Innovation in History: The Erie Canal & Buffalo's Connection
NYS Gov. DeWitt Clinton; “The Marriage of the Waters”
Buffalo's Fortunes Are Dependent on the Erie Canal
The Rise
When completed in 1825, at a cost of about seven million dollars, the canal had already proven a success. It had collected nearly a million dollars in tolls on the sections as they were opened to traffic. Surely, an unfinished canal that already paid for one -seventh of its cost was a wise investment, indeed.
The impact of the canal was great. It reduced the costs of transportation from $100 a ton to $10 a ton, raised the value of lands along its length, and it helped settle the lands of western New York and Pennsylvania, Ohio and the midwest.
It sparked a great canal building fever, especially in the northeast, and produced a great many engineers who would work on other transportation projects in the United States. It added immeasurably to the engineering knowledge available, and helped to tie the mid-west to the northeast rather than to the south along the Mississippi route.
The Fall
There are seven direct lines connecting Buffalo with six different East Coast cities. The New York Central is so big that it has its own police force. The railroad companies create a new industry in the city. They own 3,600 acres of city land and lay 660 miles of track within the city limits. They directly employ twenty thousand men and indirectly give work to thousands more in the car wheel shops, palace car shops, locomotive and freight car shops, and in the largest bridge company in the world, all of which are located in the city.
As a result of the railroads, the Erie Canal is virtually obsolete. By the turn of the century almost every lake steamship company has been bought out by the railroads. Thus, by either controlling the freight rates on their railroads or by dictating lake freight policy, the railroads exert a controlling influence over the city's commercial economy.
Source Eric Brunger PhD. The Ditch That Made Buffalo the QueenCity of the Lakes
When completed in 1825, at a cost of about seven million dollars, the canal had already proven a success. It had collected nearly a million dollars in tolls on the sections as they were opened to traffic. Surely, an unfinished canal that already paid for one -seventh of its cost was a wise investment, indeed.
The impact of the canal was great. It reduced the costs of transportation from $100 a ton to $10 a ton, raised the value of lands along its length, and it helped settle the lands of western New York and Pennsylvania, Ohio and the midwest.
It sparked a great canal building fever, especially in the northeast, and produced a great many engineers who would work on other transportation projects in the United States. It added immeasurably to the engineering knowledge available, and helped to tie the mid-west to the northeast rather than to the south along the Mississippi route.
The Fall
There are seven direct lines connecting Buffalo with six different East Coast cities. The New York Central is so big that it has its own police force. The railroad companies create a new industry in the city. They own 3,600 acres of city land and lay 660 miles of track within the city limits. They directly employ twenty thousand men and indirectly give work to thousands more in the car wheel shops, palace car shops, locomotive and freight car shops, and in the largest bridge company in the world, all of which are located in the city.
As a result of the railroads, the Erie Canal is virtually obsolete. By the turn of the century almost every lake steamship company has been bought out by the railroads. Thus, by either controlling the freight rates on their railroads or by dictating lake freight policy, the railroads exert a controlling influence over the city's commercial economy.
Source Eric Brunger PhD. The Ditch That Made Buffalo the QueenCity of the Lakes
Buffalo's Population Trends Mirror the Erie Canal
This is the census chart of Buffalo, New York. Keep in mind that the canal was completed in 1825. Upon the completion of the Erie Canal in 1825, Buffalo became the western end of the 524-mile waterway starting at New York City. At the time, Buffalo had a population of about 2,400 people. With the increased commerce of the canal, the population boomed and Buffalo was incorporated as a city in 1832. As use of the Erie Canal declined so did the population of the City of Buffalo. The biggest loses in population occur after the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1957.
Year Population Percent Change
1830 8,668 N/A
1840 18,213 +110.1%
1850 42,261 +132%
1860 81,129 +92%
1870 117,714 +45.1%
1880 155,134 +31.8%
1890 255,664 +64.8%
1900 352,387 +37.8%
1910 423,715 +20.2%
1920 506,775 +19.6%
1930 573,076 +13.1%
1940 575,901 +0.5%
1950 590,132 +0.7%
1960 532,759 -8.2%
1970 462,768 -13.1%
1980 357,870 -22.7%
1990 328,648 -8.3%
2000 292,648 -10.8%
2010 (estimate) 270,919 -7.4%
Source: http://www.census.gov
Year Population Percent Change
1830 8,668 N/A
1840 18,213 +110.1%
1850 42,261 +132%
1860 81,129 +92%
1870 117,714 +45.1%
1880 155,134 +31.8%
1890 255,664 +64.8%
1900 352,387 +37.8%
1910 423,715 +20.2%
1920 506,775 +19.6%
1930 573,076 +13.1%
1940 575,901 +0.5%
1950 590,132 +0.7%
1960 532,759 -8.2%
1970 462,768 -13.1%
1980 357,870 -22.7%
1990 328,648 -8.3%
2000 292,648 -10.8%
2010 (estimate) 270,919 -7.4%
Source: http://www.census.gov