NEWS

NOVEMBER 2024

Register today for World Canals Conference 2025! Gather with global canal innovators, experts, and enthusiasts in Buffalo, September 21-25, 2025. Early Bird Pricing is now live. Book today to secure our lowest price and ensure your top choice of Field Sessions. Visit the WCC2025 website for conference details, exciting pre-and-post-conference tours, and trip planning resources.

The call for presentations is also open. The conference is a great place to share the ways you are tackling difficult challenges or implementing innovative programs. The deadline for proposals is January 15, 2025. Early submissions are encouraged.

Almost 200!

On November 4, 1825, Governor DeWitt Clinton poured water from Lake Erie into New York Harbor in a ceremony called “Wedding of the Waters.” This landmark celebration marked the first cross-state voyage on the newly completed Erie Canal via the canal boat Seneca Chief. Next fall, a replica of the Seneca Chief built by the Buffalo Maritime Center will traverse New York State on the Erie Canal just as it did 200 years ago. 

Sign up for Erie Canal Bicentennial Marketing Toolkit to find graphics, social media, and information to support your commemorative activities. New content will be released monthly throughout 2025.

Erie Canalway Heritage Fund Board Expands

Welcome to Nicole Mahoney of Canandaigua, Jack Leslie of Woodstock, and Mike Keegan of Guilderland who recently joined the Erie Canalway Heritage Fund’s dedicated board of directors. The three bring a wealth of expertise in tourism, finance, and strategic partnerships. We are also thrilled to welcome back former board chair Paul Neureuter of Buffalo, an avid boater and semi-retired business leader. Photo: Little Falls by Dave Warner

Stewardship in Action

Many thanks to members of the Hobart William Smith College rowing team for their stewardship of the canal! Seventy student athletes cleaned up 20 miles of waterfront and highway along the Cayuga-Seneca Canal from Seneca Lake to Waterloo and the same distance along NYS Rt 5/20. The cleanup was part of the college’s annual community service day and was also supported by Stivers Seneca Marine.

We Need Your Support!

Your gift today will have an immediate impact on our work to create an ever more vibrant, inclusive, and sustainable future along New York's extraordinary canals.

The Erie Canalway Heritage Fund is the 501(c)(3) nonprofit partner of the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor working to elevate projects and programs across 500 miles of connected waterways and trails.