GPS- 43.059145, -76.285402
The Camillus Aqueduct: The Power of A Dream
The Camillus Aqueduct, aka the Nine Mile Creek Aqueduct,
carries the Erie Canal over Nine Mile Creek
Why is this sign in the past tense, and there is water there now?
Weren't canal structures left to basically decay in situ?
How did the wooden trough survive this long?
While the stone work is original, the wooden trough is a restoration.
Well, this aqueduct is the only restored original aqueduct
on the old Erie Canal
due to
one couple's dream, determination, and hard work.
But first, this wasn't the first aqueduct here.
This is a map showing Clinton's Ditch.
The aqueduct crossed Nine Mile Creek about 100 ft east of here
The original canal, 4 ft deep is still imbedded
in the landscape
An illustration showing what the original aqueduct looked like.
It was much simpler in design.
The specs from the Erie Canal Mapping Project
All that remains of this aqueduct is the tumbled rocks into Nine Mile Creek
And it is a protected site.
A fun fact: Nine Mile Creek is actually almost 22 mile long...
our forefathers had quirky naming practices 😎
Where the rapids are in this picture is the place
where the original aqueduct crossed
Nine Mile Creek.
When the canal was enlarged starting in the late 1830's,
the volume of the water tripled
from 160 sq ft/ per linear foot to 490 sq ft/ linear foot.
Crossing the creek wasn't an easy task for the canal builders.
This body of water had too high a volume for an "easy" culvert...
but canal engineers and builders had to make it connect.
The canal was quite windy through here and surveyors came through in 1834 to map out existing areas so that improvements could be made.
Here is the 1820 Aqueduct on the 1834 map.
As canal boats got larger, getting around all those curves could prove to be difficult
And so, the canal was straightened and widened and
the 1844 Aqueduct was built over a straighter route
The specs of the 1844 aqueduct
And while there were gentle curves is its path,
nothing as winding as the original
A picture of it in the late 1800s...
packet boats would take people and goods across it daily.
On the left you see the Towpath, which was on the north side of the canal.
The south side was for pedestrians and other traffic.
As the canal era wound down, and boats were more likely to be self-propelled,
the ban on pedestrians and carriages on the towpath was lifted
This view was taken from what is now the Thompson Farm.
The family had owned it since canal days.
Then it fell into disrepair after the Erie Canal was replaced with the Modern Barge Canal. The wooden troughs that carried the water over the canal need yearly maintenance and occasional replacement. With the Barge Canal up and running there was no need to maintain something that wasn't being used. And so the boards were removed and it was left to time...for a time... (pic from Tug44)
But it was built so well that the stones held together even in neglect. Its stones weren't "salvaged" for other projects and stood like sentinels across Nine Mile Creek for nearly 90 years! (photo from unknown source).
But then enter Dave and Liz Beebe who investigated, researched, and figured out that restoring it WAS possible...and made it happen by 2010
More about the restoration
Today this is the only restored aqueduct on the old Erie Canal. Its waters once again connect land on the east and west sides of Nine Mile Creek
Notice the curved courses of limestone (from Split Rock) that were cut, dressed and fitted into something not only functional, but beautiful
More about the restoration work
http://www.eriecanalcamillus.com/aqueduct.htm?fbclid=IwAR21CJFUSfO6753bdTqP9Vb25efRgD1T-og4bP5e8Dd0X-H3naXWvbeUV74
http://www.eriecanalcamillus.com/aqueduct.htm?fbclid=IwAR21CJFUSfO6753bdTqP9Vb25efRgD1T-og4bP5e8Dd0X-H3naXWvbeUV74
And now you can take a tour boat across it
And now you can take a boat tour across it!
Or paddle on it or beneath it...
two members of the Onondaga Creek Rats touring Nine Mile Creek
And now celebrating 50 years of hard work restoring this section of the canal,
Liz and Dave Beebe
deserve all the thanks of a grateful community...
pics by Cori Wilson
Even today, it requires an army of volunteers to keep this section
of the canal the beauty it is today...nature always wants to reclaim its own.
With the preservation movement these two started,
their vision is poised to carry on for the next generations
to enjoy and learn about and learn from.
And so as we cross this body of water, we know that we are about two-thirds of the way across the county in our packet boat. But we mustn't dilly-dally here.
And so we float on to our next stop...
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