Research: Topics: Transportation: Guide to Canal Records
Guide to Canal Records
Department of Public Works
B0171. Maps, blueprints, tracings, drawings, plans, and cross sections of canal structures and sites, ca. 1830-1947. 250 items
Arrangement: None.
These records primarily concern the Barge Canal system and its feeders. There are also items depicting the old Erie Canal and lesser canals such as the Black River Canal. The majority of maps depict various canal structures such as bridges, diversion channels, dams, sewers, locks, culverts, stop gates, and aqueducts. The remaining records show land patents, locations of towns and villages, land claims, towpath locations, and streets in cities where canals were situated.
B0392. Charts and maps of the State canal system, ca. 1923. 1 cu. ft. (1 volume containing 64 colored maps and charts)
Arrangement: Numerical by map number and roughly geographical from eastern to western New York.
This series consists of 64 charts and copies of maps of the Erie Canal from Waterford to Buffalo, and of the Champlain, Oswego, and Cayuga-Seneca canals. They were apparently prepared to aid ships or boats in navigating canal waterways. Original navigation charts are mixed with copies of survey maps that might have been intended to aid production of charts for additional uncharted canal areas.
All of the navigation charts follow a similar format. Printed base maps prepared from surveys made by the State Engineer and Surveyor date from 1917 to 1925. The base maps show city, village, town, and county boundaries, bodies of water and islands, roads and bridges, railroads, and streets and buildings, and are hand annotated to show location and type of buoys and buoy numbers. In addition, there are unannotated blueprint copies of survey maps. These pick up where the charts leave off, at a geographical point near Palmyra where the Erie Canal leaves the Seneca River, the point where the artificial cut of the canal begins.
B0214. Barge Canal land appropriation maps, 1905-1925. 14 cu. ft. (containing ca. 4,840 maps)
Arrangement: Numerical by contract number.
This series documents the responsibilities of the Superintendent of Public Works relating to the appropriation of land for canal use. The series consists of duplicates of the original appropriation maps filed in county clerks' offices; descriptions of lands to be appropriated; county clerks' certificates of filing; notices to be served on property owners (informing them that the State Engineer and Surveyor has filed the necessary appropriate documents with the Superintendent of Public Works); and affidavits of service.
The maps provide a detailed view of the property to be appropriated. Each map includes the names of property owners (or reputed owners) and often the names of adjoining property owners; a detailed narrative description of the lands to be appropriated, written directly onto each map; and a standard title that includes the town and county of the land to be appropriated. In addition, the maps sometimes include land acreage; statements relating parcels to numbered line stations; an indication of iron pipes (from which parcel measurements were taken); the monumented base line (a line parallel to the center of the improved Erie Canal); and lines designating proposed pipe lines, the old Erie Canal, the improved Erie Canal and other features such as railroad lines.
Finding aids: Container list.
B0213. Barge Canal contract files, 1907-1944. 85 cu. ft.
Arrangement: By type of contract, then numerical by contract number.
These files concern the review, implementation, administration, and supervision of contracts entered into by the State for construction of the Barge Canal and canal terminals. Types of records routinely found within the files include contracts; correspondence; memoranda; contract specifications and alterations; general contract descriptions; estimates (both preliminary and final); calculations; bid proposals; inspectors' reports; engineers' monthly reports; employee time rolls; results of chemical and physical tests on construction materials; photographs of construction in progress; copies of engineering journals; construction equipment catalogs; invoices; and surveys.
Finding aids: Container list.
B0385. Barge Canal maintenance contracts, 1924-1931. 3 cu. ft.
A0133. Contracts for improvement of the Erie, Oswego, and Champlain Canals, ca. 1915-1925. .5 cu ft.
B0693. Monthly time books for work done on the western division of the Barge Canal, 1905-1936. 1 cu. ft. (9 volumes)
Arrangement: Chronological.
Finding aids: Volume list.
B0694. Registers of distribution of expenses to engineers employed on the western division of the Barge Canal, 1927-1943. 0.3 cu. ft. (2 volumes)
Arrangement: Chronological.
Finding aids: Volume list.
B0381. Water gage readings, ca. 1887-1951. 20.5 cu. ft.
Arrangement: Numerical by gage number.
Finding aids: Container list.
B0204. Index to Barge Canal minute books, ca. 1900-1931. 3 cu. ft. (13 volumes)
Arrangement: Alphabetical by subject category, then numerical by page.
These volumes index a set of "Barge Canal Minutes" and "Barge Canal Books." It is unknown if the minutes and books referred to are extant. The indexes are arranged in alphabetical subject categories, and some have special categories for deeds, permits, agreements, appropriations, and contracts.
