Existing comment:
Plate with views of the Erie Canal
1819–46
made by Enoch Wood and Sons, Staffordshire, England
The opening of the Erie Canal in 1825 revolutionized transportation in America, and helped pave the way for economic and westward expansion. The 364-mile waterway between Albany and Buffalo, New York, was built largely through unsettled territory, leading to rapid population growth along its route and linking the urbanized areas of the East with the developing West. |