New York State Contracting Board Proposals and Bonds for Canal Enlargement and Repairs A1127

New York State Contracting Board Proposals and Bonds for Canal Enlargement and Repairs

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Overview of the Records

Repository:

New York State Archives
New York State Education Department
Cultural Education Center
Albany, NY 12230

Summary:

The Contracting Board received proposals and bonds for performance of work submitted by persons wishing to obtain contracts for construction or repair of canals. Series includes printed forms for locks, culverts, waste weirs, aqueducts, bridge abutments, reservoirs, iron superstructure, and general excavation. Proposals specify the cost of clearing, excavation, masonry, carpentry, lumber, stone, iron, cement, and additional labor or materials necessary to perform the work.

Creator:

New York (State). Contracting Board

Title:

New York State Contracting Board proposals and bonds for canal enlargement and repairs

Quantity:

12.75 cubic feet

Inclusive Dates:

1847-1869

Series Number:

A1127

Arrangement

Numerical.

Administrative History

A Contracting Board was set up by Chapter 329, Laws of 1854, to receive proposals for enlargement of the Erie Canal. Proposals were submitted to the Canal Commissioners. Most of the proposals in this series come from the enlargement, carried out between 1854 and 1862.

Scope and Content Note

Proposals were bids submitted by persons wishing to obtain contracts for construction or repair of canals. Included are printed forms for locks, culverts, waste weirs, aqueducts, bridge abutments, reservoirs, iron superstructure, and general excavation. Proposals specify the cost of clearing, excavation, masonry, carpentry, lumber, stone, iron, cement, and other labor or materials necessary to perform the work.

Each proposal gives the contractor's costs for each category of expenditure and includes a bond for performance of the work. Each proposal includes the lock and section number of the proposed work and an affidavit stating that this is the only proposal submitted. Proposals are numbered and labeled on the outside and are usually bundled in numerical order (though many are out of order). All contracts in accretion A1127-08 appear to be for projects in the Eastern Division of the canal system.

Other Finding Aids

Available at Repository

Name index at fore of volume.

Acquisition Information

A1127-08: This volume was transferred to the New York State Archives from the Erie Canal Museum in Syracuse in 1985, and is labeled as #78 on the transfer inventory.