Letchworth’s Canal: Throwing Money in a Ditch

Letchworth State Park had a canal running alongside the Genesee River gorge.

*Picture on sign in on Letchworth Gorge Trail. View above sign.*

Its been abandoned for over 140 years.

It took 25 years and 6 million dollars to construct the Genesee Valley Canal. All for the canal to be abandoned 16 years after it was completed.

*“New R.R. Bridge, Portage, N.Y. 818 feet Long, 234 feet, High.” C.W. Tallman, 1875*.

Talk about throwing money in a ditch, eh?

(Ironically, I did find a 100-dollar bill next to an abandoned Erie Canal lock, but that’s irrelevant).

So, why did people bother constructing the Genesee Valley Canal?

In the 1800’s, New York was canal crazy. The massive success of the Erie Canal, completed in 1825, fueled the state’s economic prosperity. (It connected the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, after all. Erie connected New York City to Albany to Schenectady to Syracuse to Rochester to Buffalo: AKA today’s most populated cities in NYS).

So, New York decided to build a bunch of vertical canals to connect more places. The Genesee Valley Canal connected Rochester to Mount Morris, Portageville, and Belfast, to the Allegheny River in Olean, with another branch from Mount Morris to Dansville. The trouble was, there were railroads that served the purpose the Genesee Valley Canal was intended to serve. And when supply outweighs demand, supplies go to waste.

*Genesee Valley Canal Lock, Portage, NY.*

To further rub salt in the wound, here is a brief comparison of the Erie and Genesee Valley Canal.

Erie Canal.

Started in 1817, completed 1825. Length: 363 miles. Locks: 83.

Upon Erie’s seemingly overnight success, plans are made to enlarge the canal to allow more traffic. Enlargements are completed in 1862. Demand requires the canal to enlarged again. Second enlargements completed in 1918. Almost 200 years later, Erie is still in operation for navigation, irrigation, fishing, and hydroelectric purposes.

*Erie Barge Canal, Lock 17, Little Falls. One of the tallest locks in the world.*

Genesee Valley Canal.

Started in 1837, completed 1862. Length: 124 miles. Locks: 106.

The need for Genesee is not apparent. In 1878, the canal is abandoned. The Genesee Valley Railroad owns portions of the former canal. The Genesee Valley Greenway utilizes other potions of the former canal for recreational purposes.

You can walk along former Genesee Valley Canal locks in Letchworth State Park on Trail #7. Or visit Oakland Lock Parking Area in Portage, NY.