200 Years: Seneca Lake and the Erie Canal Waterways

Join us at the Brick Tavern Museum and delve deep into Schuyler County's water transportation highway! This was the birth of the Cayuga-Seneca Canal, which officially opening in 1818. The expansion of the Cayuga-Seneca Canal starts immediately upon the opening of the Erie Canal and is completed in 1828. Chemung Canal was started in 1830 and complete in 1833 connecting the south end of Seneca Lake with the Chemung River in Elmira. Steamboats change the landscape of our lakes. In 1878, the Chemung Canal, which has struggled with maintaining 49 poorly built wooden locks closes. Today, you can leave from the south end of Seneca Lake and smoothly sail on to anywhere in the world! On Pathway Through History Weekends we will also have our "Boats, Floats, Rails, & Trails" transportation Scavenger Hunt available for everyone! Check our website for more detailed hours, which extend from July through October.