Program

Historic Transportation Canals

Subject

Industry & Commerce, Site, Transportation

Location

283 W Main St, Little Falls, NY 13365, USA

Lat/Long

43.03815, -74.86597

Grant Recipient

Little Falls Historical Society

The Little Falls Canal, constructed in 1795 by the Western Inland Lock Navigation Company (WILNC), allowed boats traveling along the Mohawk River to avoid a series of falls and rapids that stretched nearly a mile with a total drop of forty-four feet.

Prior to the construction of the Little Falls Canal, those travelling along the Mohawk River were forced to portage their boats and cargo around the rapids, which, as stated in the First Report of the Directors of the WILNC, was “an operation attended with unavoidable delay, and great expence [sic], as well as with injury to the boats and their cargoes.” The canal was proposed to remedy the difficulty of portage and provide an easier route for boats carrying goods inland. Western Inland Lock Navigation Company was incorporated in 1792 to complete the proposed canal. Construction commenced in 1793 and took nearly 300 workers, and, after some initial difficulties, was completed in 1795. In total, the canal was 4752 feet in length, completed an aggregate fall of 44 feet, and was composed of five locks that allowed three and a half feet of water to enter at all times.

Later stone construction was added to the canal CA. 1803; remnants of this construction can still be seen at the site of the marker. The WILNC went on to construct subsequent canals in in German Flatts, Rome, and Wood Creek. During his 1810 journey across upstate New York, De Witt Clinton visited the Little Falls Canal, which he wrote about in his private journal. Following the completion of the Erie Canal, it is reported that the Little Falls Canal was used to store boats passing through. This marker sits within view of the stone guard lock, which controlled water flow into the Little Falls Canal.