Tuesday, March 2, 2010

August 14, 2010

Come Join the Tour!

Sponsored by the Old Brutus Historical Society, Weedsport; Lock 52 Historical Society, Port Byron; and the Montezuma Historical Society.

The Cayuga County section of the Erie Canal was unique as it was where the canal stepped down to the west. The western end of the Erie Canal at Buffalo was 550 feet higher then the eastern end at Albany. Along it’s 350 mile route, the canal stepped down through the locks, except in two areas, where it had to climb up over the rise in the landscape. The first area was east of Syracuse as the canal climbed from Syracuse up to the Rome level and the second was from Montezuma to Jordan. In these areas, water that was fed into the canal system ran to the west.

Join us on a day long celebration of the Erie Canal as we follow this westward flowing water through the three canal villages of Weedsport, Port Byron, and Montezuma. As we go, we will learn about the first canal, the original Erie Canal, and its replacement, the Enlarged Erie. We will also learn about the canal side businesses, a murder, the largest grain mill in the state (in 1830!) and even a little about the Montezuma Swamps.

This tour is structured so you can do it on your own, or join one of two guided tours. One tour will begin at Lock 51, on the eastern side of the County, and the other tour will start in Montezuma. Both tours will stop at all the same places and will consist of the following:
Enlarged Lock 51
The Old Brutus Historical Society
Centerport Aqueduct
A walking tour in Port Byron
A walking tour in Montezuma

Both of the walking tours cover about 1.6 miles. The land is fairly flat as we are following the route of the canals.

The guided tours are structured so that you can pick and chose what stops you wish to see. To put it another way, we will tell you when the tour will start and if you want to take the tour, you show up! We only ask that you stay with your group’s schedule.

Cost? Well, there is none.

We are asking that you pre-register if you wish to attend the guided tour. This is so we can place people in equal size groups to make it easier on the volunteer guides.

If you want to do this on your own, that is great! We will try to have volunteers at all the stops to aid you. Both walking tours have self-guided tour books which will be available for a fee. The Old Brutus Historical Society will have its museum open all day, and if you have never been to the museum, you may wish to spend some time there. They will also have all the hand outs and guides, in case you wish to come back another day.

Do you want more information?

Contact Mike Riley
at (315)776-3070 or by email at:
mriley20@twcny.rr.com
More details are available on Mike's blog at
http://www.canalsplash.blogspot.com/


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