The exhibition is on the site of the Digital Public Library of America – for anyone not familiar, a national platform that harvests digital collections from all over the country, providing seamless access to digital collections that have a common theme or topic but are separated geographically and/or by holding institutions.

Over half of the images in this online exhibition come from collections in New York State that have been digitized. Most of them were digitized as part of the initiative of the Empire State Library Network (ESLN) to create a statewide portal for access to digital collections, called New York Heritage. There are also a significant number of images from the Library of Congress.

We promote this exhibition with the following information:

For over 200 years, the Erie Canal has been a significant part of the geographic and socio economic landscape of New York State. The 350-mile long manmade waterway; designed, built and maintained at a time when the field of engineering in America was virtually non-existent and the tools of labor were crude and simple, is a true marvel of what we call “Yankee ingenuity.”  That the people of that time could imagine such a project, let alone bring it to reality may not seem incredible by today’s standards of science and technology, but back then, it was considered, in the words of Thomas Jefferson, “little short of madness.”

This online exhibition, created through the efforts of the Western New York Library Resources Council (WNYLRC is based in Buffalo, New York. Go to: https://www.wnylrc.org/),

in partnership with the Empire State Library Network and the Digital Public Library of America, weaves together the stories of the many people throughout the last two centuries who have experienced the impact of the Erie Canal in their lives. The online exhibition will appeal to virtually any audience with an interest in one of the most incredible – and ongoing – stories in New York’s and America’s history!

A set of four companion stand-up banners to the exhibition may also available for a loan period of up to one month at a time in various locations throughout New York State (Member organizations of WNYLRC have priority in making reservations in the WNY region). You can check on availability through the local Council of the Empire State Library Network at: https://www.esln.org/

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me!