B0208. Scrapbook regarding the Barge Canal, 1929-1932. 0.3 cu. ft. (1 volume)
Arrangement: Chronological by date of clipping.
This scrapbook contains mainly newspapers clippings but also magazine articles, legislative bills, programs, reports, and correspondence dealing primarily with the transformation of Albany into a world port (Port of Albany) through the deepening of the Hudson and the construction of a terminal.
Indexes: Name and subject index in front of volume.
B0746. File on All American Canal and St. Lawrence Ship Canal and Power Project, 1921-1932. 0.5 cu. ft.
10448. Maps, drawings and blueprints related to State waterways and canals, ca. 1851-1941. 24.8 cu. ft.
Arrangement: None.
This series is an assortment of maps, profiles, tracings, sketches, plans, drawings, blueprints, and a small quantity of related charts and correspondence relating to the State's canals, feeders, and/or various waterways. Proximity to canals and/or placement of the lands, structures, and watercourses adjacent to them is the only common element apparent in these varied representations.
The series includes profiles of canals and rivers; cross sections of actual and proposed canal and railroad lines; canal section maps showing centerline and survey offset lines and measurements; maps showing city, county, and town railroads and street railways in relation to canals, including one distinctive group that highlights several railroads along the Erie Canal and also shows adjacent land for a considerable distance; construction and improvement plans for a myriad of projects such as dredging water bottoms, altering or extending railway or canal lines or routes, deepening or changing canal channels, or building related structures; operating diagrams and blueprints for proposed and existing reservoirs, dams, locks, spillways, piers, lighthouses, docks, pipelines, roads, etc.; general location maps of aqueducts, bridges, buoys, etc.; sketches of harbors, slips, basins, and terminals; maps or tracings of reservoirs, rivers, and other bodies of water; drawings of bridges crossing canals; detailed sketches of the location of canals, drainage patterns, and areas of cultivated land, sometimes showing names of property owners, specific crops, and/or condition of land; representations of characteristics (elevations, water levels, catchment areas) and related structures (bridges, dams) of various creeks, rivers, lakes, and watersheds.
Finding aids: Item list.
B1023. Unidentified maps, plans, and drawings of New York State canals, n.d. . 5 cu. ft.
A1276. Official orders, 1927-1930, 1934-1939. 3 volumes
Arrangement: Numerical by order number, corresponding to chronological order.
A law of 1923 (Chapter 867, Section 17) required the Superintendent of Public Works to keep a record of orders and decisions. These official orders cover such topics as awarding and rescinding of contracts; approval of revised plans; settlement of damages; and amendment of regulations.
B1213. Plans, maps, and specifications relating to various Barge Canal contracts, ca. 1895-1936. 12 cu. ft.
Arrangement: Numerical by unidentified alpha-numeric file number.
These records relate to selected work on the Barge Canal contracted by the Department of Public Works. Copies of maps, plans, and specifications were publicly exhibited to every person desiring to make a proposal for such work. The plans are generally blueprint copies that include profiles, cross sections, location maps, elevations, layouts, typical sections or sectional drawings for the contracted work. The work usually relates to building or repairing dams, storage reservoirs, or canal terminals; channel excavation; rock and spoil bank protection; dredging of piers; or bridge improvement at many locations along the canal. In addition, a few manuscript maps and tracings of the Syracuse area show encroachment on the Erie Canal and some areas of State-owned land desired by private concerns.
Finding aids: Item list.
Department of Public Works. Division of Canals and Waterways
Syracuse Regional Office.
B1069. Contract, computations, estimates, maps, sections, and charts concerning the U.S. - Barge Canal, 1933-1958. 2 cu. ft.
These records document the execution of contracts to complete federally-funded Barge Canal improvement projects which began in 1935. Contracts let for these projects were referred to as "U.S.-[contract number]" (e.g. U.S.-37).
Department of Public Works. Division of Engineering.
B1019. U.S. - Barge Canal contracts, estimates, and final accounts, 1941-1942. 1 cu. ft.
Arrangement: Numerical by U.S. contract number.
Finding aids: Contract list.
B0223. Negative photographs of State institutions, Barge Canal locations and structures, and highways, 1940-1944. 2 cu. ft. (ca. 1500 items)
Arrangement: Numerical by Court of Claims number written on each jacket.
These negative photographs were taken by the Division of Engineering for use in settling Court of Claims litigation. The claims dealt with such matters as contracts entered into by the State for the construction of highways, buildings, and miscellaneous structures; appropriation of land and water; employee negligence; damages due to defects in the State's highway system; and claims authorized by special legislation. The negatives measure 10" x 7-7/8" and are filed in jackets with the Court of Claims number, negative number, name of facility, institution or location, direction of view, by whom taken, date, and pertinent remarks written on each jacket.
