The Franklin Mint History Of The United States, 1776-1973
Manufacturer
The Franklin Mint
DateNo Date
MediumSilver
DimensionsOverall: 1 3/4 in. (45 mm.)
ClassificationsDecorative arts
Credit LineGift of Dr. Eugene F. Poutasse
Object number76.81.42
On View
Not on viewThe 1817 medal: Construction Begins on the Erie Canal
For more than a decade the potential and feasibility of linking the Great Lakes with the Atlantic via a canal across New York State had been seriously discussed. Among the advantages of a canal were the elimination of competition from Montreal on the St. Lawrence River, the opening of the Great Lakes area to settlement and a great reduction in shipping costs. (During the War of 1812 it had cost $2,000 to ship a $400 cannon overland from Washington to Lake Erie.)
Prominent among its advocates were Governeur Morris, Elkanah Watson (the county fair sponsor - see 1810 medal), James Hawley and DeWitt Clinton. Failing to obtain money from the national government, the New York legislature, on April 15, 1817, authorized the Erie Canal to be built at State expense. Much of the money was raised though a series of Canal loans. The middle section between Utica and the Seneca River was built first and at a ceremony at Rome, New York, on July 4, 1817, the first ground was turned. Clinton had become governor three days before and was now in a position to see it through.
There were dozens of contractors, each doing a short section of the Canal and supplying their own tools and labor. Between 2,000 and 3,000 men and 700 horses were at work on the middle section during the summers of 1818 and 1819. Most of the materials needed for construction were found near at hand. The canal was to become a practical school of engineering as American ingenuity developed new ways of digging, tree removal and mortaring stone.
