated from Newfoundland . Quoyle's distant parents have recently committed suicide, and his estranged wife, Petal has died in a car accident with another man. As a result Quoyle decides to relocate his two young girls to their ancestral home in Newfoundland. His paternal aunt, Agnis Hamm, convinces him to make
272-484: A boundary between upstate and downstate New York. Yet another usage follows the U.S. Census definition of the New York metropolitan area prior to 2010, which includes all of included Westchester, Rockland, and Putnam counties. This definition was used by the plaintiffs in the federal redistricting case Rodriguez v. Pataki . In New York state law, the definition of the upstate boundary also varies: while Westchester
408-466: A canal across New York in the first decade of the 19th century. Shipping goods west from Albany was a costly and tedious affair; there was no railroad yet, and to cover the distance from Buffalo to New York City by stagecoach took two weeks. The problem was that the land rises about 600 feet (180 m) from the Hudson to Lake Erie. Locks at the time could handle up to 12 feet (3.7 m) of lift, so even with
544-624: A deeply cut channel. The final leg had to be cut 30 feet (9.1 m) deep through another limestone mass, the Onondaga ridge . Much of that section was blasted with black powder , and the inexperience of the crews often led to accidents, and sometimes to rocks falling on nearby homes. Two villages competed to be the terminus: Black Rock , on the Niagara River , and Buffalo, at the eastern tip of Lake Erie. Buffalo expended great energy to widen and deepen Buffalo Creek to make it navigable and to create
680-702: A family in the United States. Five of the six Iroquois nations have filed land claims against New York State (or have sought settlement of pending claims), based on late 18th-century treaties following the American Revolutionary War with the State of New York (which did not have constitutional authority to treat with American Indian nations) and the United States. The headwaters of the Delaware , Susquehanna , Mohawk , Hudson, and Allegheny rivers are located in
816-698: A harbor at its mouth. Buffalo won over Black Rock, and grew into a large city, eventually encompassing its former rival. In 1824, before the canal was completed, a detailed Pocket Guide for the Tourist and Traveler, Along the Line of the Canals, and the Interior Commerce of the State of New York , was published for the benefit of travelers and land speculators. The entire canal was officially completed on October 26, 1825. The event
952-649: A large tract of land in Upper Canada to their Haudenosaunee allies, who established the Grand River settlement. In the federal Treaty of Canandaigua , the new United States recognized the title of the remaining Haudenosaunee to the land north and west of the Proclamation Line of 1763. Nevertheless, New York state officials and private land agents sought through the early 19th century to extinguish Indian title to these lands via non-Federally-sanctioned treaties, such as
1088-606: A lesser degree, related rivers, a large part of the continent's interior (and many settlements) would be made well connected to the Eastern seaboard. Among the first attempts made by European colonists to improve upon the future state's navigable waterways was the construction in 1702 of the Wood Creek Carry, or Oneida Carry a short portage road connecting Wood Creek to the Mohawk River near modern-day Rome, New York . However,
1224-631: A major center of radical abolitionist activity and was an important nexus of the Underground Railroad . Resistance to the Fugitive Slave Act was particularly heated in the region, as evidenced by such events as the Jerry Rescue . The American women's rights movement was also born in upstate New York at this time. The Seneca Falls Convention , the first women's rights convention, was held at Seneca Falls in 1848. The Rochester Convention ,
1360-636: A mile south of the surveyed line, putting the fort, which became known as "Fort Blunder", in Canada. This was not resolved until 1842 with the Webster–Ashburton Treaty , in which Great Britain and the United States decided to leave the border on the meandering line as surveyed. Slavery existed in New Netherland and the Province of New York . New York was in the 1690s the largest importer of slaves among
1496-693: A new beginning and they move into Agnis's childhood home, an empty and abandoned house on Quoyle's Point. Quoyle finds work as a reporter for the Gammy Bird , the local newspaper in Killick-Claw, a small town. The Gammy Bird ' s editor asks him to cover traffic accidents and also the shipping news, documenting the arrivals and departures of ships from the local port. His reporting develops as Quoyle's signature column. Over time, Quoyle learns deep and disturbing secrets about his ancestors that emerge in strange ways. As Quoyle builds his new life in Newfoundland, he
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#17330942364711632-653: A number of notable waterways, with the Susquehanna , Delaware , and Hudson Rivers all originating in the region, and is bordered on its northern and western edges by the Saint Lawrence River and the Great Lakes . As a result, the region is a significant source of hydroelectric power (going back to the creation of the world's first hydroelectric dam by Nikola Tesla at Niagara Falls ) and drinking water (with multiple reservoirs serving New York City). Upstate New York
1768-728: A point in the Montezuma Marsh . There the Cayuga and Seneca Canal continued south with the Seneca River, and the new Erie Canal again ran parallel to the old canal along the bottom of the Niagara Escarpment, in some places running along the Clyde River, and in some places replacing the old canal. At Pittsford , southeast of Rochester, the canal turned west to run around the south side of Rochester, rather than through downtown. The canal crosses
1904-461: A scraper and a plow, a three-man team with oxen, horses and mules could build a mile in a year. The remaining problem was finding labor; increased immigration helped fill the need. Many of the laborers working on the canal were Irish , who had recently come to the United States as a group of about 5,000. Most of them were Roman Catholic, a religion that raised much suspicion in early America because of its hierarchic structure, and many laborers on
2040-518: A shorter canal from Lake Ontario . The proposal drew attention and some action but was never implemented. Jesse Hawley had envisioned encouraging the growing of large quantities of grain on the western New York plains (then largely unsettled) for sale on the Eastern seaboard . However, he went bankrupt trying to ship grain to the coast. While in Canandaigua debtors' prison , Hawley began pressing for
2176-514: A treaty with the powerful Mohawk. Benjamin Franklin , a Pennsylvania delegate, proposed a plan for uniting the seven colonies that greatly exceeded the scope of the congress. The delegates spent most of their time debating this Albany Plan of union, one of the first attempts to form a union of the colonies "under one government as far as might be necessary for defense and other general important purposes". The delegates approved an amended version, but
