SHIP NOTES, SEAPORT & MUSEUM NEWS Celebrating 175 Years of Navigation on the Erie Canal
(Continued from page 38) of rhe schooner Spirit of Massachusetts ar the end of Jun e. (O CF, PO Box 446, Cornwall NY 12518; 914 534-388 1; web sire: www.sailgamage.o rg) ... The N orth Carolina Maritime M useum on Roanoke Island has srarted consrrucrion of a shad boar with a $25,000 granr from rhe Percy W. and Elizaberh G. Meekins C harirable Trusr. The vessel wi ll be laun ched in spring 2001. (NCMM, 3 15 Fronr Sr. , Beauforr NC 285 16-2 125; 252 728-7317) ... On 16 September 2000 , rhe town of Pictou, Nova Scotia, w ill launch a reconstruction o f th e Hector, the ship rhat broughr rhe firsr Scortish settlers to Nova Scoria in 1773 . The ren-year projecr has helped to shape rhe communi ry's warerfrom developmenr as well as irs vision of irs herirage. (P icro u Recrearion, T ourism & C ulrnre, PO Box 479, Picrou NS, Ca nada BOK lHO ; 1-877-5- PI CTOU; we b sir e: www. picro u.nsis.co m) ... T he New York Yacht Club's firs t clubho use, now 155 years old, arrived in Newport, Rhode Island, in D ecember afrer a 39- mile barge trip from Mysric Seaporr. The Gorh icrevival building was originally locared on the Hudson River in Hoboken, New Jersey, and has been on loan to Mysric since 1949. (NYYC, 37 W. 44 rh Sr., New York NY 11036) ... Elizabeth II, a represenrarion of rhe vessels rhar rransporred Sir Walrer Ralegh'scolonisrs to the New World in 1584-87, returned in April to Roanoke Island Park in top condition after a winter-long res toration . T h e ship 's builder, 0. Lie-Nielsen, was contracted to perform rhe wo rk. Significanr deteriorarion in rhe srem of rhe vessel led to rhe removal of rhe beakhead, longhead, stem, forward planking and gammon knees. Recaulking, cleaning and an engine overhaul we re in cluded in the wo rk. (Friends of Elizaberh II, One Festival Park, Manteo NC 27954; 252 475- 1500) .. . Online credir and noncredir courses on light-
In commemo rarion of the opening of rhe Eri e Canal in 1825, rhe New York Srare Canal System and its necklace of canal communities are celebrarin g 175 years of navigation on rhe canal rhis yea r. T he warerway, whi ch bega n to rake shape when Governo r D eWin C linton persuaded the state legislature to aurhorize $7 mill ion fo r irs co nstrucrion, rook seven yea rs to bui ld, cur rhrough 363 miles of wilderness and swam ps, and featured 18 aqueducrs and 83 locks wirh a rise of568 feer from rhe Hudson Ri ver to Lake Erie. On 26 October 1825, Governor C linton boarded rhe packer boat Seneca Chiefand made his way from Buffalo to Albany ro announce the opening of the canal. Fro m rhere he proceeded on to New York Ciry on rhe broad warers of rhe Governor Clinton pours water from Hudson River and empri ed rwo casks of warer Lake Erie into New York harbor, symfrom Lake Eri e inro rhe Atlanric seaport of New bolically "wedding the waters" in 1825. York, celebraring rhe "Marriage of rhe Warers. " As a resulr of rhis mingling of wa rers, new towns and cities were carved into the landscape of upstate New York along the new canal, and New York Ciry, whose seaborne trade provided the immense cap ital resources needed to co nstruct rhe canal, rapidly expanded , building on irs already formidable lead as rh e largest seapo rr of rhe Americas. The explosion of rrade prophesied by Clinton began, spurred by grai n freighr rares from Buffalo to New Yorkof$10 per to n, compared wi rh $ 100 per ton by road. In 1829, rhere were 3,640 bushels of whear transported down rhe canal. By 1837 rhis figure had increased to 500,000 bushels; fo ur years larer ir reached on e milli on. In nine yea rs, canal rolls more rhan recouped rhe emire cosr of construcrion. Four waterways (the Erie, Cayuga-Seneca, Oswego and C hampl ai n Canals) evenrually cur paths through New York, gliding past fertile farmland, famous banlefields , scenic port towns and thriving wildlife preserves . The The canal town ofFairport, New York, currenr 524-mile NYS Canal System co nnecrs provides a haven far pleasure boats with hundreds of miles oflakes and rivers across amidst modern and historic tourist sites. the Empire Srate, linking the Grear Lakes wirh (Courtesy NYS Canal Corp) rhe Hudson River and rhe inland warerways of rhe Easr Coasr. This year visitors can enjoy rhe usual pleasures of travel along the canals-historic sires, new recreation areas, rural and urban venues, and fesrivals-supplemenred by a variety of celebrarions to bring arrenrion to rhis commemorarive year. (l-800 -4CANAL-4; we b sire: hnp: // www.canals.srare.ny. us)
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houses are being offered by mari rime historian and aurhor Frederick Stonehouse, adjunct faculryat Northern Michigan Universiry. (web sire: www.learninglighrhouses .com; e-mail: Srone@bresnanlink.ner; 906 226-601 4) .. . The National Maritime M useum in London has launched a webonly publication, available on a subscription basis . The journal far Maritime Research is described as rhe first electronic journal in the field of maririme research,
The New York Yacht Clubs first clubhouse departed Mystic on 18 December 1999. (Photo courtesy New York Yacht Club) 40
covering polirical, economic, cultural and social aspects of maritime history. Subscriprion rates are: Insrirurional: ÂŁ95/$ 165; Individual: ÂŁ20/$35; Srudenr: fl 0/$ 17.5 0. (NMM, Greenwich, London SElO 9NF, Great Brirain; 181 858 4422; www.jmr .nmm .ac. uk)
For additional information about these stories and others, subscribe to the 8-page, bi-monthly Sea His w ry Gaze rte: $18. 75 far members of NMHS, $28.75 far non-members (plus $10 shipping tto addresses outside the US). Caff us at 1 800 2221-NMHS (6647) or send a check to NMHS5, PO Box 68, PeekskiLL NY 10566 SEA IHISTORY 93, SUMMER 2000