- Date:
- October 08, 1825
- Original Format:
- Fine Print Illustration
- Item#:
- 1820.0011
First Boat on the Erie Canal
The Erie Canal was officially opened on October 26, 1825 when the first boat, the Seneca Chief-shown here-left Buffalo for New York City. It arrived less than two weeks later on November 4 and was greeted with great fanfare. By the mid 1830s the canal was doing a brisk business. The canal was the brainchild of New York's Governor, Dewitt Clinton, and this illustration of the Seneca Chief's historic passage comes from a painting at Dewitt Clinton High School in New York City.