2312-656: A unique region neither upstate nor downstate, drew only 7%.) An informal 2018 poll found the Hudson Valley region is the most heavily disputed area regarding whether it is upstate or downstate. A number of businesses and institutions in the area have "upstate" as part of their name. Examples of this include the State University of New York Upstate Medical University in Syracuse , the Upstate New York Chapter of
2448-409: A walkway known as a towpath . Its construction, through limestone and mountains, proved a daunting task. To move earth, animals pulled a "slip scraper" (similar to a bulldozer ). The sides of the canal were lined with stone set in clay, and the bottom was also lined with clay. The Canal was built by Irish laborers and German stonemasons. All labor on the canal depended upon human and animal power or
2584-574: Is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east–west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie . Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes , vastly reducing the costs of transporting people and goods across the Appalachians . The Erie Canal accelerated the settlement of the Great Lakes region , the westward expansion of
2720-622: Is a popular cycling path that follows the canal across the state. In 2000, Congress designated the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor to protect and promote the system. The waterway today referred to as the Erie Canal is quite different from the nineteenth-century Erie Canal. More than half of the original Erie Canal was destroyed or abandoned during construction of the New York State Barge Canal in
2856-413: Is about 565 feet (172 m). The Erie's peak year was 1855, when 33,000 commercial shipments took place. It continued to be competitive with railroads until about 1902, when tolls were abolished. Commercial traffic declined heavily in the latter half of the 20th century due to competition from trucking and the 1959 opening of the larger St. Lawrence Seaway . The canal's last regularly scheduled hauler,
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#17330942364712992-479: Is common among New York City residents and significantly less farther north. This definition is used by the Department of Environmental Conservation . A cheeky joke among Manhattanites is that anything north of 14th Street is "upstate". Another usage locates the upstate/downstate boundary farther north, at the point where New York City's suburbs segue into its exurbs , as the exurbs do not generally fall within
3128-461: Is especially true for the cities of Buffalo, Rochester, Oswego and Syracuse, and is largely due to lake-effect snow from Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. The villages of Old Forge and Saranac Lake , both in the Adirondacks, often vie on winter nights with places like International Falls, Minnesota , and Fargo, North Dakota , for the coldest spot in the nation. Erie Canal The Erie Canal
3264-720: Is home to numerous popular tourist and recreational destinations, including Niagara Falls , the Adirondack and Catskill Mountains , the Thousand Islands , the National Baseball Hall of Fame , and the Finger Lakes . There is no clear official boundary between upstate New York and downstate New York . The most expansive definition of the upstate New York region excludes only New York City and Long Island , which are always considered to be part of downstate New York; this usage
3400-531: Is now re-watered and again accessible by boats. With several miles of the Canal inland of this location still lying under 20th-century fill and urban construction, the effective western navigable terminus of the Erie Canal is found at Tonawanda. The new alignment began on the Hudson River at the border between Cohoes and Waterford , where it ran northwest with five locks (the so-called " Waterford Flight "), running into
3536-722: Is now the northeastern United States. The Guswhenta (Two Row Wampum Treaty) , made with the Dutch government in 1613, codified relations between the Haudenosaunee and European colonizers, and formed the basis of subsequent treaties. In the mid-17th century, during the Beaver Wars , the Iroquois were victorious and dominated the tribes of Neutral Indians , Wenrohronon and the Erie Indians in western New York. Survivors were mostly assimilated into
3672-409: Is seemingly always considered downstate under state law, some definitions include Rockland and Putnam counties in the downstate region, and others also include Orange and Dutchess counties; all of these counties are served by Metro-North Railroad lines. Ulster County , and, in the largest state-defined extent of downstate, Columbia County , are also sometimes included. The division line between
3808-462: Is transformed. He creates a rewarding job, makes friends and begins a relationship with a local woman, Wavey Prowse. In her acknowledgments, Proulx states, "And without the inspiration of Clifford W. Ashley's wonderful 1944 work, The Ashley Book of Knots , which I had the good fortune to find at a yard sale for a quarter, this book would have remained just a thread of an idea." Ashley's illustrations and quotes are used as chapter headings throughout
3944-622: The BBC News listed The Shipping News on its list of the 100 most inspiring novels . Upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region of New York that lies north and northwest of the New York City metropolitan area of downstate New York . Upstate includes the middle and upper Hudson Valley , the Capital District , the Mohawk Valley region , Central New York ,
4080-737: The Day Peckinpaugh , ended service in 1994. Today, the Erie Canal is mainly used by recreational watercraft. It connects the three other canals in the New York State Canal System : the Champlain , Oswego , and Cayuga–Seneca . Some long-distance boaters take the Erie as part of the Great Loop . The canal has also become a tourist attraction in its own right—several parks and museums are dedicated to its history. The New York State Canalway Trail
4216-633: The Adirondack Mountains , which are sometimes mistaken as part of the Appalachians but are in fact a southern extension of the Canadian Shield . In the more mountainous eastern parts of upstate New York, along the valleys of the Hudson River and the Mohawk River , have been historically important travel corridors and remain so today. Western New York in the vicinity of Buffalo is very flat, as it
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4352-537: The Appalachian Mountains , separating them from the geologically distinct Adirondacks to the north. The Mohawk and Hudson valleys form the only cut across the Appalachians north of Alabama . A navigable canal through the Mohawk Valley would allow an almost complete water route from New York City in the south to Lake Ontario and Lake Erie in the west. Via the canal and these lakes, other Great Lakes, and to
4488-857: The Arthritis Foundation serving 31 of New York's 62 counties , and the VA Healthcare Network Upstate New York, which includes all of New York State northward and westward from Kingston in Ulster County . Other organizations in New York with "upstate" in their name include the Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association (now known as the Liberty League ), the Upstate Correctional Facility ,
4624-645: The Battle of Plattsburgh ; in the St. Lawrence Valley ; and on Lake Ontario , including the Battle of Sackets Harbor . The city of Buffalo was razed by the British as well. After the war, the US government began to construct Fort Montgomery just south of the border at Rouses Point on Lake Champlain. Subsequently, it was discovered that at that point, the actual 45th parallel was three-quarters of
