Research: Topics: Transportation: Guide to Canal Records
Guide to Canal Records
State Engineer and Surveyor
Canal Structures and Lands
B0653. Profiles of Locks 98 and 99 on the Genesee Valley Canal, ca. 1843. 0.1 cu. ft. (1 volume)
B0729. Roll maps and plans of the middle division of the Erie Canal, ca. 1850-1905. 120 cu. ft.
Arrangement: Numerical by map or plan number.
Indexes: Card index arranged by canal, then subject.
B0726. Maps pertaining to the 1854 enlargement of the western division of the Erie Canal, ca. 1850. 18 cu. ft. (48 items)
B0379. Maps, plans, details, and drawings of structures and locations of the middle and western divisions of the Erie, Genesee Valley, and Oswego canals, 1830-1900, bulk 1860-1900. 9 cu. ft. (27 volumes)
Arrangement: Numerical by volume number.
Finding aids: Volume list.
B0380. Western division canal maps and plans, ca. 1879-1925, bulk ca. 1896-1912. 174 cu. ft. (ca. 3,800 items of which ca. 1,200 are maps)
Arrangement: Numerical by map number.
This series contains maps and plans, including drawings, cross sections, profiles, diagrams, and other related representations, documenting work done to enlarge, improve, and maintain the channel and structures in the western division of the canal system. The series is a mix of original manuscripts, tracings, and blueprint copies and apparently represents the main file for western division work.
Usually several distinct but related pieces are found together. For example, sheets of draft plans done in pencil are followed by inked versions, tracings, or blueprints of the same depiction. Similarly, a general plan might be accompanied by several sheets of separate details. Sheets are grouped according to a specific job or feature, and sometimes according to a distinct work contract.
Finding aids: Drawer contents list.
Indexes: Series A4290, Card Index to Western Division Canal Maps, Plans, Estimates, and Related Structures (page 19), is a partial index to this series.
B0360. Index to maps and plans, ca. 1851-1895. 0.6 cu. ft. (2 volumes)
Arrangement: Chronological by date of volume.
Finding aids: Volume list.
B0675. Detailed estimates and location maps for proposed construction of gun boat locks on the western division of the Erie Canal, 1863. 0.2 cu. ft. (2 volumes containing 17 maps)
Arrangement: Numerical by lock number within volume.
This series contains location maps and illustrated estimates of raw materials and quantities of material to be excavated during proposed construction of gun boat locks on the western division of the Erie Canal. The volumes occasionally contain scattered plans of related structures such as abutments, culverts, approaches, and finishing banks, and also a few general plans of locks and bulkheads. The estimates are accompanied by individual detail drawings that profile the work being estimated.
A joint resolution of the Senate and Assembly, passed April 20th and 24th, 1863, authorized the State Engineer and Surveyor to survey and estimate the cost of constructing enlarged tiers of locks along the Erie Canal to facilitate passage of "vessels, gunboats, troops and munitions" of the United States army. The maps show the location of these proposed locks, the canal channel, and the lands immediately adjacent to it. Typical features include exact siting of proposed lock and related construction (e.g., vertical walls); new canal channels; center line of towpath; existing canal structures and properties (e.g. waste weirs, lock house lots); significant roads, railroad lines, bodies of water, or buildings near or crossing the canal; State-owned land; property boundaries and names of land owners; and notes on permanent land appropriation, including name of property owners and acreage.
Estimates accompanying the maps are for such work as excavation of old lock walls; calculation of new masonry; rebuilding of abutments; bridge conversions; towpath construction; and road culverts and plans for abutments to road bridges and approaches.
Indexes: An index to lock numbers appears at the end of each volume.
B0651. Original and preliminary cross sections for 1876 survey of the western division of the Erie Canal, ca. 1877. 1.5 cu. ft. (13 volumes)
Arrangement: Numerical by volume number and therein geographical according to lock number and station number.
This series consists of hand-drawn cross sectional diagrams produced from a survey made to determine conditions and needed improvements to the Erie Canal. The diagrams show conditions of the canal bed and riparian decay in portions of the western division of the canal, beginning at Lock 52 at the Wayne County line and ending at the Black Rock Guard Lock. The cross sections are done in colored ink on graphing paper and show water level (blue line), condition of the canal bottom (black line), and the proposed improvement configuration (red line). Laws of 1876, Chapter 425 directed the State Engineer and Surveyor to survey the Erie Canal to ascertain its condition and where it required improvement, and to report the findings to the Canal Board with recommendations on the work and its probable cost.
