Stop 5: Cedar Bay Widewaters: Turn Around

GPS- 43.042359, -76.044805

So why is it called Cedar Bay?...at one time it was all swampland around this area of the canal and cedar trees grew there! However, all the trees that you see today were not there when the canal was there. The towpath and the footpath on the other side would have been cleared of all vegetation to help maintain canal infrastructure. Mules can't stop every few feet to walk around trees and untangling a rope from brush would be no fun at all. Basically, it was barren 20 feet from the water's edge on either side. The state technically owns this land today which is why we have the trail to enjoy by foot and on wheels...and sometimes by water... no mule necessary.

Here is an aerial view of Cedar Bay. You can see how the canal widened out from its original channel. With foot bridges now gone, one could maneuver a boat 180* and send it back the way it came.

The canal employees would never have let this great tree grow on their watch along the towpath. A gentle reminder in plain sight just how long the canal has been out of use.

Interestingly, many widewaters were created from enlarging and straightening Clinton's Ditch into the Enlarged Erie...in this map from the 1830, Cedar Bay as we know it did not exist yet. The widewaters were on the other side of the aqueduct where the Limestone Feeder connected in from the south side of the canal.

And once the Erie Canal was enlarged, the curves in the land became a widewaters.

More about that process here in a video by Derrick Pratt
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyx8JOmcB7o

As time went on, a widewaters was created an on the map by 1852. This widewaters allowed barges to pull over to rest, change horses or mules, load up or turn around without impeding other traffic bound for Albany or Buffalo.

Today, the canal in this area is great for canoeing and kayaking. With a few portages, you can head from this spot to Rome if you point your canoe eastward-ish. And if you like to fish, you just might catch a big one in the old canal waters. And if just walking is your thing, you can't miss out on the views.

But alas our imaginary packet boat has a schedule to maintain. It can't rest long at these widewaters. So, after a brief rest stop to water our mules, onward we continue onto the next stop...

Stop 1- Pool's Brook: The Ditch

GPS- 43.074345, -75.922202

The Erie Canal was not the first. Many canals had been dug in the past including the Fossdyke Canal built by the Romans, and many canals Like the Panama and Suez would come later. But what would make the Erie Canal so unique? Why would this canal capture the imaginations of so many? And just what does it take to make a canal? First it starts with a ditch...

 Courtesy of Steve Talbot

At its heart, a canal is just a ditch with water that connects two locations. It allows ships of a certain size to safely bring cargo and passengers between these two points. Usually it shaves off time from land travel and makes getting goods to port easier and cheaper than overland routes. In a growing new nation, the stage coach routes could take months overland to get goods to and from market. The Erie Canal was dug to connect the ports of New York City to the Great Lakes and beyond. About 35 Miles of that crossed Onondaga County.

Originally, "Clinton's Ditch" was dug to be 4 feet deep and 40 feet wide. It was dug by hand and hand tools and wheel barrows. The easiest sections were dug first. The construction started just east of Onondaga County in Rome. The "Rome Level" or "Long Level" to the east of Syracuse was completed by 1819 and the Jordan Level to  Montezuma west of Syracuse was completed and operational by 1820. The harder sections at the far east and western ends that connected to the center would take a bit longer longer. The whole 363 mile long route was completed in 1825. It did not take long for it to be determined that it was so successful that it needed to be bigger. Eventually it would be widened to 7 feet deep by 70 feet wide to allow larger boats with larger payloads to pass.

Now that there was a ditch, water could be added and...
Presto: A Canal---the Erie Canal was born!

35 miles of it crossed crossed Onondaga County and each point has a story to tell.

Here at Pool's Brook you have just crossed over the county line 

into Onondaga County with your cargo in tow.

Heading west, you would end up in the widewaters at Pool's Brook. Not all ships made the 363 mile journey from Albany. Sometimes they just picked up their cargo and headed back the way they came. They needed a place wide enough to turn a boat around every so often along the length of the canal. Enter: Pool's Brook or Poolsbrook. Peter Pool built a sawmill on a tributary nearby. He also ran a store along the canal. It allowed him to get goods to market and get new merchandise in exchange.

Today the Erie Canal Trail sits on the old Towpath. The north side of the canal was for mules and their drivers and was the Towpath for pulling the boats. The south side of the canal was the foot path and for pedestrians. Pedestrians and carriages could be fined for being on the towpath. Today it is used by bicyclists, runners, hikers, horseback riders and even snowmobiles in many parts.

When the canal opened, Pool's Brook let them know they weren't far from the crossroads of new Village of Syracuse---the almost half way point of the original canal--- a place to get more supplies than could be procured in Peter's store...so off they continued their journey west on the Towpath...35 miles across Onondaga County....

And if you like tongue twisters, 

here's one with as many twists and turns as Clinton's Ditch 😎

"Peter Pool packed part of a parked packet

partially with a peck of pickled peppers.

If Peter Pool packed a parked packet,

What part of the packets could Peter Pool pack?