Champlain Canal Stories

Collection Owner:
Cover Image:
Glens Falls Feeder Canal
Canal boat - Jesse A. Pruyn of Glens Falls, NY - Image Source

Collection Facts

Extent:
232
Dates of Original:
c. 1890 - 1930

Historical Context

The Champlain Canal, celebrates its 200th anniversary in 2023. It runs from the Hudson River at Waterford, through Saratoga, and Washington Counties to Whitehall and Lake Champlain. The Glens Falls Feeder Canal was built in the 1820s and ran from Glens Falls to Fort Edward along a seven mile path. The purpose of the feeder canal was to feed water from Glen’s Falls, which is a high point on the Hudson River, to the highest point on the Champlain Canal. 

Scope of Collection

This collection contains photographs, postcards, art work, and images pertaining to the Champlain Canal (including the Glens Falls Feeder Canal) that runs from the Hudson River at Waterford, through Saratoga, Washington, and Warren Counties, to Whitehall and Lake ChamplainAlso covered are the boats and the canalers connected to the Champlain Canal and its feeder, and the importance of the Feeder Canal to the development of industry in Glens Falls, South Glens Falls, Hudson Falls, and Fort Edward, NY. 

We want to thank all the repositories and private collectors who loaned us their images of the Champlain Canal, and have agreed to publish them here on New York Heritage. Many of these images are also used in our anniversary project, Champlain Canal Stories, a mini-video documentary series featuring grass-roots stories of life on and along the canal, sponsored in part by the Champlain Valley National Heritage Partnership.