USA > New York > Monroe County > Rochester > Settlement in the West : sketches of Rochester with incidental notices of western New-York > Part 18
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Hudson to that lake. He might have conceived that a ship from London would sail into Ontario by the canal which had then been so long thought of ; and from thence into Erie by the locks around the Niagara Falls, which were contem- plated by the act of 1798-and he might have conceived the possibility of tapping Lake Erie, by leading its waters in the same course."
It would seem apparent enough, from his emphatic lan- guage, that such were his ideas-that he contemplated the passage to Lake Erie by what is termed the Ontario route -as it cannot readily be imagined that he faniced " ships would sail from London to Lake Erie" through the " over- land route" between the Mohawk and that freshwater sea.
"But subsequently, and particularly at about the time the project of making a canal from Lake Erie to the Hudson first attracted the attention of the Legislature, Mr. Morris became one of its most active and able advocates." He re- fused to sign a report from the canal board (of which he was a member) in 1816, " because, it has been said, he was dis- satisfied that his idea of an inclined plane was in a great measure abandoned."-(Colden.) "His plan of an inclined plane, on the whole extent of about 600 feet rise and fall," says Elkanah Watson, after eulogizing Mr. Morris's exer- tions in favour of internal improvement, " was indeed truly visionary in a view of permanency, and absolutely impracti- cable for vessels carrying 100 tons burden."
But whatever pictures fancy may have formed of a com- munication like the present canal between the Hudson and Lake Erie, no calculations were placed publicly in a tangi- ble shape till the year 1807. The essays of Jesse Haw- ley, which appeared under the signature of Hercules in a Pittsburgh paper, and in the Genesee Messenger, at Can- andaigua, during the years 1807-8, presented this great question in an aspect calculated to command attention. Facts were furnished to show how wonderfully the pecu- liarities of the country favoured the scheme of an overland route from Lake Erie to the Mohawk, near Rome or Utica -whence the river navigation might be improved as the connecting link with the Hudson. The route mentioned by Mr. Hawley commenced at Buffalo, and pursued nearly the track which was subsequently adopted-the " northern route" (as it was termed) as far eastward as the Genesee, in preference to the southern one from Erie to that river through the Tonawanta Valley, which latter route was pre-
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ferred by Mr. Ellicott, and was not abandoned in favour of the northern route till 1820. 'The whole length of the pro- posed canal, from the lake to the Mohawk, was about 200 miles, and the estimated cost was five millions. This was for a trunk 100 feet wide and 10 feet deep. The propor- tions were much diminished in the construction of the canal, as the width adopted was forty feet, and the depth four feet. Although Mr. Hawley's plan of an inclined plane was chimerical (being that for the advocacy of which Gouverneur Morris has been ridiculed, and which Thos. Eddy declared to have for a while impeded the policy of internal improve- ment), the dimensions which he proposed were most conso- nant with the immensity of the object, as is manifest now from the necessity of enlarging the canal.
" It appears as if the Author of Nature, in forming Lake Erie, with its large head of water, into a reservoir, and the limestone ridge into an inclined plane," said Mr. Hawley, " had in prospect a large canal to connect the Atlantic and continental seas, to be completed at some period by the in- genuity and industry of man." With reference to the recom- mendations of President Jefferson (in a message in 1807) concerning roads and canals, Mr. Hawley continued-" Next to the utility of a national institute is the improvement of the navigation of our fresh waters, and connecting the waters of Lake Erie and those of the Mohawk and Hudson by means of a canal. As this project is probably not more than twelve months. old in human conception, none but imperfect data can be furnished at present. The navigation of the four largest lakes in the world, with all their tributary streams, and the products of all the surrounding country, would pass through this canal ; and even the fifth (Ontario) would be- come its tributary-and in twenty years the principal and interest of the expenditure would be redeemed." Then, glancing at the inevitable results of such a system success- fully prosecuted, Mr. H. remarked that " The City of New- York would be left without a competitor in trade, except by that of New-Orleans ; and within a century its island would be covered with buildings-Albany would be necessitated to cut down her hills and fill her valleys to give spread to her population-the harbour of Buffalo would exchange her for- est for a thicket of marine spars-and Utica, if made the point of junction [of the proposed canal and the Mohawk River], would become a distinguished inland town." Ro- chester was not then in existence.
