Skip to main content

Erie Canal: Montezuma Heritage Park and Richmond Viaduct

Image
By

 Even though the Erie Canal has been modernized and has followed some slightly different alignments over the past 200 years, there are many old remnants, locks and aqueducts of the Erie Canal that are yours to discover and explore across the Empire State. The canals in New York State are definitely an important part of this state's rich history, so it's nice that vestiges of the Erie Canal can still be seen. Some of the old remnants are sitting quietly in the wild or alongside roads while others are preserved as part of various parks and historical sites. There's even a rest area on the New York Thruway in Port Byron that doubles as the Port Byron Old Erie Canal Heritage Park. Not far from Port Byron, in Montezuma, is another one of these relics from a bygone era of the Erie Canal. This area is preserved for public use as the Montezuma Heritage Park.


There is quite a bit of history to explore at the Montezuma Heritage Park. The park has some walking trails, including one that follows the old towpath of the enlarged Erie Canal, as well as a trail that goes to the ruins of the old Montezuma Fibre Mill, which attempted to make paper out of cattails. This area of Montezuma around the Montezuma Heritage Park is a bit swampy, so you can see why the mill tried to take advantage of these resources.

If you follow the Byron Lapp Memorial Trail that follows the old towpath of the canal, you will reach the remnants of the 840 foot long Seneca River Aqueduct, also known as the Richmond Aqueduct, as it was designed and built under the careful direction of Van Richmond, who was an engineer and surveyor. The aqueduct was constructed starting in 1849 and was opened for use in 1857. Today, a portion of the old aqueduct is still in existence, because when the modern day successor to the Erie Canal was constructed in 1917 along the Seneca River, part of the aqueduct was removed so boats could freely move up and down the Seneca River with the remains of the aqueduct jutting out into the Seneca River. During my visit to the park, I just walked down to the aqueduct and back, as a few of the trails were quite muddy and a bit flooded from the early spring snow melt.

Historical sign noting the Richmond Aqueduct.
Old infrastructure at the trailhead.

Walking down the old towpath.




Photos from the Seneca River Aqueduct, or Richmond Aqueduct.






Sources and Links:
Montezuma Historical Society - Visit the Park
TourCayuga.com - Montezuma Heritage Park
The Erie Canal - The Seneca River Aqueduct
The Travels of Tug 44 - Old Richmond Aqueduct 
New York History Blog - Montezuma Heritage Park: Interpreting Four Canals
New York History Blog - The Cat Tail Company: Montezuma Fibre
Town of Montezuma, NY -  Parks & Recreation

How to Get There:




Update Log:
January 14, 2018 - Originally published article to Unlocking New York.
August 19, 2021 - Transferred article from Unlocking New York to Gribblenation.

Labels

Labels:
Location: Montezuma Heritage Park, 8098 High St, Montezuma, NY 13117, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Former US Route 50 and the Pioneer Route Lincoln Highway on Johnson's Pass Road

By
Johnson's Pass Road is one of the oldest highway corridors in California.  Johnson's Pass was part of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road as it was completed during 1856 over the Sierra Nevada.  The pass would later be incorporated into the Pioneer Branch of the Lincoln Highway in 1913 and US Route 50 in 1926.  Johnson's Pass Road would be bypassed by a new alignment of US Route 50 over Echo Summit in 1938.  A replacement of the Meyers Grade east of Johnson's Pass would be opened to traffic in 1947.   Johnson's Pass Road remains accessible to traffic and is still signed by the Lincoln Highway Association.  Pictured as the blog cover is the view from the top of Johnson's Pass Road overlooking modern US Route 50 and Lake Tahoe.   Part 1; the history of Johnson's Pass Much of the history of what become the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road is discussed in the  September 1950 California Highways & Public Works  during its Centennial Edition.  The or...
Post a Comment
Read more

Former US Route 50 and the South Lincoln Highway from Folsom east to Placerville

By
The corridor of Folsom of Sacramento County east to Placerville of El Dorado County has been a long established corridor of overland travel dating back to the California Gold Rush.  The Folsom-Placerville corridor was once part of the path of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road which became the first California State Highway and later the South Lincoln Highway.  In time the South Lincoln Highway's surface alignment was inherited by US Route 50.  The Folsom-Placerville corridor also includes the communities of; Clarksville, Shingle Springs and El Dorado. Part 1; the history of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road, South Lincoln Highway and US Route 50 through Folsom-Placerville Folsom is located on the American River/Lake Natoma of eastern Sacramento County.  That lands now occupied by the City of Folsom were part of Rancho Rio de los Americanos prior to the finding of gold at Sutter's Mill during 1848.  During the California Gold Rush the lands of Rancho Rio de los Americanos were p...
Post a Comment
Read more

Abandoned US Route 40 in the Truckee River Canyon

By
Within the Truckee River Canyon in the Sierra Nevada range numerous abandoned portions of US Route 40 can be found alongside modern Interstate 80.   This segment of highway was opened during 1926 as a bypass of the Dog Valley Grade which carried the early North Lincoln Highway and Victory Highway. The corridor of the Truckee River Canyon State Highway would be assigned as US Route 40 when the US Route System was commissioned during November 1926. During 1958 the segment of Interstate 80 between Boca, California and the Nevada state line was complete. When Interstate 80 opened east of Boca numerous obsolete portions of US Route 40 were abandoned. Some of these abandoned segments have been incorporated into the Tahoe-Pyramid Trail.  Part 1; the history of US Route 40 in the Truckee River Canyon The Truckee River Canyon for centuries has been an established corridor of travel known to native tribes crossing the Sierra Nevada range.  The first documented wagon crossi...
Post a Comment
Read more