Phase 1B Underwater Archaeological Report for the Onondaga ...

FINAL
Phase IB Underwater Archaeological Resources Report for Onondaga Lake Superfund Site
By the 1860s the railroad had become a major competitor for moving both people and goods west. To
keep up with the competition, work began on the second enlargement of the canal system. In 1903,
survey work began for a new 1000 ton barge canal. The New York State Barge Canal opened in 1918 and
made use of bodies of water like Onondaga Lake and Oneida Lake since the use of steam powered
tugboats and steel canal boats lessened the concern for protected water travel and the need for
towpaths. 74 The Old Oswego and Old Erie canal systems adjacent to Onondaga Lake were then
abandoned. The new Oswego Canal connects with the Erie Barge Canal north of Onondaga Lake at
Three Rivers. The Erie Barge Canal system passes through Onondaga Lake as a route to Syracuse, where
a southern harbor was constructed past the southern lake outlet (Figure 8, Figure 9 and Figure 10).
Figure 8. 1926 navigational chart showing the northern entrance to Onondaga Lake via the Onondaga
Outlet. Barge Canal vessels could access the lake via the Seneca River, part of the Barge Canal, and
through the Outlet (U.S. Lake Survey Office, New York State Canals, Erie Canal, Brewerton to Cross Lake
and Syracuse and Oswego Canal, Three River Point to Oswego, 1926).
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