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Congress referred the subject of internal improvements (mentioned in the President's Message) to Albert Gallatin, then secretary of the treasury-and in March, 1808, a report was received by that body from Mr. G., which, though referring to many routes susceptible of improvement, made no reference to a canal from Erie towards the Hudson among those projects which he considered as deserving the patronage of the national government, under the suggestion for " appropriating all the surplus revenue of the United States to constructing free canals and turnpike-roads."
But the suggestions of President Jefferson respecting in- ternal improvements fell not unheeded on the New-York Legislature. On the 4th of February, 1808, Joshua For- man, of Onondaga, instigated, as he says, not by the sugges- tions of either Gouverneur Morris or Jesse Hawley, but solely by the article on canals in Rees's Cyclopedia, and by the rec- ommendations of Mr. Jefferson on the general policy of in- creasing the facilities of communication, presented to the As- sembly, of which he was a member, the following preamble and resolution :-
" Whereas the President of the United States, by his message to Congress delivered at their meeting in October last, did recommend that the surplus money in the Treasury, over and above such sums as could be applied to the extin- guishment of the national debt, be appropriated to the great national objects of opening canals and making turnpike- roads : And whereas the State of New-York, holding the first commercial rank in the United States, possesses within herself the best route of communication between the Atlan- tic and western waters, by means of a canal between the tidewaters of the Hudson River and Lake Erie, through which the wealth and trade of that large portion of the Uni- ted States bordering on the upper lakes would for ever flow to our great commercial emporium : And whereas the le- gislatures of several of our sister states have made great exertions to secure to their own states the trade of that widely-extended country west of the Alleganies, under nat- ural advantages vastly inferior to those of this state : And whereas it is highly important that those advantages should, as speedily as possible, be improved, both to preserve and increase the commercial and national importance of this state :- Resolved (if the honourable the Senate concur herein), that a joint committee be appointed to take into consideration the propriety of exploring and causing an ac-
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curate survey to be made of the most eligible and direct route for a canal to open a communication between the tide- waters of the Hudson River and Lake Frie, to the end that Congress may be enabled to appropriate such sums as may be necessary to the accomplishment of that great national object."*
This was the first legislative movement with reference to a communication like the present canal between the Hudson and Lake Erie.
The Senate concurred with the Assembly in appointing the joint committee proposed by Mr. Forman ; and the sur- veyor-general was directed, by a subsequent resolution which that committee introduced, to cause some surveys to be made. But, from the phraseology of this last resolution respecting the route or routes to be surveyed; from the scanty (we had almost said contemptible) pittance voted to defray expenses of the survey ; and from the instructions of the surveyor-general to the engineer (Geddes) who was employed to make examinations, it does not seem that there was any very serious expectation that the route sug- gested by Mr. Forman's proposition would be examined in any manner suitable to its extent, or which could form the basis of efficient legislative action.
Observe the language of the resolution instructing the surveyor-general, and the instructions from that officer to the engineer authorized to make the examinations-and how illy fitted they were to encourage the grand design for which Hawley, Ellicott, and Forman were struggling. The reso- lution directed the surveyor-general "to cause an accurate survey to be made of the rivers, streams, and waters (not already accurately surveyed) in the usual route of commu- nication between the Hudson River and Lake Erie, and such other contemplated route as he may deem proper, and cause
* " The proposition was received by the House 'with such expres- sions of surprise and ridicule as are due to a very wild or foolish pro- ject.' It was fortunately, however, firmly sustained by the proposer and his friends ; and finally sanctioned, upon the ground 'that it could do no harm, and might do some good.' But the joint committee, pre- possessed in favour of the Oswego [or Ontario] route, directed the surveyor-general to cause a survey of the rivers, streams, and waters on the usual route between the Hudson River and Lake Erie, and such other route as he might deem proper-shifting to the surveyor-general the responsibility of countenancing a project deemed absurd. Six hun- dred dollars only could be procured for the exploration."-Gordon.
