Scope and Content Note
This series consists of bound manuscript and typescript copies of reports compiled by or submitted to the Erie Canal Western Division Engineer's Office in Rochester, New York. Most reports detail the history of canal projects undertaken in or near the city of Buffalo, such as the Tonawanda and Oak Orchard Creek Feeder, Erie and Ohio Basins, Main and Hamburgh Street Canal, and Clark and Skinner Canal. These in-depth reports trace the history of projects by citing reports of the Canal Commissioners, Canal Board, and State Engineer and Surveyor; minutes of meetings of the Board of Canal Commissioners; legislation enacted by the State Legislature; local government resolutions; canal contracts; property conveyances; and correspondence between state and local officials.
Manuscript reports in the series appear to have been drafted in the 1880s. Typescript copies of several of these, created from the manuscript versions in 1919, are also found in the series. Additional reports appear in typescript format only. Most reports contain bound-in blueprint copies of canal maps and plans.
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