4760-684: The Capital District , the Mohawk Valley , the North Country , Western New York or Central New York . Within New York, surveys have had difficulty determining a consensus. In a 2016 poll of New York voters in which respondents were asked to choose among four definitions of where upstate begins, three were about equally common, selected by between 25% and 30% of respondents each: north of New York City, north of Westchester County, and north of Poughkeepsie in Dutchess County . (The fourth, which also started north of Poughkeepsie but excluded Buffalo as
4896-462: The Capital Region and west to Buffalo. The area has a population of 2.7 million; about 75% of Central and Western New York's population lives within 25 miles (40 km) of the Erie Canal. There were some 42 commercial shipments on the canal in 2008, compared to 15 such shipments in 2007 and more than 33,000 shipments in 1855, the canal's peak year. The new growth in commercial traffic is due to
5032-575: The Census Bureau-defined New York–Newark Urban Area . This latter boundary places most of the Lower Hudson Valley, or Westchester and Rockland counties and about one-third of Putnam County , downstate, while putting the northwestern edge of Rockland County as well as the northernmost quarter of Westchester County (including Peekskill ) upstate. Conversely, area residents often use Interstate 84 to delineate
5168-562: The Genesee River at the Genesee Valley Park , then rejoins the old path near North Gates . From there it was again roughly an upgrade to the original canal, running west to Lockport. This reach of 64.2 miles (103.3 km) from Henrietta to Lockport is called "the 60‑mile level" since there are no locks and the water level rises only two feet (0.61 m) over the entire segment. Diversions from and to adjacent natural streams along
5304-522: The New York Central Railroad and its Auburn Road in 1853) was open the whole way to Buffalo. As the railroad served the same general route as the canal, but provided for faster travel, passengers soon switched to it. However, as late as 1852, the canal carried thirteen times more freight tonnage than all the railroads in New York State combined. The New York, West Shore and Buffalo Railway
5440-570: The New York State Barge Canal began, which was completed in 1918, at a cost of $ 96.7 million. This new canal replaced much of the original route, leaving many abandoned sections (most notably between Syracuse and Rome). New digging and flood control technologies allowed engineers to canalize rivers that the original canal had sought to avoid, such as the Mohawk, Seneca , and Clyde rivers, and Oneida Lake. In sections that did not consist of canalized rivers (particularly between Rochester and Buffalo),
5576-416: The Niagara Escarpment , an 80-foot (24 m)-high wall of hard dolomitic limestone . The route followed the channel of a creek that had cut a ravine steeply down the escarpment. The construction and operation of two sets of five locks along a 3-mile (4.8 km) corridor soon gave rise to the community of Lockport . The 12-foot (3.7 m) lift-locks had a total lift of 60 feet (18 m), exiting into
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5712-436: The Pennsylvania Colony claimed much of the Southern Tier until 1774, while the Massachusetts Bay Colony claimed all of the region west of Massachusetts to the Great Lakes. The Province of New York also claimed jurisdiction east to the Connecticut River . To pursue this claim north of Connecticut and Massachusetts, New York granted lands to settlers in what is now Vermont at the same time that New Hampshire made grants of
5848-424: The Seneca people of the Iroquois; some are believed to have escaped to South Carolina , where they merged with other Indian tribes. The region was important from the first days of both French and Dutch colonization in the seventeenth century. The New Netherland colony encompassed the Hudson Valley from Manhattan island north to the confluence of the Hudson and Mohawk rivers, where Fort Orange (later Albany)
5984-479: The Southern Tier , the Finger Lakes region, Western New York , and the North Country . Major cities across upstate New York from east to west include the state capital of Albany , Utica , Binghamton , Syracuse , Rochester , and Buffalo . Before the European colonization of the United States , upstate New York was populated by several Native American tribes. It was home to the Iroquois Confederacy , an indigenous confederation of six tribes, known as
6120-418: The Treaty of Big Tree . The Treaties of Buffalo Creek were designed to finally remove the last of the native claims in Western New York as part of the federal Indian Removal program, but the purchaser failed to buy most of the land in time, and some of the tribes objected to their exclusion. Three of the four reservations remain in the region to this day; one of the reservations leased out their land to form
6256-408: The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York places Sullivan County and Dutchess County in the Southern District, and Ulster and Columbia counties in the Northern District. Residents of upstate New York typically prefer to identify with subregions , such as the Hudson Valley (Middle and Upper),
6392-440: The Upstate New York Club Hockey League , the Upstate New York Synod , and the Upstate Citizens for Equality . Before the arrival of Europeans, the area was long inhabited by Iroquoian -speaking people, mainly west of the Hudson River and around the Great Lakes and Algonquian -speaking people, mainly east of the Hudson River. The conflict between the two peoples continued through the period of early European colonization, and
6528-404: The Wesleyan Church and Free Methodist Church (both offshoots of Methodism that originated in political disputes with the mainline Methodist church ), also survive. In the 19th century, extractive industries changed the landscape. Potash was manufactured as the land was cleared for farming. Logging was rampant in the Adirondacks. Iron was mined in the Adirondacks and the North Country. By
6664-403: The semiconductor industry , moved its headquarters from Silicon Valley, California to its semiconductor chip manufacturing facility in Malta, New York . Since the late 20th century, with the decline of manufacturing and its jobs, the area has generally suffered a net population loss, most heavily in Western New York. By contrast, many Amish and Mennonite families are recent arrivals to
6800-400: The 1870s, business leaders, concerned about the effect of deforestation on the water supply necessary to the Erie Canal, advocated for the creation of forest preserves in the Adirondacks and the Catskills. The Adirondack Park and Catskill Park were created and strengthened by a series of legislation between 1885 and 1894, when the " forever wild " provision of the New York State Constitution
6936-423: The 1905–1907 Mills Commission , charged with investigating the origins of baseball , named Cooperstown as the place where baseball was invented in the 1830s or 1840s by Abner Doubleday . Cooperstown is the home of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum . (Modern research suggests that the game was actually developed in its modern form in New York City.) In the pre–Civil War era, upstate New York became