Finding aids: Volume list.
B0650. Original and preliminary cross sections for 1895 survey of Erie Canal improvement, ca. 1896. 6 cu. ft. (17 volumes)
Arrangement: Geographical by canal division, then numerical by contract or section number, then by station number.
This series consists of hand-drawn cross sectional drawings from an 1895 survey done for proposed canal improvements. The diagrams indicate elevations of the existing canal bed and adjoining abutments and calculate the degree of change, or excavation, needed to deepen the canal. The drawings chart parts of the middle and western division of the Erie and Oswego canals, along with several prominent feeders. The records resulted from Laws of 1895, Chapter 79, authorizing the enlargement and improvement of the Erie, Oswego, and Champlain canals.
The drawings are done in black, red, and blue ink on graphing paper. The black line represents the existing canal bed; the red line shows proposed improvements; the blue line shows the water level of the canal. Measurements give changes in elevation for use in determining the amount of excavation or fill needed for the improvements.
Six volumes, entitled "Original Survey Cross Sections," are arranged by contract number, indicating that they document areas covered by existing canal contracts for which further work is proposed. These six volumes cover the middle division of the Erie and Oswego canals, the Black River Canal, and several feeders. Eleven volumes, entitled "Cross Sections Preliminary Survey," are arranged by section number, indicating that no existing contracts had been let for the proposed work. These eleven volumes cover sections 13 to 23 of the western division of the Erie Canal, including some slips and feeders.
Finding aids: Volume list.
B0396. Sectional canal survey maps of the 1895 improvement of the Erie Canal, ca. 1896-1897. 12 cu. ft.
Arrangement: Numerical by section number.
These sectional maps are apparently the product of the surveys undertaken by the State Engineer and Surveyor in accordance with Chapter 79 of the Laws of 1895 authorizing enlargement and improvement of the Erie, Champlain, and Oswego canals. The maps are highly detailed, and they might be the preliminary survey maps from which subsequent Barge Canal sectional maps were made (see series B0253, page 45).
The maps show property and buildings fronting the canal and considerable tracts of land extending on either side of the canal. Information on the maps includes property lines and names of land owners and estates; previous canal alignments, location of ditches and washes, and State-owned land; condition of the land (e.g. swamps, clearings, and woodlands); land cultivation and use; natural bodies of water; streets, roads, highways, and railroad platforms and tracks; dwellings and accompanying out-buildings; and businesses and storage sites.
Finding aids: Container list.
B0253. Barge Canal sectional maps ("Schillner Maps"), ca. 1896. ca. 132 cu. ft. (71 maps)
Arrangement: By location.
This series consists of 71 manuscript maps depicting land along the Erie, Champlain, and Oswego canals acquired by the State for canal purposes up to 1896. The maps are apparently the product of surveys conducted by the office of the State Engineer and Surveyor in response to Chapter 79 of the Laws of 1895, which appropriated nine million dollars for the improvement of the canals. These maps contain only selected information from the even more detailed surveys (see series B0396, page 44).
Each sectional map provides detailed information on State-owned property, depicted as the area between two solid blue lines. The maps are especially important because they show, within dotted blue lines, the locations of the 1825 canal alignment and the related structures which had since been obliterated, such as locks, slips, dams, bridges, and roads. In addition they show city, town and county lines; streams, rivers, bodies of water and islands; property lines, along with names of owners and sometimes acreage of land; and streets, railroad lines, businesses and civic landmarks (ice companies, mills, cemeteries, etc.).
The maps are commonly referred to as the "Schillner Maps" after George L. Schillner, who apparently supervised their execution in 1896. No scale is given, but figures mark canal frontage and survey measurements by number of chains (1 chain = 66 feet).
Finding aids: Item listing.
B1009. New York State Barge Canal plans, 1920. 0.1 cu. ft. (1 volume containing 156 plates)
These plates of plans, drawings, profiles and location maps relate to the improvement and enlargement of the Barge Canal. The volume was issued as a supplement to the State Engineer and Surveyor's 1920 annual report with the express intent to preserve the work of the engineers involved, to "be of lasting benefit to the engineering profession" and to assist in the design of future public or private works.