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the same to be delineated on charts or maps for that pur- pose, accompanying the same with the elevations of the route and such explanatory notes as may be necessary for all useful information in the premises."
Pursuant to the authority granted by this resolution, the surveyor-general addressed James Geddes thus :
"Sir-I have appointed you to make the surveys and take the levels requisite to carry into execution the views ex- pressed by the concurrent resolutions of the Senate and Assemby of the 21st of March last, in regard to a commu- nication by canals between Lake Erie and Hudson's River. As the provision made for the expenses of this business is not adequate to the effectual exploring of the country for this purpose, you will in the first place examine what may appear to be the best place for a canal from Oneida Lake to Lake Ontario, in the town of Mexico, and take a survey and level of it; also, whether a canal cannot be made be- tween the Oneida Lake and Oswego by a route in part to the west of the Oswego River, so as to avoid those parts along it where it will be impracticable to make a good navi- gation. The next objeet will be the ground between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, which must be examined with a view to determine what will be the most eligible track for a canal from below the Niagara Falls to Lake Erie. If your means will admit of it, it would be a desirable thing to have a level taken throughout the whole distance between the two lakes. As Mr. Joseph Ellicott has given me a description of the country from the Tonnewanta Creek to the Genesee River, and pointed out a route for u canal through that tract, it is of importance to have the continuation of it explored to the Seneca River. No levelling or survey of it will be necessary for the present It must be left as a work by itself, to be undertaken hereafter, should the government deem it neces- sary. A view of the ground only, with such information as may be obtained from others, is all that can now be required of you.
" SIMEON DE WITT, Surv. Gen. " June 11, 1808."
So that, after all, the main point of Judge Forman's reso- lution, "a canal between the tide-waters of the Hudson River and Lake Erie," was made every way a secondary matter in the surveys which were directed in consequence of the introduction of that resolution.
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The allusion of the surveyor-general to Joseph Ellicott may excuse the introduction here of some extracts, which show how zealously the latter personage advocated, at an early period, the practicability and expediency of the " in- terior" or "overland" route between the Hudson and Lake Erie, as distinguished from the route through Ontario and around the Falls of Niagara.
In addition to the information derived from Mr. Ellicott by the surveyor-general, and acknowledged in the letter of instructions to Mr. Geddes under date of the 11th of June, 1808, Mr. De Witt, on the 13th of June, wrote to Mr. E., re- questing more " detailed information" " in regard to the practicability of cutting the contemplated canal." From among the papers of Mr. Ellicott the following has been taken, as illustrative of the inquiries instituted and the lively interest with which the writer examined questions on which few men at the time were so well qualified to speak :-
"S. DE WITT, ESQ., ALBANY :
" Dear Sir-I herewith acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 13th of June, on the subject of canals and inland lock navigation, to connect the waters of Lake Erie and the Hudson River, in which you have requested me to furnish you with such information as I may possess on the subject, together with my opinion of the most eligible route for the canal. This task I shall perform with pleasure ; because I consider it an object of vast importance to the United States, which may be effected with a small expense, comparatively speaking, when contrasted with the immense advantages and utility that will be derived to all that tract of country bordering on the great lakes. I shall consider this subject under the following heads :
"First-in regard to the route along the declivity that is supposed to have originally formed the great Falls of Niag- ara to Mud Creek :
" Second-in regard to the route down the Niagara to Lake Ontario, and from thence to the Oneida Lake : and,
" Thirdly-the Tonnewanta Route [from Lake Erie] to Mud Creek.
[The first and third of these projected routes were held in consideration till the year 1820, when the canal commis- sioners finally decided on adopting the route nearly corre- sponding with the first mentioned. The quantity of deep
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and hard cutting requisite on the first route seemed an almost insuperable objection with Mr. Ellicott, who, on the other hand, expatiated on the feasibility of the Tonnewanta route. His views of the 'Tonnewanta valley present some points which render them interesting in several respects, especially as that route has.since been adopted for a railroad from Rochester through Batavia to Buffalo. An extract is given, the letter being too long for insertion here.]