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#17330942364717072-444: The 1920s. The Genesee Valley Canal was run along the Genesee River to connect with the Allegheny River at Olean , but the Allegheny section, which would have connected to the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, was never built. The Genesee Valley Canal was later abandoned and became the route of the Genesee Valley Canal Railroad . The original design planned for an annual tonnage of 1.5 million tons (1.36 million metric tons), but this
7208-431: The American Revolution, the Treaty of Paris established the border between New York and British North America . The 45th Parallel became the border with Quebec or Lower Canada . The St. Lawrence River, Lake Ontario, the Niagara River and Lake Erie became the border with Upper Canada . Great Britain continued to occupy military installations along the American shores of the Great Lakes until 1794, including Fort Niagara at
7344-602: The American colonies. Slavery did not end with the American Revolution , although John Jay introduced an emancipation bill into the State Assembly as early as 1777. Sojourner Truth was held as a slave in the Hudson Valley from the time she was born in 1797 until she escaped in 1826. Through efforts of the New York Manumission Society and others, New York began to adopt a policy of gradual emancipation in 1799. The law passed in 1817 that would finally emancipate slaves did not take effect for ten years, giving slaveowners an entire decade to sell their slaves away to other states. When
7480-402: The Erie Canal into a system. These included the Cayuga-Seneca Canal south to the Finger Lakes , the Oswego Canal from Three Rivers north to Lake Ontario at Oswego , and the Champlain Canal from Troy north to Lake Champlain. From 1833 to 1877, the short Crooked Lake Canal connected Keuka Lake and Seneca Lake . The Chemung Canal connected the south end of Seneca Lake to Elmira in 1833, and
7616-404: The Erie Canal was a landmark civil engineering achievement in the early history of the United States . When built, the 363-mile (584 km) canal was the second-longest in the world after the Grand Canal in China . Initially 40 feet (12 m) wide and 4 feet (1.2 m) deep, the canal was expanded several times, most notably from 1905 to 1918 when the "Barge Canal" was built and over half
7752-470: The French, Dutch and English tended to ally with their trading partners among the indigenous peoples. The Haudenosaunee or Iroquois confederacy of the Five (later Six) Nations was a powerful force in its home territory. The Five Nations' territory extended from the Mohawk River Valley through the western part of the state and into current Pennsylvania. From this home base they also controlled at various times large swaths of additional territory throughout what
7888-436: The Genesee River near Rochester. The former ultimately required building the 1,320-foot (400 m) long "Great Embankment", to carry the canal at a height of 76 feet (23 m) above the level of the creek, which ran through a 245-foot (75 m) culvert underneath. The canal crossed the river on a stone aqueduct, 802 feet (244 m) long and 17 feet (5.2 m) wide, supported by 11 arches. In 1823 construction reached
8024-450: The Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence River, including west of the Appalachian Mountains, was to be the " Indian Reserve ." Between 1774 and 1783, deeply divided colonists waged civil war on each other directly and by proxy, through attacks such as the Seneca-led Cherry Valley and the Mohawk-led Cobleskill massacre. In 1779, the Sullivan Expedition , a campaign by the Continental Army ordered by General George Washington , drove thousands of
8160-410: The Haudenosaunee from their villages, farms and lands in the region in an effort to both avenge and prevent such attacks. The region was strategically important to the war plans of both the British and the Continental forces. British efforts to divide the New England colonies from the rest led to battles including the Battle of Valcour Island and the Battle of Saratoga , a significant turning point in
8296-410: The Haudenosaunee, as Samuel de Champlain had alienated the Haudenosaunee during military forays from New France . In the 1640s, three French Jesuit missionaries to New France—St. René Goupil , St. Isaac Jogues , and St. Jean de Lalande —were killed near the Mohawk village of Ossernenon, which was located at the confluence of the Schoharie and Mohawk rivers, where the modern hamlet of Auriesville
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#17330942364718432-407: The Mohawk River east of Crescent . The Waterford Flight is claimed to be one of the steepest series of locks in the world. While the old Canal ran next to the Mohawk all the way to Rome, the new canal ran through the river, which was straightened or widened where necessary. At Ilion , the new canal left the river for good, but continued to run on a new alignment parallel to both the river and
8568-448: The Mohawk Valley, living among the Mohawk, learning their language, and forging an alliance with them. He was appointed as the British Indian agent to the Iroquois. The British also encouraged settlement in the Mohawk Valley by other Europeans, including German Palatines beginning in the 1720s. In what became known as the Albany Congress in 1754, delegates from seven of the thirteen British North American colonies met at Albany to pursue
8704-421: The New York State Canal System as a whole was used to ship 42,000 tons of cargo. Travel on the canal's middle section (particularly in the Mohawk Valley) was severely hampered by flooding in late June and early July 2006. Flood damage to the canal and its facilities was estimated as at least $ 15 million. The Erie made use of the favorable conditions of New York's unique topography, which provided that area with
8840-425: The New York metropolitan market. A Greek-style yogurt, Chobani , is being produced upstate by a recent immigrant, who has expanded his operation nationally. Additionally, upstate New York continues to boast low crime rates, high educational prospects, and readily affordable daily essentials, earning Syracuse, Rochester, Albany, Schenectady , and Buffalo spots in the Forbes magazine list of top ten places to raise
8976-409: The Six Nations. Henry Hudson made the first recorded European exploration of the region in 1609, and the Dutch erected Fort Orange (present-day Albany) in 1624, which was the first permanent European settlement in New York. The region saw many battles during the American Revolutionary War , with the Iroquois split between supporters of the loyalists and supporters of the revolutionaries. After
9112-438: The United States, and the economic ascendancy of New York state . It has been called "The Nation's First Superhighway ." A canal from the Hudson River to the Great Lakes was first proposed in the 1780s, but a formal survey was not conducted until 1808. The New York State Legislature authorized construction in 1817. Political opponents of the canal (referencing its lead supporter New York Governor DeWitt Clinton ) denigrated
9248-420: The United States. James Geddes and Benjamin Wright , who laid out the route, were judges whose experience in surveying was in settling boundary disputes . Geddes had only used a surveying instrument for a few hours before his work on the Canal. Canvass White was a 27-year-old amateur engineer who persuaded Clinton to let him go to Britain at his own expense to study the canal system there. Nathan Roberts
