Who would have thought that the project once dubbed “Clinton’s Ditch” would bring such purpose and pleasure to thousands and thousands of travelers? Completed in 1825, the Erie Canal followed the course of the Mohawk River in Montgomery County, its gap through the Appalachians at “The Noses” allowing the first commercially successful connection between America’s east and west. Not only people but ideas and passions flowed from this engineering marvel, changing the course of history: the canal spurred industrialization and immigration in the Mohawk Valley opening the Midwest to settlement and trade. 

The New York Central Railroad also followed a course through the Mohawk Valley making it a prime location for new industries in the United States. Some historians maintain that the importance of the valley with regard to migration, transportation, industrialization, and commerce contributed to the growth of New York City as a world city and enabled New York to become “The Empire State”.  

Amsterdam in the industrial heyday was not only the Rug City, second to Philadelphia in the production of carpets, but also had factories that produced underwear, buttons and brooms.  Broomcorn grew on the islands and flats of the Mohawk River in Fort Johnson, Fort Hunter, Fultonville and Amsterdam.  Arkell and Smith Sack Company, 1870s manufacturer in Canajoharie produced the first paper bag.  The modern type of this bag would be a flour or sugar sack.  

Today, travelers from far and wide cruise the smooth waters of the Erie Canal, enjoying the activities of the river while reliving more than 450 years of American history in sights and scenes along the way.  The railroad is still an active part of Montgomery County.

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