Spring at the Combines Kids T-Shirt

The state legislature appointed New York Mayor DeWitt Clinton to study possible routes for the Erie Canal and Champlain Canal. On Feb. 21, 1816, the legislature approved the first publicly funded canal to be built in the United States.

Two years later, excavation began on the Champlain Canal near Fort Edward. This crude canal was built with picks, shovels, wheelbarrows and the labor of many men.

By 1820, a feeder route was explored, with a dam across the Hudson River at Fort Edward. While the $92,000 dam was a success, there was still not enough water. A proposal followed for a new feeder from Sandy Hill (Hudson Falls).

Glens Falls businessmen lobbied to have the headwaters of the new feeder extended to Glens Falls. Because of the poor roads, merchants needed a cheap and direct form of transportation to get goods to market.

The Feeder Canal was developed over nine years - seven miles of narrow waterway, permitting one boat at a time, with 13 wooden l...

I spent many years as a professional Interior Designer, but am now additionally devoting myself to the art of photography. Based in the foothillls of the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York, many of my photos highlight the beauty and rich history of the region. I also have a deep love of New England and the coastal areas just hours from my home, so am broadening my portfolio with photos of those areas as well. In October, 2016 I opened The McKernon Gallery at 216 Main Street, Hudson Falls, New York 12839. The Gallery is filled with Wall, Functional, and Wearable Art that features my photographs, as well as wood bowls, Steampunk sculpture, original paintings, fabric wall art, glass and sculptural jewelry, and forged metal art. The...