9384-415: The Waters". On its return trip, Seneca Chief brought back a keg of Atlantic Ocean water, which was poured into Lake Erie by Buffalo's Judge Samuel Wilkeson , who would later become mayor. The Erie Canal was thus completed in eight years at a total length of 353 miles (568 km) and cost $ 7.143 million (equivalent to $ 192 million in 2023). It was acclaimed as an engineering marvel that united
9520-407: The West would enjoy economic success, and the port at the seaward end of such a route would see business increase greatly. In time, projects were devised in Virginia , Maryland , Pennsylvania , and relatively deep into the coastal states. The Mohawk River (a tributary of the Hudson River ) rises near Lake Ontario and runs in a glacial meltwater channel just north of the Catskill range of
9656-426: The abandonment of short segments of the original 1825 canal. The First Enlargement was completed in 1862, with further minor enlargements in later decades. The Mohawk and Hudson Railroad opened in 1837, providing a bypass to the slowest part of the canal between Albany and Schenectady. Other railroads were soon chartered and built to continue the line west to Buffalo, and in 1842 a continuous line (which later became
9792-851: The aftermath of the Lower Canada Rebellion , some Québécois rebels escaped south to the North Country, while on the Niagara Frontier , events of the Upper Canada Rebellion , also known as the Patriot War , took place. In the late 1860s, some of the Fenian raids were launched across the Niagara Frontier; Fenians also assembled in Malone . Although now largely discredited, the report of
9928-607: The area and have helped revive agriculture as part of the economy. Beginning in 1974, many Mennonite families moved to the Penn Yan area of Yates County from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania , seeking cheaper farmland. Amish communities have also been established in St. Lawrence, Montgomery , Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties, and are making farming profitable. Artisans are reviving traditional specialty cheeses and developing growing markets for their products, including shipping some items to
10064-430: The book. Some names in the book are taken from knots, for example " Killick hitch " and coil. Coil also refers to "quoyle," the protagonist's name, a coil of rope only one layer thick, flat, "so that it may be walked on ..." This metaphor sums up Quoyle's relationship with the world around him in the novel's first half. Proulx also adopts a unique writing style using fragments and detailed descriptions. On November 5, 2019,
10200-405: The canal suffered violent assault as the result of misjudgment and xenophobia . Construction continued at an increased rate as new workers arrived. When the canal reached Montezuma Marsh (at the outlet of Cayuga Lake west of Syracuse ), it was rumored that over 1,000 workers died of "swamp fever" (malaria), and construction was temporarily stopped. However, recent research has revealed that
10336-420: The canal would not be finished for 30 years. The main delays were caused by felling trees to clear a path through virgin forest and moving excavated soil, which took longer than expected, but the builders devised ways to solve these problems. To fell a tree, they threw rope over the top branches and winched it down. They pulled out the stumps with an innovative stump puller . Two huge wheels were mounted loose on
10472-478: The century the New York Central Railroad followed the "water-level route" from New York City to the Great Lakes, contributing to the industrialization of cities along its route. Several times in the nineteenth century, upstate New York served as a staging area and refuge for Canadian rebels against Great Britain, as well as Irish-American invaders of Canada, straining British–American relations. In 1837 and 1838, in
10608-686: The channel of Tonawanda Creek . From the Tonawanda south toward Buffalo, it ran just east of the Niagara River, where it reached its "Western Terminus" at Little Buffalo Creek (later it became the Commercial Slip ), which discharged into the Buffalo River just above its confluence with Lake Erie . With Buffalo's re-excavation of the Commercial Slip, completed in 2008, the Canal's original terminus
10744-577: The cities along the Great Lakes through upstate New York and to the port of New York City. As a result, upstate New York became a hotbed for manufacturing during the Second Industrial Revolution , giving birth to such firms as General Electric , IBM , Kodak , and Xerox . The rapid industrialization led to a large influx of immigrants seeking jobs at factories across the region. Since the mid-20th century, American deindustrialization has contributed to economic and population decline , and
10880-594: The city of Salamanca , and the coexistence of the predominantly white city and the reservation has been a source of contention since the 1990s. Both before and after the Revolution, boundary disputes with other colonies and their successor states also complicated American settlement. In conflict with the New York Colony 's claims west of the Hudson Valley, which placed the entire region in the sprawling Albany County ,
11016-470: The coast. Frequently it was not worth the cost of transporting it to far-away population centers. This was a factor leading to farmers in the west turning their grains into whiskey for easier transport and higher sales, and later the Whiskey Rebellion . In the 18th and early 19th centuries, it became clear to coastal residents that the city or state that succeeded in developing a cheap, reliable route to
11152-545: The colonies rejected it. To counter the French militarily, the British established forts along Lake Ontario and at portages between the Mohawk Valley and the adjacent Lake Champlain and Lake Ontario watersheds. The region became the area for many conflicts of the French and Indian War , such as the Battle of Fort Oswego (1756) and the Siege of Fort William Henry (which was later depicted in
11288-439: The comparative isolation of the region, many of the sects were Nonconformist , and because of their non-traditional tenets they had numerous difficulties with government and other local people. The region is considered to be the cradle of Mormonism . The Mormons , Seventh-day Adventists and Spiritualists are the only 21st century survivors of the hundreds of sects created during this time; some more mainstream churches, such as
11424-521: The conflux of New York, Québec and Ontario lies the Mohawk Nation of Iroquois. To the east, across the remainder of the North Country region, New York shares a land border with the province of Québec . Upstate counties and towns are generally larger in area and smaller in population, compared with those downstate, although there are exceptions. The state's smallest county in population ( Hamilton County ) and largest county in area ( St. Lawrence County on
11560-511: The construction of a canal along the 90-mile-long (140 km) Mohawk River valley with support from Joseph Ellicott (agent for the Holland Land Company in Batavia ). Ellicott realized that a canal would add value to the land he was selling in the western part of the state. He later became the first canal commissioner. New York legislators became interested in the possibility of building