" The most practicable and useful path for this canal, in my opinion, would be the Tonnewanta route to Mud Creek. The mouth of the Tonnewanta affords a convenient harbour either for the largest vessels that navigate all the upper lakes, or for such boats as would be made use of for navi- gating the canal. 'The tract of country it would pass through from Niagara River or Lake Erie to the Genesee River is probably the most level, even, and horizontal of any other tract of equal extent in the United States ; and I am per- suaded that it would not be necessary to deviate much on account of either ridges or rocks, but that the canal might be actually extended nearly as straight as the delineation exhibited by the enclosed plan. As, however, the compar- ative advantages of the route I have mentioned may be questioned, it may perhaps be necessary to give a short sketch of the nature and face of the country I have proposed for this important communication. It will be observed, on inspecting the maps of the country between the Niagara and Genesee, that in the proposed route by the Tonnewanta and Black Creek, it will be necessary to direct the canal to run in the same latitudinal direction ; the course of which is owing to the circumstance of these waters being confined between two terraces supported by horizontal strata of rocks. The first or northern terrace extends across the Niagara above Lewiston, forming the great Falls of Niagara, and continues eastwardly, forming, also, the falls on the Oak Orchard Creek, the Genesee River, Gerundegut, and Oswego, &c. The second or southern terrace crosses the Niagara River at Black Rock, forming the rapids at the outlet of Lake Erie- extends eastwardly, forming falls on the Four Mile Creek, Allen's Creek, Honeoye Creek, Ellicott's Creek, Sulphur Creek, Tonnewanta Creek, Mud Creek, Seneca Falls on the outlet of Seneca Lake, &c. The district of country be- tween these terraces from Niagara to Genesee River is al-
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most one horizontal level; and from the appearance of the beds of the different streams of water, as far as they pass through this tract of country, I am led to believe it is entirely free from ledges of rocks or stone-these watercourses being deep, without even a stone to ruffle their current as far as they are confined to the valley. The depth of water at the mouth of Tonnewanta Creek is from 26 to 30 feet ; whereas the Niagara River a little to the north of Navy Is- land may be fathomed by a ten or twelve foot pole-the bot- tom of the river being a horizontal strata of rocks extending eastward-which I believe to be the southern extremity of the lower or northern terrace of horizontal strata of rocks. It will also be observed, that where the Four Mile Creek empties into the Niagara River below Black Rock, the mouth of the creek is from fifteen to eighteen feet in depth. Thence I conclude that the northern extremity of the upper or southern terrace of horizontal strata of rocks terminates near the mouth of this creek, leaving a tract or valley extending east- wardly to the Genesee River, between these terraces from north to south, of from seven to ten and a half miles in breadth, entirely free from ledges of rock or stone ; and I have always been led to believe, from the knowledge I possess of this part of the state, that the same disposition of country prevails from the Genesee to the Onondaga River, which, for a considerable portion of that distance, is equally as horizon- tal and as free from ledges of rock as the tract of country below the southern terrace west of the Genesee River- Mud Creek, part of the Onondaga [Oswego] River, and the Oneida Lake, all lying in the same latitudinal direction, and probably between the same terraces or horizontal strata of rocks.
" The tract of country extending from the Niagara to the Genesee along the path I have marked for the canal may be considered a valley for the whole distance, the country gradually rising to the southward, and also to the northward, until we arrive at the declivity or descent which is supposed originally formed the great Falls of Niagara. It is the opin- ion of many that at some remote period the waters from the Niagara River flowed down this valley to the eastward, and that part of the waters of Lake Erie were disembogued down the cataract from Oak Orchard Creek, as well as down that of the Genesee by way of Black Creek, until the bed of Ni- agara River became so much deepened as to discharge all
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the water through its channel. These are, however, but speculative opinions, which I only mention to evince that the tract of country is remarkable for its horizontal position.
