ERIE CANAL VILLAGE

Erie Canal Village is an outdoor living history museum. It is a reconstructed 19th century settlement on the site where, on July 4, 1817, the first shovelful of earth was turned for the construction of the original Erie Canal. Relax as their mule-drawn packet boat plies a section of the enlarged canal giving visitors a taste of early 19th century water travel. Then board their narrow gauge steam train excursion and travel as you would have during the late 19th century.

~ Erie Canal Village | City of Rome, NY (romenewyork.com)

This reconstructed 18th-century settlement makes for an enjoyable half-day outing for the family. Built on the site where the first shovelful of earth was turned for the Erie Canal on July 4, 1817, there’s now an entire village full of Colonial buildings. You can also take a 40-minute boat ride on the Erie Canal. Walk around at your own pace: You’ll see a tavern, ice house, church, blacksmith shop, train station, school, print shop, and three homes. There’s also a nice collection of horse-drawn carriages, sleighs, and farm equipment.

The village was opened in 1973 as a collection of buildings and artifacts meant to educate and celebrate the birth of the Erie Canal, with the first shovel of dirt scooped from the ground in Rome. The canal opened in 1825.

The Site History

The site, lot 98 of the Old Fonda’s Patent, has seen many buildings and waterways during the past 300 years. At the entrance of the village is the canal bridge. Since 1844, there has been a bridge on the site. Most of the original lies in the below in the canal, but the far abutment is original. This bridge was called Brainard’s Bridge after a farmer who lived nearby. Jeremiah Brainard, a Roman, invented a wheelbarrow for the use in the construction of Clinton’s Ditch, according to local tradition.

At the entrance to the Village is a canal bridge. since 1844, there has been a bridge on this site. Most of the original lies below in the canal, but the far abutment is original. The bridge was called Brainard’s Bridge after a farmer who lived nearby. According to local tradition, Jeremiah Brainard invented a wheelbarrow for use in the construction of Clinton’s Ditch.

Brainard’s Bridge spanned the enlarged Erie, a 75 foot-wide water way that ran to Albany and the Hudson River to the east and to Buffalo and Lake Erie to the west. Two miles of this canal have been restored for use by the Erie Canal Village. Most of the old bed of this canal is gone, after the larger Barge Canal took its place in 1918. On this site, the bed was in good shape but was covered with brush. The waste weir near the west end of the restored canal was rebuild at this time. The canal obtains its water from Wood Creek, which flows into the Canal near Rome Cable. The Enlarged Erie, completed in this area about 1850 was larger and wider than Clinton’s Ditch was finished in 1825.

On this tract of land, three old waterways all run within a quarter mile of each other. Behind the Shull house is the oldest of the three, Wood Creek. Used by the Indians and traders before the Canal, Wood Creek was part of the only natural waterway to travel from the East Coast to the Great Lakes. In the late 1790’s and early 1800’s, navigation on Wood Creek was improved by a series of Locks and improvements undertaken by the Western Inland Lock Navigation Company, which enabled larger boats to travel the route more quickly.

Also on the site is the portion of the bed of Clinton’s Ditch just behind the Harden Museum and the Settlers House and a section of the Enlarged Erie on which our packet boat now rests.

It is the presence of all of three water routes used for hundreds of years for travelers and traders heading to and from the western parts of the country that makes the Village site important.

The Village History

The City of Rome operated the Village when it opened. Then in 1992 the Rome Historical Society took up the challenge of managing the site but failed at being able to manage and fund the Villages operations or necessary repairs.

Rome Historical Society succumbed to financial and management problems from the effort and relinquished it back to the City of Rome. Unlocked Legends, which operated the Herkimer Diamond Mines, started managing the site in 1997 when its president Renee Scialdo-Shevat entered into an agreement with the City. The group’s contract ended around 2002.

Railstar Corporation bought Erie Canal Village in 2002 and operated it until around 2010. After being closed for many years, the owners signed a 5-year lease with the option to purchase to a private party.

In 2019, the option to buy Erie Canal Village was assigned over to Crossroads Redemption Church and the church executed the purchase from donations. While Crossroads Redemption Church intended to focus on the contributions of ministers of faith on the canal as one of the exhibits, it’s larger intent is to restore as much of the Village as possible and allow the public to enjoy it again.

Unfortunately, 2020 and 2021 has left much of the world battling COVID-19 and the village was only open one day during the season before closing. Staff has continued to work maintaining the grounds and repairing buildings with hopes the 2022 season will finally allow people to enjoy all the Village has to offer.

