HAL meeting to focus on Erie Canal

Historical Association of Lewiston Press Release

The Historical Association of Lewiston’s next program, “The Meaning and Significance of the Erie Canal after 200 years,” will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26, at the Lutheran Church of the Messiah Fellowship Hall, 915 Oneida St. This presentation will be by Dr. John Montague of the Buffalo Maritime Center.

Last May 23, Montague offered a presentation for HAL om the future plans of the just-launched replica of DeWitt Clinton’s canal boat Seneca Chief – the boat that opened the Erie Canal in 1825. Through the summer, the boat has been engaged in sea trials travelling as far as Rochester in preparation for next year’s voyage to New York City for the canal’s bicentennial commemorations.

Parallel to the researching, designing and building the boat with community volunteers at Buffalo Canalside over the past four years, the Buffalo Maritime Center has also authored and produced a book titled “The Erie Canal, Vol. 1, Perspectives at 200,” published by Western New York Heritage Press (it just appeared this summer).

The authors of the book, including the speaker, have attempted to take a fresh look, and a broader look, at the meaning and the impact of the canal. The canal, while a triumph of Euro-American “progress,” had some darker sides that have rarely been considered, such as the displacement of the native populations, ecological and social disruptions, religious perspectives and other factors, all of which make the canal’s story a far richer and more interesting narrative than traditionally presented.

Montague will discuss the themes of the book and also give an update on the Seneca Chief’s summer sea trials and preparations for 2025. The second volume of this book will appear next year. The speaker will have copies of the book available at the HAL event.

Montague arrived in Buffalo in 1984 to set up SUNY College at Buffalo’s design history program. With two colleagues in the design department, he founded the BSC Center for Watercraft Studies in 1993, an initiative which not only developed academic programs but also engaged in extensive community outreach. At the time of his retirement in 2006, he helped to form the current Buffalo Maritime Center, which focuses on the collection, research, preservation, restoration and replication of historic watercraft of the Niagara Frontier. Using boatbuilding as a vehicle, the center engages in community outreach programs and STEM training for young people.

This community event is free and open to all, but donations are greatly appreciated to help support the Lewiston Museum. Refreshments will be served.