" I profess to have a pretty accurate knowledge of this tract of country as far as it extends through the Holland Purchase, both from observations and surveys, and allot- ments we have made; and it appears to me that nature seems to have pointed out this route for a canal, not only in consequence of the little labour, comparatively speaking, that would be required in digging it, but because the neces- sary materials for the construction of locks are close at hand. Oak Orchard Creek is navigable for large boats from where it would be intersected by the canal to the horizontal stratum of rocks that forms its first cataract, being, as is supposed, the same stratum that forms the Falls of Niagara and Genesee. At this place any quantity of the best shaped limestone may be procured, lying in horizontal strata of al- most any superficial dimensions, and between 6, 10, and 12 inches in thickness, which might be conveyed thence in boats for the construction of locks or other purposes ; and almost everywhere, as far as the canal would extend through the Holland Purchase, a little to the northward of the route I have laid down, stone of the same kind may be obtained, and also at the Genesee River at the upper cataract.
" The number of locks that might be required between the Niagara and Genesee Rivers I have not the requisite in- formation to ascertain, not knowing the difference in elevation of the beds of the respective rivers Niagara and Genesee above the water in Lake Ontario, or how much Oak Or- chard Creek (where it would be intersected by this canal) is elevated above either the Niagara or Genesee Rivers. I am, however, clearly of opinion that Oak Orchard Creek may be considered the crown level ; as it meanders through the same piece of lowland or swamp (called the Tonnewanta Swamp) from which Tonnewanta and Black Creek receive part of their waters, as will be observed by the map here- with forwarded. And here I cannot omit mentioning a re- markable fact relative to this valley of country, which is, that in the early part of the spring season, on the dissolv- ing of the snow, when all the lowlands are covered with water, if it were not for the obstruction of bushes and fallen timbers, a canoe might be navigated from the Niagara River up the waters of the Tonnewanta Creek (by the way
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of Oak Orchard and Black Creeks) to the Genesee River, being the same path I have delineated on the enclosed plan for the canal. This circumstance, together with other ob- servations I have made upon the horizontal formation of the country, with the path I have delineated, induces me to be- lieve that at most two locks at A [referring to the map sent herewith], with each 8 or 9 feet lifts, would be sufficient to navigate the canal, and that there would be no other lock required until the canal began to descend Black Creek ; and from the best information I can obtain, six locks each 8 or 10 feet lifts would be found sufficient to navigate a boat from thence to the navigable waters of Black Creek commu- nicating with Genesee river.
" Another advantage that this route possesses, is the great facility with which the canal may be supplied with water. Oak Orchard Creek, which is sufficiently large in the driest season for turning an undershot mill, will intersect the canal on the crown level. Tonnewanta and Allen's Creeks, both of which take their rise above the upper or southern terrace, may be conveyed to this canal at a small expense, and Ton- newanta in particular in several places at an expense less than 3000 dollars. There are also many small streams that flow in the valley both from the north and south of the canal, which might be used for that purpose." * * *
" Mr. Ellicott here proceeds to make a detailed estimate of the expense of the canal from the Niagara or Lake Erie to Genesee River, and from Genesee River to the navigable waters of Mud Creek ; and also to give at large the reasons why this route had altogether the preference over the lake route by Oswego," &c., says Micah Brooks, to whose researches we are indebted for these extracts from docu- ments which have long lain unnoticed among the papers of Mr. Ellicott at Batavia. " The original letters of Mr. Elli- cott to the surveyor-general were in the hands of the canal commissioners, who took them from Albany with them in travelling westward, and left them probably at Mr. Ellicott's residence in Batavia, where they spent some days with him, as I am informed. Mr. Ellicott concluded his argument in favour of canalling through the overland route, by de- claring his conviction that it ' would more eminently con- tribute to the benefit of the nation than any other undertaking of the kind in any other part of the United States.' The date of these letters, to which so much importance was pub-
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licly attached by Surveyor-general De Witt and Mr. Ged- des at the time, should not be forgotten-it was in the sum- mer of 1808."
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