The Village History Timeline

Post Ice Age

• Wood Creek formed

Paleo-Indian Iroquois habitation

• The Carrying Place: De O Wain Sta – The landings

1755

• Fort Bull

1756

• Destruction of Fort Bull

1756

• Fort Wood Creek

1758

• Fort Stanwix

1758

• Bradstreet’s Frontenac Expedition

1760

• The Carry’s First Business
  • Waon conveyance of boats and cargo

1777

• Leger’s Approach and Retreat on Wood Creek

1790

• Lot 98, Fonda’s Patent
• Struck off, includes Fort Bull and present Village site

1797

• Western Inland Lock Navigation Company

1802

• Locks on Wood Creek

1817-1825

• Clinton’s Ditch Wood Creek Aqueduct

1844

• Enlarged Erie Canal
  • Weed Creek Culvert
  • Waste Weir
  • Matteson Farm

1852

• Lot 98 in 1852
• Possibly a lunber business

1874

• Brainards Bridge
• Farm usage

1918

• The Demise of the Enlarged Erie Canal

> 1967

• Farm land usage

1964

• Sen. Robert F. Kennedy supports $50,000 effort to build Fort Bull Park
  • Erie Canal Village would later be built upon the origianl footprint of Fort Bull Park

1966

• Legilative Approval of teh HDRA (Historic Rome Development Authority)

1973

• Village Opens
• Boat Launched
• Canal Cleared
• RR tracks laid
• Establishment of a Bureau of Tourism & Visitor Services

1974

• Maynard Church is in place
• Harden Museum moved
• RR station and hotel donated
• Wooden Bridge built
• Train starts giving rides
• RR station moved

1975

• Gift shop build
• School house moved
• Ticket booth moved in
• Canal Museum built
• Harden Museum opened

1976

• Amphitheater, parking lot
• Blacksmiths shop
• Dressing Rooms
• School house opens

1977

• Crosby House opened
• Canal Museum opened

1978

• Bennett’s moved from McConnellsville

1979

• Dedication of Orientation Center
• Bennett’s opened
• Ladies shop opened
• Red House in

1980

• Red House opened
• CIty of Rome Mayor relieves teh HRDA from it’s position in charge of running ECV.  Common Council officially transferred responsibility to the City of Rome.
• CIty of Rome abolishes Bureau of Tourism which managed Erie Canal Village after HRDA was disolved by City.

1981

• Packet Boat featured in “I Love NY” commercial
• Shull House– dismantled and brought ot village

1982

• McCadam cheese with ECV label introduced

1983

• Cheese factory donated
• Transportation artifacts added to Village
• Fourth grade curriculum started

1984

• Mules replaced horsed for boat (Jack and Molly)
• Packet boat out of service
• Sen. Hoffman endorses Cheese Museum grant
• ECV named as site for NY St. Museum of Cheese
• Bully Hill Wine to bear ECV name

1985

• New Packet Boat “Chief Engineer of Rome” christened
• Re-enactment of the first shovelful of earth – July 1985
• Stone foundation on Cheese Factory
• Celebration of 160th anniversery of Erie / New ECV Department created
  • J. Izzo appointed Dir.
• Shull House opened (downstairs only)

1986

• New Bridge
• Transportation Bldg. opened
• Upstairs completed Shull House

1987

• New Snack bar facility
• ECV in new tourism commercial

1992

• Rome Historical Society manages Erie Canal Village
  • RHS finishes only year in Erie Canal Village history without a loss
  • Financial problems forced relinquishing the Village back to the City of Rome

1997

• Herkimer Diamond Mines begins managing Erie Canal Village
  • HDM President Renee Scialdo-Shavat enters 5 year agreement with the City of Rome.

2002

• Railstar Corporation buys Erie Canal Village from the CIty of Rome for $217,000
  • Operate tourist attraction until 2010

2015

• Private group focused on open air museums and fairs secures 5 year lease with option to buy from Railstar Corporation 

2019

• Option to buy is assigned to Cross Roads Redemption Church, Pastor Richard Rios, and executed. 
• Biard Barn removed from north side of property, north of the Enlarged Erie Canal

2020-2021  COVID 19 Restrictions

• Grounds restoration
• Building structural evaluations
• Cafe interior renovation

2022

• City of Rome orders decaying Packet Boat to be removed
  • Boat removed with notification to DEC
• City of Rome orders demolition of Caretaker house
  • House removed in accordance with requirements relative to hazzardous waste disposal
• City of Rome again assigns artifiact review to Rome Historical Society
• Rome Historical Society removes any and all artifacts not directly assigned to Erie Canal Village
  • All artifacts and other property at Erie Canal Village deemed to be property of Erie Canal Village
• Bennett’s Tavern foundation stabilization by contractors to save building
• Maynard Church foundation stabilization by contractors to save building