MONTEZUMA'S ERIE CANAL

By Richard Palmer

from

YESTERYEARS

1977

Vol. 20, No. 80

Montezuma - One of the most formidable and troublesome spots during the construction of the Erie Canal was the Cayuga, or Montezuma Marshes.

The Canal had to be dug in water from six inches to a foot in depth, and most of the contractors suffered losses caused by sickness in 1820 and 1821.

The Canal Commissioners reported to the Legislature that during the spring of 1821 the state of the waters on the "Seneca River Level" in the marsh was so high, work did not start until May.

Soon after work had started, a flood came in, and it was checked for three weeks. It wasn't until the middle of June that work could resume.

The Commissioners said "at that time, the work was recommenced with spirit; and it was carried on, thenceforward, with success, and increasing means, till near the first of August, when sickness began to manifest its hands."

For two months, when the waters were at their lowest, between 200 and 700 men became sick "and as there was daily a considerable change of men, those who had acquired, from experience, the skill necessary to enable them to apply their labors judiciously, being obliged to give place to new hands, the progress of the work was much retarded."

Work in the swamps, which could be accomplished best during dry weather, was hampered in late August and into the Fall of 1821 by heavy rains.

Several times, the high water made work literally impossible. Still, in spite of difficulties and afflictions, the contractors had the Seneca River level half completed by December.

The work on the canal through the swamps was also slowed due to the muck and marl, clay and sand. The Seneca River was about 6 ½ miles long, and the Clyde level, 4 ½ miles long. The two levels were separated by a lock of 11 feet lift.

During the Spring of 1822, great exertions were made to finish these two levels, and a temporary wooden lock was built in the Town of Galen in Wayne County. The Commissioners said the completion of the work through the marshes "has been attended with many troublesome and unforeseen contingenices. We had early drought, which we regarded as propitious. Still, the labor necessary to keep out the water, where the line runs several miles through a porous and soft bog, and the natural surface of the contiguous streams is from four to eight feet above the bottom of the canal, has been very great."

Albert Hovey and Abel Wethy of Montezuma formed a partnership and had several contracts during canal construction days. In May, 1822, they advertised for 500 laborers to work on the canal through the marshes, who would be paid from $12 to $13 a month, in cash. "They shall be well fed, and lodged in comfortable shanties, with sufficient blankets."

Hovey and Wethy alluded to previous experiences in the swamp by assuring prospective laborers: "They will be subject to some inconvenience, from water and mud; but a portion of the work will be dry; and all experience proves that men may labor on the marsh without any unusual exposure to health until the middle of July, before which it is intended to have this portion of the canal completed."

Work in 1822 went as scheduled and was completed through the swamp late in July. On July 31, the event was celebrated with the passage of the packet boat "Myron Holley" from Lyons to Montezuma and return.

A "valued correspondent at Montezuma," in recounting this event to the "Lyons Advertiser," noted that the canal through the marsh "is broad and deep, and has every appearance of being permanent. There is a good towing path through it, and if that part of the canal is most beautiful where the straight lines are the longest, and where the banks are highest and most regular, than this part of the great work will be considered as more beautiful than any portion of it hitherto completed."

According to tradition, Irish immigrants built the Erie Canal and many sons of Erin may have been added to the labor force.

However, the Canal Commissioners report of 1819 states that three-fourths of the workers were "born among us," and the half million reports preserved in the State Library in Albany show, for the period after 1828, most canal workers were recruited locally. In all probability the labor force on the canal reflected many national back-grounds, Irish and others, as well as inhabitants who resided along the canal.

According to several accounts, canal laborers received from $8 to $12 a month, or 50 cents a day. The contractors were paid at the rate of 10 to 14 cents per cubic yard for the excavation of earth, with higher allowances for shale or rock.

With the middle section of the canal completed between Utica and Montezuma in 1819, many villages came into existence, and those already existing showed new life. Montezuma particularly was a bustling place, with its hotels, saloons, locks and dry docks. It had a frontier town air about it.

On April 13, 1820, the Erie Canal Transportation Company's elegant draft, the "Montezuma," was launched here. It was 76 feet in length and contained an elegant dining room, kitchen, and after cabin, with other conveniences to accommodate passengers.

The Cayuga Republican of April 25th said the boat was "finished in a style not inferior to any boats of passage on the American waters. She will be ready for running upon the canal in about 10 days, and will run back and forth from Seneca River to Utica, a distance of 96 miles in 24 hours. On the day of launching the Montezuma was taken through the lock on the canal, and drawn by two horses two miles in 30 minutes, with 70 passengers aboard."

The Village of Montezuma had apparently grown large enough to have a post office established there in May, with Richard Smith as Postmaster.

In July, the line boats "Montezuma" and "Oneida Chief" went into operation between Utica and Montezuma. The boats left Montezuma and Utica respectively Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 8 a.m., and met in the evening at Manlius; proceeding the next day at 4 a.m. and arriving at the respective destinations at 6 p.m.

The price of passage, including meals and lodging, was $4.00. "Way" passengers would pay three cents per mile.

At various points along the canal, at the principal villages, stage-coaches would be waiting to convey passengers to the turnpike.

The advent of the Erie Canal did not put the stagecoach proprietors out of business. In some cases, it actually helped, as they now served areas they did not before. Also, many people would prefer to ride the packets at night because of the leisurely voyage and reasonable comfort, and resume the speedier stage ride in the morning.

At first, packets were a novelty, but as time went on, passenger boats were pretty much confined to emigrants and occasional sight-seers. The stagecoach was still the fastest mode of public transportation, and was preferred by businessmen.

As a result of the canal, the small villages of Weedsport (then Weeds Basin) and Port Byron (then Bucksville) began to grow and prosper. They both had vied for being the port of entry for more pretentious Auburn. It all depended on how the roads were as to who was doing better at certain times. Port Byron had a distinct advantage, as the road from there to Auburn was nearly level, while the Auburn to Weedsport road had several hills.

It appears that Bucksville came about as a direct result of the canal. It is incorporated on March 6, 1819 and was called that until about 1824, when the name was changed to Port Byron.

Both Port Byron and Weedsport enjoyed a reasonable amount of prosperity until the coming of the Auburn & Syracuse Railroad in 1838, when much of the freight was diverted over that route to and from Auburn.

From indications it appears that Port Byron did not suffer the loss as much as Weedsport, because of the established industries along the Owasco Outlet. At one time, thought was given to building a branch canal from Port Byron to Auburn, but this never came about.

Touring the Canal in the summer of 1820, one observer noted, "We passed boats, rafts and scows on our passage. Some were built on the canal, and others transported to it from the Mohawk and Seneca Rivers.

"At Montezuma, a boat is now on the stocks, of still larger dimensions, and more accommodation arrangements than the one of the name. The whole expense of these boats, furniture included, will not exceed $900 or $1,000."

The boats were designed and partly owned by Col. Comfort Tyler, a prominent Montezuma businesman in the early days. Tyler also was an important figure in the Montezuma salt business, and at one time ran a tavern and business at Onondaga Valley.