Tolls on the Erie Canal paid off the costs of its construction in eight years, rather than the projected twenty. The Canal provided millions of dollars annually to the State by the mid-19th Century, making New York the most politically and economically important city in the nation.

The Erie Canal transformed New York City into America’s commercial capital. The city’s population quadrupled between 1820 and 1850, and the financing of the canal’s construction also allowed New York to surpass Philadelphia as the country’s preeminent banking center.

The Erie Canal had many positive effects. It opened up trade in the Midwest, as farmers now had a cheaper way to get their goods to markets. The canal put many people to work, most notably Irish immigrants. It also gave Albany and Buffalo an economic boost.

Wheat, flour and grains were being shipped along the Lakes eastward. The Erie Canal made it easier to move these valuable commodities to market in New York City. Rochester soon became known as the “Flour City,” a holding facility and clearinghouse for goods on their way to the warehouses of Brooklyn and Manhattan.

Fast Facts

List of countries by waterways length

Panama Canal