Research

Scope and Content Note

This series indexes a collection of maps that was once maintained by the Waterways Maintenance office of the Department of Public Works Region 2, later within the Department of Transportation. These maps related primarily to the construction and maintenance of the canal within Region 2. Included were maps and plans concerning the first enlargement of the Erie Canal, the 1895 Improvement and the Erie Barge Canal, as well as work on the Black River Canal, the Chenango Canal, the Northern and Southern Reservoirs, Oneida Lake, and the Old and New Oneida Lake Canals. Some non-canal work is also represented, such as with Utica State Hospital and Marcy State Hospital, perhaps reflecting a period when Waterways Maintenance was responsible for more than just navigable waterways. One sequence of the index originated with the Rome Barge Canal Terminal field office, emphasizing canal routes and structures for the western and northern portions of Region 2.