11696-411: The country and helped New York City develop as an international trade center. Problems developed but were quickly solved. Leaks developed along the entire length of the canal, but these were sealed using cement that hardened underwater ( hydraulic cement ). Erosion on the clay bottom proved to be a problem and the speed was limited to 4 mph (6.4 km/h). Additional feeder canals soon extended
11832-507: The creation of the "Western and Northern Inland Lock Navigation Companies" in 1792, which took the first steps to improve navigation on the Mohawk and construct a canal between the Mohawk and Lake Ontario, but it was soon discovered that private financing was insufficient. Christopher Colles , who was familiar with the Bridgewater Canal, surveyed the Mohawk Valley, and made a presentation to the New York state legislature in 1784, proposing
11968-452: The death toll was likely much lower, as no contemporary reports mention significant worker mortality, and mass graves from the period have never been found in the area. Work continued on the downhill side towards the Hudson, and the crews worked on the section across the swampland when it froze in winter. The middle section from Utica to Salina (Syracuse) was completed in 1820, and traffic on that section started up immediately. Expansion to
12104-454: The early 20th century. The sections of the original route remaining in use were widened significantly, mostly west of Syracuse, with bridges rebuilt and locks replaced. It was called the Barge Canal at the time, but that name fell into disuse with the disappearance of commercial traffic and the increase of recreational travel in the later 20th century. Before railroads , water transport was
12240-425: The east and west proceeded simultaneously, and the whole eastern section, 250 miles (400 km) from Brockport to Albany, opened on September 10, 1823, to great fanfare. The Champlain Canal , a separate but connected 64-mile (103 km) north–south route from Watervliet on the Hudson to Lake Champlain , opened on the same date. After Montezuma Marsh, the next difficulties were crossing Irondequoit Creek and
12376-421: The ends of an axle. A third wheel, slightly smaller than the others, was fixed to the center of the axle. A chain was wrapped around the axle and hooked to the stump. A rope was wrapped around the center wheel and hooked to a team of oxen. The mechanical advantage (torque) obtained ripped the stumps out of the soil. Soil to be moved was shoveled into large wheelbarrows that were dumped into mule-pulled carts. Using
12512-508: The first documented instance of the idea of a canal to tie the East Coast to the new western settlements via New York's waterways was discussed as early as 1724: New York provincial official Cadwallader Colden made a passing reference (in a report on fur trading) to improving the natural waterways of western New York. Colden and subsequent figures in the history of the Erie Canal and its development would draw inspiration from other great works of
12648-473: The force of water. Engineering techniques developed during its construction included the building of aqueducts to redirect water; one aqueduct was 950 feet (290 m) long to span 800 feet (240 m) of river. As the canal progressed, the crews and engineers working on the project developed expertise and became a skilled labor force. The men who planned and oversaw construction were novices as surveyors and as engineers . There were no civil engineers in
12784-420: The heftiest cuttings and viaducts , fifty locks would be required along the 360-mile (580 km) canal. Such a canal would be expensive to build even with modern technology; in 1800, the expense was barely imaginable. President Thomas Jefferson called it "little short of madness" and rejected it. Eventually, Hawley interested New York Governor DeWitt Clinton in the project. There was much opposition, and
12920-437: The horses, go slack, fall into the water and sink to the bottom, while his boat coasted with its remaining momentum. The privileged boat's team would step over the other boat's towline, with its horses pulling the boat over the sunken towline without stopping. Once clear, the other boat's team would continue on its way. Pulled by teams of horses, canal boats moved slowly, but methodically, shrinking time and distance. Efficiently,
13056-639: The lake. From Canastota west, it ran roughly along the north (lower) edge of the Onondaga Escarpment , passing through Syracuse, Onondaga Lake , and Rochester. Before reaching Rochester, the canal uses a series of natural ridges to cross the deep valley of Irondequoit Creek . At Lockport the canal turned southwest to rise to the top of the Niagara Escarpment , using the ravine of Eighteen Mile Creek . The canal continued south-southwest to Pendleton , where it turned west and southwest, mainly using
13192-458: The law finally took effect, the last 2,800 slaves in New York State were emancipated on July 4, 1827. Although routes for travel on foot and by canoe had existed across the region for hundreds of years, transportation of agricultural goods to market was expensive and slow. Influenced by the canals being built in Britain, leading citizens of New York began to press for the construction of a canal across
13328-468: The mid-1950s gave the region superior access to other eastern markets. This regional advantage faded as many local firms relocated certain operations to other states, or downsized in the face of foreign competition, similar to events in other areas in the American Rust Belt . There have, however, been recent efforts at economic revitalization. In April 2021, GlobalFoundries , a company specializing in
13464-409: The most cost-effective way to ship bulk goods . A mule can only carry about 250 pounds (110 kg) but can draw a barge weighing as much as 60,000 pounds (27,000 kg) along a towpath . In total, a canal could cut transport costs by about 95 percent. In the early years of the United States, transportation of goods between the coastal ports and the interior was slow and difficult. Close to
13600-492: The mouth of the Niagara River and Fort Ontario at the mouth of the Oswego River . The government of the new State of New York seized the property of New Yorkers who had remained loyal to the British crown. Thousands emigrated to colonies that remained under British rule, such as Nova Scotia and the newly established Upper Canada (now Ontario ). Haudenosaunee who had fought with the British also fled. The British Crown granted
13736-822: The newly created New York State Canal Corporation , a subsidiary of the New York State Thruway Authority . While part of the Thruway, the canal system was operated using money generated by Thruway tolls. In 2017, the New York State Canal Corporation was transferred from the New York State Thruway to the New York Power Authority . In 2000, Congress designated the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor , covering 524 miles (843 km) of navigable water from Lake Champlain to
13872-441: The north side. When canal boats met, the boat with the right of way remained on the towpath side of the canal. The other boat steered toward the berm (or heelpath) side of the canal. The driver (or "hoggee", pronounced HO-gee) of the privileged boat kept his towpath team by the canalside edge of the towpath, while the hoggee of the other boat moved to the outside of the towpath and stopped his team. His towline would be unhitched from
