Stop 19- Gere's Lock: Lock Up to the Jordan Level!

 GPS- 43.068377, -76.232893

And now we've reached the end of the low point through Syracuse 

and are ready to Lock-up through Gere's Lock onto the Jordan Level!

The stones you see are the capstones for Gere's Lock's chambers.

Due to Solvay Process, the landscape you see is 

completely different than 100 years ago.

If you could step back in time, you would see...

A flatter landscape with a store/tavern, blacksmith shop, stables, 

a lock tender's office on the middle "island" of the lock chambers, and of course...water!

Some of the hard crew that it took to work the lock. 

It was quite the skill to get barges into the lock chamber 

without damaging the boat or cargo.

Here you can see divers and their teams walking along on the towpath.

More about Gere's Lock

which was built, then rebuilt for the enlargement 

and then enlarged one last time to accommodate 

more boats going into Syracuse

As we began to cross Onondaga County,

boats had to lock-down off the Long Level or Rome Level 

into the Syracuse area

Gere's Lock raised the boat up onto the Jordan Level.

Who was Gere? Robert Gere of the Gere Block, Gere Bank, 

and many other enterprises

His house was just a wee distance away from this lock.

While no longer extant, a large house like this in the 

middle of the country showed just how wealthy he was!

Gere owned the land around the lock.

Here on the 1852 map, the Gere (and misspelled Geer) family name 

can be seen along the canal from Geddes to the Camillus border.

In this picture, you can see the lock chamber drained back for winter maintenance

A view of how deep the channel should be right here

And while none of the infrastructure remains here, 

you can see a replica locktender's office on display in Camillus

...and part of an original lock gate.

As gate replacement was part of regular maintenance, 

this gate had to have seen the last boats go through this lock 

on display as well.

pic by Mike Sims

But why is it all gone? Why is it all filled in? and why don't we just did it out?

The answer to all three questions is Solvay Process.

Gere's sons worked for Solvay Process and allowed them to dump on his land. 

Then when the canal was abandoned, 

he allowed them the fill in the canal bed and chambers 

with industrial waste.

If you bury it, the problem goes away...

....except it doesn't 😔

This is a photo from 1977 showing the dumping that took place here.

This area has toxic waste buried underneath. 

It wouldn't be safe no practical to excavate 

this lock to showcase the handiwork of its builders.

The best we can do is stay on the path and marvel from a distance...

A hard lesson to be learned here 😢

And so, on we go to our next stop along the Jordan Level, 

as we head west, to learn the other side of the tale of what could of been 

and how one couple stopped Solvay Process from going any further...

to be continued at our next stop...

Stop 18- Geddes Brook: The Culvert

GPS- 43.067859, -76.230389

 So as we continue on our journey along the towpath, 

an unsung hero that keeps moving bodies of water 

from washing away the berm walls

often crosses beneath our feet: 

The Culvert!

Geddes Brook starts its journey in the hill of Camillus. 

From there it winds northward toward Onondaga Lake.

It had to cross the canal, 

or more accurately the canal had to cross it!

As it crossed behind Geddes Estate in Camillus

It was dammed for the Geddes' estate's use. Today a mini-old sits in the old dammed channel with the brook still flowing through it

https://fairmountglen.com/

If Geddes had known about mini-golf, 

I'm sure he'd have put one here as an additional business 😉

How do you keep the waters separate? 

You channel the brook UNDER the canal in a culvert. While an aqueduct carries the canal over a body of water in a wooden trough with stone supports, a culvert channels the water under the canal bed itself. 

! good explanations on culverts:

https://www.eriecanal.org/UnionCollege/The_Culvert.html?fbclid=IwAR3akNyZfoTjjeNIn7d_l7LfvV0Opz5h3YSx_9wf1EJ3vi-CU5buu8Z1Sm4

They are perfect for smaller bodies of water and require less maintenance

Along the towpath just west of Solvay, Geddes Brook goes under the canal in a culvert that was built for the Enlarged Erie.

The use of limestone is a clue to its age.

However, the years have taken its toll on the the Geddes Brook Culvert. 

It is closed to automobile traffic due to it's aging state.

But on two feet or two wheels, you can cross over on the culvert on the Towpath...

and appreciate that you do not get your feet wet thanks to the culvert...

and head on to our next stop...

 

Stop 17- Solvay/Geddes Townline: James Geddes, Rock, and Salt

 GPS- 43.064734, -76.217098

Now that the Empire Trail and the Erie Canal meet up once again, 

What DOES...

Does this spot have to do with the Erie Canal?

First the name of Geddes is etched into the land, quite literally and figuratively...

...but so does the industry that changed the landscape: 

combining salt and rock and making the Solvay Process

a profitable industry for over 100 years.

Lets Start with James Geddes, for without whom, the route, that we know duall as 

"Clinton's Ditch" and Erie Canal,

might have taken a different course.