The plates show typical work done as well as some features special or unique to the Barge Canal project. Two examples of unique engineering problems documented are Cohoes Falls, which resulted in the greatest series of high lift locks then known in the world; and the gorge near Medina at Oak Orchard Creek, which required an unusually high channel and walls bordering the gorge--after plans for the largest (at that time) single span concrete structure ever devised were given up. Since locks and dams were the most important structures in the project they, along with bridges, are most frequently represented in the volume.
Generally the plates depict the following structures: typical channel sections, prism walls and the types of wall and bank protection employed; locks; power plants; fixed and movable dams (including a dam with automatic crest that originated in the course of designing the canal); guard gates; siphon spillways (which also originated with barge canal design, providing automatic starting and stopping of the flow of water); culverts and aqueducts (notably the largest one in the barge system, which did not have the long aqueducts found in the old canal system); bridges (lift, bascule, and steel arch types); terminal piers and dockwalls; and navigation aids (lighthouse towers, tankhouses, etc.). The few maps found in the volume are strictly for location and are placed within the larger general plan.
Indexes: A list of plates in front of volume functions as an index.
B1212. Roll survey maps relating to the 1854 survey in the western division, ca. 1830-1890. 6 cu. ft. (49 rolls containing about 55 colored maps)
Arrangement: Numerical by roll number.
These maps were prepared in accordance with Chapter 16 of the Laws of 1854 authorizing the Canal Commissioners to "bottom out" the narrow and crooked parts of the Erie, Oswego, and Cayuga and Seneca canals in order to admit large boats. As a result, the State Engineer and Surveyor undertook new surveys, maps, plans, and estimates covering the work.
These maps were created to show the proposed changes. Maps typically depict property boundaries and names of property owners; character or cultivation of the land; bodies of water; roads and streets; railroads; and prominent buildings and private dwellings, often showing owners' names. Colored lines, numbers, and shadings indicate the inner angle of the towpath, boundaries of State-owned lands, and appropriated lands.
B1211. Roll maps relating to the western division of the Erie and Barge canals, ca. 1850-1910. 27 cu. ft.
Indexes: Series A4290, Card Index to Western Division Canal Maps, Plans, Estimates, and Related Structures (page 19), is a partial index to this series.
B1210. Middle and western division survey maps for the proposed 1895 Erie Canal enlargement, ca. 1895-1900. 32 cu. ft.
Arrangement: By canal, and therein geographically.
Chapter 79 of the Laws of 1895 authorized the "Nine Million Dollar" improvement and enlargement of the Erie, Champlain, and Oswego canals. The maps are the results of the surveys undertaken for the proposed canal improvements. These maps were particularly important for their representation of State-owned land in light of land appropriation needs and the damages that would occur during canal improvement and repair. Measurements of canal length are given, especially at point of land curvature. Lines show the historic alignment of the old canal and the proposed new canal alignment. Maps also show town, city, and county lines; names of some land owners, or parcel numbers, of property adjacent to the canal; outlines of some buildings along the canal route, sometimes with name of company or owner; natural bodies of water or canal feeders crossing the canal; and locks, parapets, aqueducts, and other related structures.
Finding aids: Container list.
14068. Erie and Champlain canals topographic survey maps ("egg shell maps"), ca. 1904-1915. 40 cu. ft.
Arrangement: By canal, then numerical by assigned number.
Commonly referred to as "egg shell maps" because of the paper on which they were executed, these maps depict in minute detail lands adjacent to the Erie and Champlain canals during the time of their enlargement and improvement as the Barge Canal. The maps apparently date from the time of the initial Barge Canal Law of 1903 (Chapter 147).
The purpose of these maps appears to have been to provide an accurate depiction of the land taken up by and surrounding the canal in order to determine both private and State ownership of land, and to provide the most accurate survey measurements possible for the canal enlargement and improvement. The maps show blue lines representing State-owned land; red lines representing the inner line of the towpath; green lines representing a new channel line (when dotted) or a potential flood line (when solid); contour lines, land elevations, and depths of bodies of water; and lines showing boundaries of specific work contracts.