14008-633: The old canal to Rome. From Rome, the new route continued almost due west, merging with Fish Creek just east of its entry into Oneida Lake. From Oneida Lake, the new canal ran west along the Oneida River , with cutoffs to shorten the route. At Three Rivers , the Oneida River turns northwest, and was deepened for the Oswego Canal to Lake Ontario. The new Erie Canal turned south there along the Seneca River, which turns west near Syracuse and continues west to
14144-471: The only break in the Appalachians south of the St. Lawrence River . The Hudson is tidal to Troy , and Albany is west of the Appalachians. It allowed for east–west navigation from the coast to the Great Lakes within US territory. The canal began on the west side of the Hudson River at Albany, and ran north to Watervliet , where the Champlain Canal branched off. At Cohoes , it climbed the escarpment on
14280-495: The original Erie Canal channel was enlarged to 120 feet (37 m) wide and 12 feet (3.7 m) deep. The expansion allowed barges up to 2,000 short tons (1,800 t) to use the Canal. This expensive project was politically unpopular in parts of the state not served by the canal, and failed to save it from becoming obsolete for commercial shipping. Freight traffic reached a total of 5.2 million short tons (4.7 million metric tons) by 1951. The growth of railroads and highways across
14416-600: The original route was abandoned. The modern Barge Canal measures 351 miles (565 km) long, 120 feet (37 m) wide, and 12 feet (3.7 m) deep. It has 34 locks , including the Waterford Flight , the steepest locks in the United States. When leaving the canal, boats must also traverse the Black Rock Lock to reach Lake Erie or the Troy Federal Lock to reach the tidal Hudson. The overall elevation difference
14552-447: The project as "Clinton's Folly" and "Clinton's Big Ditch". Nonetheless, the canal saw quick success upon opening on October 26, 1825, with toll revenue covering the state's construction debt within the first year of operation. The westward connection gave New York City a strong advantage over all other U.S. ports and brought major growth to canal cities such as Albany , Utica , Syracuse , Rochester , and Buffalo . The construction of
14688-406: The project was ridiculed as "Clinton's folly" and "Clinton's ditch". In 1817, though, Clinton received approval from the legislature for $ 7 million for construction. The original canal was 363 miles (584 km) long, from Albany on the Hudson to Buffalo on Lake Erie. The channel was cut 40 feet (12 m) wide and 4 feet (1.2 m) deep, with removed soil piled on the downhill side to form
14824-465: The region is largely considered part of the Rust Belt . There are a wide variety of land uses in the region, including urban, suburban, forested preserve, and rural landscapes. Due to its vast areas of rural land, upstate also supports a strong agricultural industry, and is notable for its dairy , maple syrup , and fruit production (especially apples ), as well as winemaking . Upstate New York includes
14960-598: The region. Several regions upstate are characterized by major mountain ranges, large lakes, and extensive forests. The Allegheny Plateau extends into west and central New York from the south. The Catskill Mountains lie within Lower New York in the southeastern part of the state, closer to New York City. The Catskills and the Allegheny Plateau are part of the Appalachian chain . By contrast, Northern New York contains
15096-624: The rights to the land. The treaty granted sovereignty to the State of New York, but granted to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts the "pre-emptive" right to seek title to the land from the Haudenosaunee. The eastern boundary of the Massachusetts lands was thus known as the Preemption Line . This line runs from the Pennsylvania line due north to Lake Ontario, passing through Seneca Lake . The line
15232-417: The rising cost of diesel fuel. Canal barges can carry a short ton of cargo 514 miles (827 km) on one gallon of diesel fuel, while a gallon allows a train to haul the same amount of cargo 202 miles (325 km) and a truck 59 miles (95 km). Canal barges can carry loads up to 3,000 short tons (2,700 long tons), and are used to transport objects that would be too large for road or rail shipment. In 2012,
15368-542: The same lands. When Vermont declared independence in 1777, the new Republic of Vermont recognized the New Hampshire grants over those of New York. New Yorkers who lost land in Vermont came to be known as the "Vermont Sufferers" and were granted new lands in 1788 in the town of Bainbridge, New York . The dispute with Massachusetts over lands to the west of Massachusetts was settled in the 1786 Treaty of Hartford by dividing
15504-422: The seacoast, rivers provided easy inland transport up to the fall line , since floating vessels encounter much less friction than land vehicles. However, the Appalachian Mountains were a great obstacle to further transportation or settlement, stretching 1,500 miles (2,400 km) from Maine to Alabama , with just five places where mule trains or wagon roads could be routed. Passengers and freight bound for
15640-565: The second such convention, was held two weeks later in Rochester . Through the nineteenth century, upstate New York was a hotbed of religious revivalism. A number of sects, such as the Shakers and the Oneida Community , established themselves in upstate New York during that time. This led evangelist Charles Grandison Finney to coin the term the " Burned-Over District " for the region. Because of
15776-583: The so-called " canal age ," including France's Canal du Midi and the Bridgewater Canal in England . The attempt in the 1780s by George Washington to build a canal from the tidewaters of the Potomac into the fledgling nation's interior was also well known to the planners of the Erie Canal. Gouverneur Morris and Elkanah Watson were early proponents of a canal along the Mohawk River . Their efforts led to
15912-437: The state's northern border) are both in upstate New York, within the North Country and Thousand Islands regions of northern New York. The counties with the largest in population ( Kings County ) and smallest in area ( New York County ) are both parts of New York City. Upstate New York is well known for its cold and snowy winters, particularly in comparison to the more temperate climate of downstate New York. The snowy reputation
16048-497: The state, and the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1959, caused commercial traffic on the canal to decline dramatically during the second half of the 20th century. Since the 1990s, the canal system has been used primarily by recreational traffic. In 1992, the New York State Barge Canal was renamed the New York State Canal System (including the Erie, Cayuga-Seneca , Oswego, and Champlain canals) and placed under
16184-507: The state. Governor DeWitt Clinton prevailed upon the legislature to charter and fund construction of a canal from Albany to Buffalo. Construction of the Erie Canal began in 1817 and was completed in 1825. The canal allowed the area to become an important component of the 19th century industrial expansion in the United States. The canal also promoted trade with British North America and settlement of newer states in western territories. Later in
