Published: November 14, 2009 03:00 am      

CANAL DISCOVERY: Tonawanda Creek is part of the canal

The construction of the Erie Canal between Lockport and Lake Erie was part of the western section of the canal, which contained two very challenging segments for the canal engineers. Most Lockport natives are pretty familiar with both: the 60-foot Niagara Escarpment and the “deep cut,” the stretch of hard dolostone rock that ran between Lockport and Pendleton. The subject of this article will be the section of the canal between Pendleton and Buffalo. This Tonawanda Creek segment contained one of the only natural waterways to be utilized in the original “Clinton’s Ditch.”

Once the deep cut reached Pendleton, the course of the Erie Canal utilized Tonawanda Creek to travel to the Niagara River. From there, the final segment of the canal ran parallel with the Niagara River and connected Tonawanda Creek and Lake Erie at Buffalo. This section was necessary because the Niagara River current would have been too swift for animal-drawn canal boats to enter the river at Tonawanda.

The canal engineers’ greatest concern in this section was minimizing the amount of stone to be removed from the Niagara Escarpment through the deep cut. Each additional foot of depth increased the cost of the project proportionally. To this end, it was decided to set the western level of the canal at the same level as Lake Erie at Buffalo and then utilize a gradual slope of about one inch per mile to insure a steady supply of water from the lake to Lockport. From Lockport, Lake Erie water was both passed through and diverted around the locks to provide the source of water for the 60-mile long “Genesee” level between Lockport and the Genesee River in Rochester.

The first step in construction of the Tonawanda section began in 1823 in the village of Niagara, later to be called Tonawanda. The Erie Canal commissioners signed a contract to build a dam of sufficient height to raise Tonawanda Creek to the upper level of the Erie Canal. A wooden dam was built west of the mouth of Ellicott Creek which raised the creek level a little over four feet. Guard-were also constructed at Black Rock and Pendleton. The Black Rock guard gate protected the canal from changes in the height of Lake Erie caused by winds or flooding. The guard-gate located two miles east of Pendleton helped protect the Lockport locks from seasonal flooding of Tonawanda Creek and was also used to drain the canal for maintenance and repair in the winter. In addition to these structures, a towpath for animals used to pull the canal boats was built along the entire south side of Tonawanda Creek.

The dam on Tonawanda Creek and the higher water level it created provided two benefits to the Erie Canal. It reduced the amount of rock that had to be blasted out of the deep cut and also eliminated the need to deepen Tonawanda Creek, as the canal boats only needed a channel four foot deep. Ultimately, there was a serious drawback, however. During spring flooding, the creek would spill over the dam at Tonawanda, flooding much of the surrounding countryside. To that end, several ditches were constructed on both sides of the creek to minimize the flooding. Although it did not eliminate the problem, the “State Ditch” did help reduce the damage caused by flooding along the creek and canal.

When New York state enlarged the Erie Canal in 1918 to form the Erie Barge Canal, the old wooden dam was removed and three” short-cuts” were constructed on the Tonawanda Creek section to straighten out bends that were too sharp for the larger barges and canal boats to navigate. Each of these changes formed an island in the canal. One is part of Ellicott Creek Park today and the others can still be seen farther east toward Pendleton.

Doug Farley is director of the Erie Canal Discovery Center. Contact him at 434-7433. The Erie Canal Discovery Center is open every day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.