Ellicott's
Southern Route
Images & Video
When he learned that the canal was to cross Western New York far to the north, Joseph Ellicott sent his best surveyor to find a route that was more to the advantage of his employer, the Holland Land Company. He knew that land values would rise on both sides of the canal, and a more southern route would affect the pricing of a greater area than the route originally proposed.
Ellicott's proposed route was rejected, and the reason can be seen on this map showing the levels of the terrain in Western New York. Lake Erie is 570 feet above sea level. Because Ellicott's canal would have been higher than that, Lake Erie's water could never flow into it. There are no pumps in the modern canal, and there were certainly none in 1825. The challenges of digging the canal northward to Lockport were great, but in the end it proved to be a wise choice.