And in case you are wondering, over the years the pronunciation of his name Geddes (pronounced  "Ged-dis" today around here) has morphed. In his day it was pronounced like Gettys (think the battlefield Gettysburg). He is related to those Gettys. 

Spelling didn't matter much back then, just penmanship.

When the military plots were divvied out, 

James Geddes built his house in what is now the town of Camillus.

Even the location around this spot was named for him, Geddesburgh.

The Erie Canal brought commerce to the area and his settling here was worthy of honoring. 

Even today a the Town and Geddes, Geddes St, and Geddes Brook still retain his name.

 More about James Geddes

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Geddes_(engineer)?fbclid=IwAR0PWi1dzJvGsAbefXebomTeHErrkSw57t8XfX0n9j5eDBTrcY_2LehO5C8

And he was quite the successful businessman like Robert Gere

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/17040117/james-geddes?fbclid=IwAR3c-75Crhz4TLn0BjGqB_Mi2fwerFus0tARadeuxB4zruCSvnFHQt690ok

But the canal only tells part of his story, he also started some salt works along the canal. His son carried on the business and others his father had started including his hand in the local salt industry that once surrounded Onondaga Lake

The salt produced here along with the other salt produced around the lake could be then loaded on barges to points west in Lake Erie or east, eventually landing in NYC

The second important commodity of the area was rock, limestone to be specific. Limestone of good quality could be cut nearby at what would become Split Rock to build and enlarge the canal...this aqueduct over Onondaga Creek used Limestone from Split Rock

But how did it get from the hills to the canal...enter Midler, Burnet, Elliott, Putnam (recognize the street names?) and others who built a shortline railroad that ended at the canal in Geddes by Harbor Brook...more about their endeavor...

an early railroad!

https://cnymod.blogspot.com/2013/12/railroad-hauled-stone-for-erie-canal.html?fbclid=IwAR1vKG0qrxwhfEoHFKrezeyAzAJ6cxsS5ExbL0ROJu_eGhinO9DGBOQklWQ

Then Split Rock became a quarry for a larger endeavor
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Split_Rock,_New_York?fbclid=IwAR16zp_2d35kp40J2q_BAwS0WPQJPsKQMXaOAkG_Cl0cD0C02A74P7T_wrU

Enter the Solvay Process, which eventually lent its name to the area surrounding the plant...it needed Limestone and Salt and water to make Soda Ash

more about the Solvay Process:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solvay_process?fbclid=IwAR18K9CoDHLbkvvkBAxWyXBHYTmzWvriO79V0nw1Di9CALnr9vdhcvB5cvM

The Erie Canal went right through the middle of the Solvay Process plant!

It's still visible in the the layout of the compound today.

A biproduct of the Solvay Process was Baking Soda, 

produced nearby at Church and Dwight.

This became a staple found in most kitchens under the name 

"Arm and Hammer"

Solvay Process and Church and Dwight were steady industries that 

provided generations with good paying jobs.

However their legacy is quite murky due to dumping their industrial wasted in such large quantities it formed the hills where the parking lots are for the NY State Fair.

They, along with many other industries, dumped their waste in Onondaga Lake.

When the canal close, they filled in the sections up to the Syracuse city line with industrial waste. They filled in the canal west of the plant with waste.

  

It has been an ongoing process bringing 

this land and its lake back from the brink and restoring the habitat.

With the collaborative work of scientists, engineers, and politicians,

the cleanup work has made Onondaga Lake cleaner 

than it has been in over 150 years!

And after many years, the eagles have returned!

While the Erie Canal here can never come back, the land and the lake can! 

This are is proof we can learn from our mistakes 

and work together to fix them for the next generation.

But we can't linger here much longer, we're just passing through with our load. As we give a nod to the Geddes-man himself, without whom we wouldn't be on this waterway, we press on from here to our next stop...

Stop 16- Gere Building: The Businessman

GPS- 43.055510, -76.186161

 For this next piece of our canal tour, we will be diverging from the Empire State Trail, to stay of the path of the original Erie Canal. These two paths will join up again in Solvay. The Empire State Trail takes its path into the Inner Harbor and around the western side of Onondaga Lake. You'll bike through industry, the old salt flat area, and roughly follow the scenic path along the lake. Who knows? Maybe you'll see and eagle or two. 

But this is not the path of the Erie Canal.

Once you leave the Amos Mills, the path of the Erie Canal is...drum roll, please....

 Erie Blvd West! 

This road is built over the Erie Canal. 

Cleverly named, isn't it?