Some maps occasionally depict property lines, parcel numbers, and names of property owners; outlines of buildings, sometimes with names; location of existing canal structures and railroad and telegraph lines; and swamps, fens, and other natural phenomena. One hundred two maps depict the Erie Canal from Albany to Morris Landing. Fifty-four maps depict the Champlain Canal from First Street in Troy to Northumberland. Most maps appear to have a scale of 1 inch = 100 feet, although some have a scale of 1 inch = 50 feet.
B0224. Reports and supporting records regarding survey for proposed canal between the Barge Canal and Cayuga Lake, 1906. 0.5 cu. ft.
Arrangement: Chronological by date.
These are typed reports, tables, charts, and estimates for a proposed canal authorized by Chapter 700 of the Laws of 1905. Most of the reports are directed to State Engineer and Surveyor Henry A. Van Alstyne. The records mainly concern the feasibility of the proposed canal project, its estimated cost, which route would be the most efficient, and the type and amount of work required for such a project. There are also detailed reports on such subjects as the regulation of the water surface in Cayuga Lake.
B0695. Water supply computations for Black River survey, 1911. 0.3 cu. ft. (2 volumes)
A0812. Map of improvements to state ditch off the Chemung Canal, ca. 1870. 0.2 cu. ft. (1 map)
This single map shows proposed improvements to a State ditch located off the Chemung Canal. The map shows lines for a proposed correction and extension of the ditch to contain water at low areas between the Chemung Canal and the Chemung Canal Feeder. The base map, entitled "Map of Lands Wet by Leakage from Chemung Feeder Horseheads," might have been prepared for the Canal Appraisers, who assessed the value of damages from canal breaks. The annotations were apparently made as an estimate of possible damages and cost of the proposed maintenance on the State ditch.
The map shows property lines, names of owners, and topographical symbols marking swamplands; lines for proposed changes to the State ditch; part of the Chemung Canal near lock 45; part of the Chemung Canal Feeder near locks 51 and 52 and the adjacent waste weir; two cross sections, one "on Sayre's north line" and the other below lock 52, which would encompass property affected by the proposed new ditch; and profile of surface water in the ditch from lock 45 to locks 51 and 52 at the feeder. Blue lines represent State-owned land, and red lines (survey measurements) follow and enlarge the old ditch.
B0390. Survey records and estimates for proposed Chemung Canal reconstruction, 1913-1914. 1 cu. ft.
Arrangement: None.
This series consists of maps, profiles, plans, survey documents, diagrams, estimates, and the final report on a proposed improvement of the Chemung Canal. Also included are two volumes of a daily journal of Resident Engineer Louis A. Burns, who was in charge of the project and prepared the final report. The proposed improvement amounted to a continuation of the Barge Canal extending south from Seneca Lake to the terminus at Montour Falls. The records also concern a proposed feeder that would ensure the canal an adequate water supply.
The series includes maps of Montour Falls and surrounding communities; plans and profiles of the proposed feeder showing features such as the old canal line, the proposed new channel, and depth and type of ground material (rock, gravel, clay, etc.); book of elevations, base line stations, and benchmarks; diagrams of water levels and channel depths; illustrations of hydrology and water supply issues (used as plates in the final report); two books entitled "Reference Copy of Estimate Chemung Canal Survey" provide cost estimates for prism excavation, structures, and damages as well as measures and amount of estimated expenditures and figures on the water supply required and the estimated cost of reservoirs and cost per million cubic feet of water stored; and a copy of Burns' final report containing many of the diagrams found in the series and providing background information on the history of the Chemung Canal, work methodology, and results.
Finding aids: Item list.
Indexes: Volume 1 of the "Reference Copy of Estimate Chemung Canal Survey" contains an index.
B0215. Abandoned canal lands and blue line survey files, 1914-1923. 8 cu. ft.
Arrangement: Alphabetical by name of city, town, or village where lands are located.
