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       #Post#: 2743--------------------------------------------------
       Cayuga County Holds Many Erie Canal Treasures
   DIR By: Doug K
       Date: March 18, 2026, 4:09 pm
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       Some of you probably know we have moved from the western end of
       the Erie Canal to the middle section, which is mainly the
       conjunction of the Erie Canal & Seneca River. After living for
       27 years looking up at a towpath out our backdoor, and
       occasionally the top of a passing larger boat or tug & barge,
       it's nice to be "looking down" at the NYS Canal System.
       Not to mention moving away from a 400 foot leaking earthen
       embankment in our backyard that gave us a never ending supply of
       water to our poor old sump pump. Our home was older than the
       latest version of the Erie, having been built in 1880, when the
       Canal passed by much further away than it does today. You can
       read about that leak here:
  HTML https://eriecanalfacts.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/anatomy-of-an-erie-canal-embankment-leak.pdf
       So now living in Cayuga County I'm amazed how different the Erie
       Canal is viewed out here, and how much more history there is
       that has been recorded by other Canal enthusiasts. There are
       about twelve and a half miles of Erie Canal running through
       Cayuga County, and just about every type of Canal Infrastructure
       imaginable has been utilized within this County. Much of it is
       still visible today, though hidden by years of neglected
       maintenance and the growth of vegetation over the past 100
       years.
       [attachimg=1]
       Many of the "old ports" along the Erie are now waterless, like
       Port Byron, Weedsport & Centerport, but there are a few
       stretches of the original Erie that are still filled today,
       along with a towpath that was "really used" by mules named Sal.
       Here are a couple really nice reads from a local who sought to
       capture that Cayuga County Canal history, his name is Michael
       Riley, local Town of Mentz historian.
  HTML https://old-mentz.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/second-edition-first-section.pdf
  HTML https://old-mentz.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/second-edition-second-section.pdf
       Hopefully more of this very informative work is underway, It
       might be one of my Springtime excursions this year to try and
       find the author and see if more sections are in progress. As for
       all of you reading this, if you want to see the "real" Erie
       Canal go to Port Byron and walk the three mile section of the
       original Erie, which starts at the Town Park in the center of
       the Village and extends east through Centerport, and ends at the
       refurbished Canal aqueduct just west of Weedsport village. It's
       a great walk or bike ride, and make sure you watch for the
       beavers who have built their own dam across the eastern end
       where time has transformed the old waterway to it's original
       brook form.
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