As you follow the road, you'll pass the old railroad yard used by the New York Central and tracks still used by the Susquehanna and Western on your left, pass by old factories and forges until the Erie Canal, once again, meets up with its older friend, the Genesee Turnpike. Some of the oldest streets in the City of Syracuse retain the names of their origins from times-past. Salina St (think saline) running north/south, dividing the city east/west was the route to the early salt blocks. The Genesee Turnpike retained its name under Genesee St and The Erie Canal became Erie BLVD, both crossing Syracuse east/west, essentially dividing the city into four quadrants. The canal last saw its old friend, the Genesee Turnpike, in Clinton Square, But it took the higher paths, and the Erie Canal the lower ones. So every so often, they crisscross

c1810 map James Geddes

During the canal days, the strip of land where you see the Byrne Dairy store had varied uses that lasted through the mid-1900s. 

First, where you see the Byrne Dairy, is where Botanic Hospital was. 

The first hospital, in what would eventually become Syracuse, the Botanic Infirmary offered natural herbal cures to patients

"Significance: Built as the first hospital in what is now the city of Syracuse, this building derives its name from the use of botanical ingredients, such as gum of myrrh, Indian tobacco, undistilled whiskey, and cayenne pepper to treat illnesses." ~LOC

Considering the treatments available at the time, these were a far gentler way to treat illness, at the least, usually doing no harm.

In the above illustration, you could arrive by road or by boat and seek treatment for your ailments within your wall.

Location, Location, Location!

Some more info here:
https://library.syracuse.edu/digital/collections/g/GreekRevivalInSyracuse/1430WestGeneseeStreet.htm?fbclid=IwAR3B632OA8kPIIE0330HOiJDL6gtdAf9OKSC81Fe1ewrvVpweSRNc16tFNY

Then next, following Erie Blvd on this small piece of land...

...as you float by in your packet boat, you'd find manufacturing!

A bicycle factory (seen behind the Botanic Infirmary above)

And...Onondaga Pottery which later changed its name to 
Syracuse China

https://www.cnyhistory.org/2017/01/syracuse-china/?fbclid=IwAR0XUG0hDkQFNnarpgtw44h6zQtuPi13Z5EP6swzJl3xMegCFbO8kCkuua4

 

This maker of fine china...

had humble origins as Farrar's Pottery.

It changed hands many times and built around the original works.

And during WW2, Onondaga Pottery changed its lines 

to make ceramic land mines for the war effort!

More about Syracuse China

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syracuse_China?fbclid=IwAR0OTGMq41mocU9P5s7IwQlZYeayuWYqB0sxB1a_K354rq_yFkkOARarx_Y

So why did these places build around here?
It was the ideal spot: Location, location, location!

Not only did the Erie Canal flow by its eastern side, the Genesee Turnpike at its southern side, the railroads ran right past as well! 

The railroad line you just followed, went past this little industrial hub.

c1852

Without the businessman, the canal would have been little use to a growing country.

Without someone to see and need and fill it, the canal would have had no customers.

Without the businessman, the canal would have been 

little more than an expensive artificial water feature.

So savvy businessmen took advantage 

of these three modes of transportation 

and set up shop here.

But with all these goods being manufactured, 

where were all these goods going to be stored before they went to market?

Enter the Businessman, Robert Gere who saw the potential of money 

to be made in so many aspects of the canal.

Who was Robert Gere?

"He was involved in the salt, lumber, iron and railroad businesses. He was superintendent of Salt Springs 1848-1851, and built locks on the Oswego Canal. He organized the Geddes Core Salt Company with Hamilton White and Horace White."

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/69336398/robert-gere?fbclid=IwAR1P5gxAuPzf9Kk5V0dosdoUy113CR7jfXXGlK1DuBXbPi65gMBFPif_2wU

He built the large brick building on the northern end of this strip of land,

seeing the need of housing goods before they went to market and filling it.

On the parapet, 

After the canal, the Gere Block was the home of Sanford Trucks

They specialized in Fire Equipment

And Haverly Milk Coolers Co. occupied one end of the building

from the 1920s-1940s

before becoming a paint manufacturing plant known as 

Strathmore Paints 

After Strathmore closed, the building sat idle waiting its next job...

 

...soon to be a mixed use facility.

But hiding behind this building, on its east side, is the only 

above ground piece of the Erie Canal in Syracuse...

...this section of the Erie Canal wall!

Syracuse was at such a low point in the canal that literally everything is buried, 

except this section of retaining wall from the canal.

It stands a testament to time about 

this bustling piece of land,

the businessman, 

and the many opportunities to be found along the Erie Canal.

Two hundred years have seen quite the changes: from stage to canal boats 

to railroad to bicycles to cars and more!

What changes will the next 200 years see on this piece of land? 

Who will be the new entrepreneurs to set up shop to fill a need?

But we can't stop long to ponder this future we haven't arrived at yet, so we journey on with our packet boat...we picked up our order at Onondaga Pottery,

 dropped off an order at the Gere Building ...

And so we head onto our next stop...

 

.