Research

Scope and Content Note

This series consists mostly of filed petitions and appeals to the Board with minutes of hearings, testimony, and other related documents and a few miscellaneous items. These records document the Board's responsibilities for hearing damage claims and appeals, directing special repairs, and other canal-related administrative matters. Petitions of individuals, firms, or local governments request leases of water rights and other canal property; extra allowances on contracts; abandonment (cancellation) of contracts; reimbursement for damages to land and other property; improvements such as new culverts, docks, bridges, and other structures; abandonment and sale of unused canal lands; refund of tolls; and other actions by the Board.

The series also contains appeals from decisions of the Board of Appraisers (1829-1857), Canal Appraisers (1857-1883), and Board of Claims (1883-1897), with accompanying exhibits, testimony, and correspondence; resignations of canal employees; complaints about the conduct of employees, including depositions charging corruption and fraud; construction proposals, maps, plans, and cost estimates from canal engineers, often with signed approvals of the Canal Commissioners; construction contracts; and check rolls and vouchers submitted by superintendents of repairs during the 1860s.

After 1900 most of the records concern construction of the Barge Canal and its terminals.

On the back of many documents is a brief summary of the contents of the document and/or a filing number. This filing number is used as a reference in the indexes to this series.