Research


Scope and Content Note

This series contains original linen plans for contracts for the Barge Canal System furnished under Chapter 147, Laws of 1903. Section 6 of the law specified that all work done on the "improved" Erie Canal (what later became known as the Barge Canal System) was to be done by contract; each canal structure or geographic area was let as a contract. The law further directed the State Engineer and Surveyor to make maps, plans, and specifications prior to assigning contracts. The plans for these contracts are the maps and drawings constituting this series. The series is arranged by contract number and contains maps for contracts 1-236. Cayuga and Seneca contracts, produced later and not included in the original Barge Canal contract list, follow an alphabetical order.

Numerous sheets exist per contract number. Individual contract maps are often preceded by a location or key map, which geographically identifies contract number, section number, and canal. Key maps often include indexes for each job assigned under a given contract; jobs are itemized and listed separately. Also, maps frequently include a summary description of the contract. Contracts include, among other projects, work for dams, locks, lock gates, foundations, culverts, sluice gates, spillways, walls, and bridges.