16320-407: The war ended, the 1784 Treaty of Fort Stanwix kicked off a series of treaties and purchases that saw the Iroquois cede the vast majority of their land in upstate New York to the newly formed United States. The 1825 opening of the Erie Canal across upstate New York transformed the economy of the region and the state. The canal greatly eased the movement of goods from across the upper Midwest and
16456-688: The war. While New York City remained in the hands of the British during most of the war, the upstate region was eventually dominated by the Colonial forces. At the end of the war, the Continental Army was headquartered in Newburgh . Uncertain that the Continental Congress would pay back wages, some Continental officers threatened an uprising in what became known as the Newburgh Conspiracy . After
16592-508: The way are used to maintain the canal's level. It runs southwest to Tonawanda , where the new alignment discharges into the Niagara River, which is navigable upstream to the New York Barge Canal 's Black Rock Lock and thence to the Canal's original "Western Terminus" at Buffalo's Inner Harbor . Canal boats up to 3.5 feet (1.1 m) in draft were pulled by horses and mules walking on the towpath. The canal had one towpath, generally on
16728-546: The west side of the Hudson River—16 locks rising 140 feet (43 m)—and then turned west along the south shore of the Mohawk River, crossing to the north side at Crescent and again to the south at Rexford . The canal continued west near the south shore of the Mohawk River all the way to Rome, where the Mohawk turns north. At Rome , the canal continued west parallel to Wood Creek , which flows westward into Oneida Lake , and turned southwest and west cross-country to avoid
16864-485: The western parts of the country had to travel overland, a journey made more difficult by the rough condition of the roads. In 1800, it typically took 2½ weeks to travel overland from New York to Cleveland, Ohio , (460 miles; 740 km) and 4 weeks to Detroit (612 miles; 985 km). The principal exportable product of the Ohio Valley was grain, which was a high-volume, low-priced commodity, bolstered by supplies from
17000-688: The work of James Fenimore Cooper ), during the Seven Years' War . The British conquered New France by 1760 with the fall of Quebec . France formally ceded New France to the British in the Treaty of Paris of 1763 . The same year, King George III issued the Royal Proclamation of 1763 , which established the western and northern boundary of the Province of New York at the limits of the Hudson, Mohawk and Delaware River watersheds. The area between that boundary and
17136-612: Was a mathematics teacher and land speculator . Yet these men "carried the Erie Canal up the Niagara escarpment at Lockport , maneuvered it onto a towering embankment to cross over Irondequoit Creek , spanned the Genesee River on an awesome aqueduct , and carved a route for it out of the solid rock between Little Falls and Schenectady —and all of those venturesome designs worked precisely as planned". Construction began on July 4, 1817, at Rome, New York . The first 15 miles (24 km), from Rome to Utica , opened in 1819. At that rate,
17272-474: Was added. During the era immediately following World War II, upstate reached what was probably its peak influence in the national economy. Major local corporations such as IBM , General Electric , Kodak , Xerox and Carrier had national success, producing cutting-edge products for business, government and consumers, and leadership in corporate culture. The opening of the New York State Thruway in
17408-583: Was an important route for Pennsylvania coal and timber into the canal system. The Chenango Canal in 1836 connected the Erie Canal at Utica to Binghamton and caused a business boom in the Chenango River valley. The Chenango and Chemung canals linked the Erie with the Susquehanna River system. The Black River Canal connected the Black River to the Erie Canal at Rome and remained in operation until
17544-572: Was completed in 1884, as a route running closely parallel to both the canal and the New York Central Railroad. However, it went bankrupt and was acquired the next year by the New York Central. The canal continued to compete well with the railroads through 1902, when tolls were abolished. In a November 3, 1903 referendum, a majority of New Yorkers authorized an expansion of the canal at a cost of $ 101,000,000. In 1905, construction of
17680-470: Was established in 1624. The fort at Schenectady was built in 1661. The upper Hudson Valley was the center of much of the colony's fur trade , which was highly lucrative, serving a demand for furs in Europe. North and west of New Netherland, the French established trading posts along the St. Lawrence River and as far south as the shores of Onondaga Lake . They found both trading and proselytizing difficult among
17816-669: Was established to grant land to Revolutionary War veterans. Some of Northern New York was founded by the hundreds of Canadian exiles who had fought in the First and Second Canadian Regiments of the Continental Army , who were banished from Canada due to their rebellion against the Crown. Battles of the War of 1812 (1812–1815) were fought on the Niagara Frontier ; in the Champlain Valley , including
17952-524: Was exceeded immediately. An ambitious program to improve the canal began in 1834. During this massive series of construction projects, known as the First Enlargement, the canal was widened from 40 to 70 feet (12 to 21 m) and deepened from 4 to 7 feet (1.2 to 2.1 m). Locks were widened and/or rebuilt in new locations, and many new navigable aqueducts were constructed. The canal was straightened and slightly re-routed in some stretches, resulting in
18088-409: Was later developed. They are considered to be the first three U.S. saints . England seized New Netherland by force in 1664, renaming it New York. The Dutch recaptured the colony nine years later, but ceded it to England under the Treaty of Westminster of 1674 . In the eighteenth century, the British consolidated their hold on the region. William Johnson , a Scottish trader, established an estate in
18224-406: Was marked by a statewide "Grand Celebration", culminating in a series of cannon shots along the length of the canal and the Hudson, a 90-minute cannonade from Buffalo to New York City. A flotilla of boats, led by Governor Dewitt Clinton aboard Seneca Chief , sailed from Buffalo to New York City over ten days. Clinton then ceremonially poured Lake Erie water into New York Harbor to mark the "Wedding of
18360-560: Was once the bottom of a glacial lake. The only "hills" in Niagara County are the Niagara Escarpment , which formed the Falls . Upstate New York has a long shared border with the Canadian province of Ontario stretching from Western New York across Northern New York. It is primarily divided by water boundaries along Lake Erie , the Niagara River , Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River . At
18496-603: Was surveyed a second time due to initial errors. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts sold this land in large tracts, including the Phelps and Gorham Purchase and the Holland Purchase . Many of the settlers of what then became Central and Western New York came from the New England states. The Central New York Military Tract , where many of the townships were given the names of classical military and literary figures by Robert Harpur ,
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