The Chittenango Landing Dry Dock Complex provided
dry dock
A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...
for
canal boats
Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...
on the old
Erie Canal
The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing t ...
. The original complex was built in 1856 and abandoned after this section of the "enlarged" Erie canal was bypassed by the new barge canal in 1917.
The current
restoration
Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to:
* Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage
** Audio restoration
** Film restoration
** Image restoration
** Textile restoration
* Restoration ecology
...
began in 1986 when the original dry docks were
excavated, since then several buildings have been restored, one of which acts as a museum building for the Chittenango Landing Canal Boat Museum.
The site was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1992. The listing includes six contributing structures over a area.
[
The site includes three dry dock bays.][
an]
''Accompanying seven photos, from c. 1875, c. 1913, 1989, and 1991''
/ref>
History
The Chittenango Landing dry docks were constructed in 1856 as part of the enlarged canal expansion of the original "Clinton ditch" canal. Due to the similarity in construction with other nearby dry docks in Newark
Newark most commonly refers to:
* Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States
* Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area
Newark may also refer to:
Places Canada
* Niagara-on-the ...
, Albion
Albion is an alternative name for Great Britain. The oldest attestation of the toponym comes from the Greek language. It is sometimes used poetically and generally to refer to the island, but is less common than 'Britain' today. The name for Scot ...
, and Middleport the Chittenango docks were possibly constructed by the same contractor.[
]
The dry dock property was first purchased for $1400.00 from the Yates Estate in 1856 and changed ownership numerous times during its existence.[
]
After the enlarged canal ceased operation, the Chittenango Landing site was used for agricultural operations, the barn at the site was used to house horses, cows, and chickens through
the first half of the twentieth century. The site's warehouse was also cut in half and moved, using block and tackle
A block and tackle or only tackle is a system of two or more pulleys with a rope or cable threaded between them, usually used to lift heavy loads.
The pulleys are assembled to form blocks and then blocks are paired so that one is fixed and one ...
, to a new location behind the site's sawmill
A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...
where it was used as an icehouse. The site was also subject to scavenging of wood from its building and abandoned barge, the ''Beech Nut''. In 1950, stones were removed from the dry-docks’ walls for use in construction of the New York State Thruway
{{Infobox road
, state = NY
, type = NYST
, alternate_name = Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway
, maint = NYSTA
, map = {{maplink, frame=yes, plain=yes, frame-align=center, frame-width=290, type=line, stroke-width=2, type2=line, from2=New Yor ...
. Two canal era residences still remained on the property as late as 1972.[
]
See also
* Chittenango, New York
Chittenango is a village located in Madison County, New York, United States. The village is in the southern part of the Town of Sullivan. The population was 5,081 at the 2010 census. Chittenango is the birthplace of L. Frank Baum, author of ''T ...
* Old Erie Canal State Historic Park
The Old Erie Canal State Historic Park encompasses a linear segment of the original Erie Canal's Long Level section. It extends westward from Butternut Creek in the town of DeWitt, just east of Syracuse, to the outskirts of Rome, New York. The ...
References
External links
Chittenango Landing Canal Boat Museum
Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state)
Industrial buildings completed in 1856
Erie Canal parks, trails, and historic sites
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state)
Parks in Madison County, New York
Museums in Madison County, New York
Transportation museums in New York (state)
Canal museums in the United States
National Register of Historic Places in Madison County, New York
1856 establishments in New York (state)
{{MadisonCountyNY-NRHP-stub