At the time of the Revolution, America inherited claims to vast tracts of western lands; but owning and keeping were two different things! Our young nation desperately needed to establish trade routes across the formidable Appalachian mountain chain. Other efforts failed, but here in New York State the Erie Canal succeeded, and perhaps the one most important reason for its success can be seen here. The noses refer to the two parts of the mountain that was cut in two by the Mohawk River's flow many thousands of years before the white man ever came to this continent. This site, which is just a few miles east of Canajoharie, was the only gap in the Appalachian chain through which a canal could be successfully constructed.