A Link in the Great Chain: A History of the Chemung Canal

From 1833 to 1878, the Chemung Canal served as one of the lateral canals in New York State, capitalizing on the wildly successful Erie Canal that had opened in 1825. The Chemung Canal connected the Chemung River in Elmira, New York, to Seneca Lake at Watkins Glen, New York. A navigable feeder supplied water to the canal from the Chemung River near Corning, New York. With the arrival of this waterway, local communities could access eastern markets.  They sent coal, lumber, plaster, salt, and agricultural products to Buffalo, Albany, Rochester, and New York City, and received manufactured goods in return. People as well as products flowed in with the canal, including an influx of workers, mainly immigrants from Ireland. A Link in the Great Chain tells how the Chemung Canal, although it had a short life, did a great deal to change the landscape and economy of the local area as part of the great chain of canals that once criss-crossed New York State.

A Link in the Great Chain is co-published with the Chemung County Historical Society.