These files consist of maps (both original and tracings), correspondence, memoranda, reports, resolutions, descriptions of lands, appraisers' reports of encroachments, revised land appraisals, and permits. The bulk of these records concern the description, appraisal, and sale of abandoned canal lands by the State to the public. The remainder of the records pertain to progress reports regarding the completion of "blue line" surveys, upon which the State relied heavily in disposing of abandoned canal lands. Of particular note in these files are the land descriptions, tracings, and appraisal reports containing detailed descriptions and measurements of lands proposed for sale as well as the names of adjoining property owners. Also included is financial information about land value and notes and descriptions regarding structures illegally built on State- owned lands.
Finding aids: Container list.
B0691. Copies of Monroe County Clerk's Office records of awards, deeds, and claims for canal lands, 1822-1884, bulk 1822-1862, 1884. 0.5 cu. ft. (1 volume)
B0664. Description of lands appropriated for Genesee Valley Canal, 1839-1882. 0.1 cu. ft. (1 volume)
B0656. Record of land appropriations and damage awards relating to the Genesee Valley Canal, 1843-1847. 0.1 cu. ft. (1 volume)
B0665. Copies of maps of lands appropriated for the enlargement of the Erie Canal at Lyons and Palmyra, 1849. 0.2 cu. ft. (2 volumes)
Arrangement: Geographical by village and therein by property owner.
These maps, apparently copies made for canal appraisers by western division engineers, contain the property owners' names and acreage of land appropriated. Other information sometimes present includes general dimensions and acreage of specific land parcels; condition of land (e.g. meadow); streets, roads, junction lines, and locks; acreage of permanent appropriations for roads, bridge embankments, spoil banks, gravel, and lands destroyed for material; acreage formerly appropriated to the old Erie Canal or for unspecified purposes; and acreage temporarily occupied by stone and timber. Volume 1 covers Lyons; volume 2 covers Palmyra.
Indexes: Volume 2 (Palmyra) contains an index by name of property owner.
B0713. Maps of lands in the Rochester area claimed as damaged in the Erie Canal enlargement, ca. 1870. 0.1 cu. ft. (1 volume)
Arrangement: None.
These maps of lands along the canal in the City of Rochester and the Town of Greece typically show plot of land and name of owner; acreage; metes and bounds of the property; dimensions of spoil banks; and parts of roads or streets adjacent to the property. The maps were apparently prepared to settle damage claims filed by property owners whose land had been appropriated for canal enlargement. Blue lines on the maps indicate boundaries of State-owned land. Yellow shading represents land from which the appropriation was made.
Indexes: Contents listing of maps in volume.
B0667. Maps and descriptions of lands temporarily appropriated for State canals, 1897-1907. 0.1 cu. ft. (1 volume)
B0674. Maps and descriptions of western lands permanently appropriated for use of the State canals, 1899-1907. 0.1 cu. ft. (1 volume)
Arrangement: By district and therein roughly chronological by year of survey certification.
This series consists of blueprints which are tracings of maps of land appropriations along the Erie Canal in Wayne County (District No. 3) and Monroe and Orleans counties (District No. 4). Each map provides name of person from whom land was appropriated; town and county in which the land is located; a legend symbol indicating gas pipe monuments; and a written survey description of the appropriated land.
Indexes: Alphabetical name index to property owners in back of volume.
B0666. Checklist of maps and list of Court of Claims awards regarding land appropriations, 1900-1901. 0.1 cu. ft. (1 volume)
B0357. Index to Barge Canal releases, 1906-1926. 0.3 cu. ft. (1 volume)
Arrangement: Alphabetical by last name.
B0387. Stenographer's minutes of Jenkins and Perkins against the State of New York in the Court of Claims, 1917. 0.3 cu. ft. (4 volumes)
B0249. Accounts of property first cleared and left at Boonville on the Black River Canal, 1857-1894. 3 cu. ft. (57 volumes)
Arrangement: Chronological.
These oversized volumes contain detailed statistical data on agricultural and manufactured goods that passed through the toll collector's office at Boonville on the Black River Canal. Although tolls were abolished in 1882, the data continued to be collected in order to record tonnage shipped on the canals. These accounts record types of materials and their weights and/or measurements. Entries are recorded daily and totaled at weekly, monthly, and yearly intervals.
Finding aids: Volume list.
B0673. Copy of Canal Commissioners' report to State Assembly and dock building permits regarding Erie Basin at Buffalo, 1863-1869. 0.1 cu. ft. (1 volume)
