America 250: Erie Canal transformed US trade and fueled nation’s growth

The Erie Canal was a transformative public works project in American history.

Stretching 351 miles from Albany to Buffalo, the canal is immortalized in song and traces back to a decision by New York Gov. DeWitt Clinton in the early 1800s to move the project forward.

Construction began July 4, 1817, and took eight years to complete.

Thousands of mostly Irish Catholic immigrants, using only animals and hand tools, created the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean...