Industrial History: 1851-1922 Black River Canal Overview

GPS coordinates information: AmericanCanalSociety_index

The Black River Canal was a 35 Mile canal that went from the Erie Canal in Rome to Lyons Falls. The lower part of the canal still functions as a feeder canal to the Barge Canal. The canal left Rome following the headwaters of the Mohawk River. The summit was in Boonesville. where it started following the Black River north. At Lyons Falls, boats could continue 42 miles on the Black River to reach Carthage. The Black River drains into Lake Ontario. It was authorized in 1836 as a navigable feeder canal because construction had begun on the Enlarged Erie Canal, and it needed more water. So the canal was used to divert water from the Black River to the Erie Canal. By 1851, boats were using the canal. The canal survived the 1877 abandonment of most lateral canals because of its importance as a feeder canal. Because the quarries that supplied material for the construction of the Delta Dam were north of Booneville, "the locks north of Boonville were refurbished once again in the hopes that the canal would be used up through the Black River and Carthage and the canal remained in a navigable condition into the 1920s. And yet, only eighty-four boats left Boonville for Rome in 1921, three in 1922, and none in 1923. The canal was un-officially abandoned by disuse." "An interesting footnote of BRC history was the close examination of the Morris Canal’s (New Jersey) inclined planes to replace the need for the great number of locks that were proposed along the canal. In all, the BRC was to use 109 locks over the thirty-five miles between Rome and Lyons Falls, which means about four locks per mile. In contrast, the Erie Canal used eighty-three locks along it’s 363 miles between Albany and Buffalo." (Delta Dam's reservoir engulfed Locks #7-#13.) Since the canal was abandoned after the railroads and roads in the area was built, many of the remnants are still visible compared to other 1800s canals. [AmericanCanalSociety]

"Built in the mid-19th century, the canal holds the record for the most locks along the shortest distance – 109 across 35 miles....The Forestport Feeder to Boonville was completed in 1848 after 10 years of construction, from which point it could be said that the headwaters of the Erie flowed from the Adirondacks. The first boat to climb the 70 locks and 693 feet from Rome arrived in Booneville in 1850. The rest of the canal, 386 feet down to Lyons Falls was completed in 1855. From there, barges were towed to and from Carthage along the Black River. Plans to extend the waterway to Lake Ontario or the St. Lawrence River never came to fruition." [AdirondakExplorer] (That is 3.1 locks per mile.)

AmericanCanalSociety Interactive Map

BlockRiverCanalMuseum
"Timber, sawn lumber, and other wood products (pulp wood, firewood, shingles) were by far the most important commodities shipped on the canal, accounting for more than 90 per cent of the tonnage in the early years. In 1866, 29,000,000 board feet of lumber, 135,000 cubic feet of timber, and 10,000 cords of wood were shipped on the canal, destined primarily for Capital region, the Hudson Valley, and New York City." Farming developed on the cleared land, but farm products never generated the volume of freight that the timber industry provided. "Cheese and butter were shipped on the canal, as were wheat, rye, maize, and root vegetables. Over time, potatoes became the dominant export crop....The principal reason for the decline in canal business, however, was the fact that the region’s vast forests had been largely cleared. By 1892, when 2.8 million acres were set aside for the Adirondack Park , at least two-thirds of the area had been logged at least once. Timber--the mainstay of the canal--was no longer present in quantities large enough to sustain the canal as a viable enterprise. Although logging remained an important industry, the emphasis shifted to the local manufacture of furniture and paper products."

Cori Wilson posted four photos with the comment:

The Dream That Never Quite Reached the Lake: The Long Struggle for the Black River Canal Extension
In the early decades of the 20th century, while New York was pouring enormous resources into transforming its aging Erie Canal into the modern Barge Canal, a quieter but equally passionate movement was underway in the North Country. The people of northern New York longed for their own share of the prosperity that the new waterway promised. Their vehicle for that ambition was the Black River Canal Extension—an ambitious plan to carry barges from Carthage all the way north to Lake Ontario.
The story, drawn from the 1921 History of the Barge Canal, is one of emulation, engineering ambition, political maneuvering, and repeated disappointment. It reveals how the spectacular success of the Erie Canal created a “veritable frenzy” for new waterways across the state.
The Spirit of Emulation
Great public works have a way of inspiring imitation. Once the Erie Canal proved its worth, New Yorkers caught canal fever. The “great canal law” of 1825 ordered surveys of seventeen proposed canals totaling more than 1,200 miles. In the next ten years, six additional State canals were built and four more authorized. By the time the Barge Canal era arrived, four main State canals had either been enlarged to Barge dimensions or were under serious consideration for such upgrades.
Yet the text notes that, despite this enthusiasm, most branch-canal proposals never advanced beyond preliminary surveys. The authors caution that waterways not connecting large industrial centers to sources of supply were rarely worth building—a lesson learned from several abandoned lateral canals. Still, certain schemes received careful study, and the first of these to gain serious legislative attention was the Black River Canal Extension.
The Black River Canal: A Remarkable but Troubled Waterway
The Black River story begins long before the Barge Canal. In 1810 the Black River Navigation Company was incorporated to improve navigation from Lake Ontario upriver to Brownville. In 1828 the company constructed stone locks at Dexter capable of handling the steamer Brownville—a 100-ton vessel 80 feet long with a 20-foot beam, 6½-foot hold, and 35–40 horsepower engines. Intended for trade between Ogdensburg and the lake, the steamer barely managed to pass the locks on her maiden voyage before being burned at the water’s edge.
The “great canal law” of 1825 also ordered surveys to link the Erie Canal with the St. Lawrence River at Ogdensburg. James Geddes, one of the Erie Canal’s most respected engineers, examined three routes. The one ultimately chosen ran from Rome northward through High Falls on the Black River to Carthage. Authorized in 1836, the main canal was constructed between 1838 and 1855, leaving the Erie at Rome and heading north.
The route was extraordinary. From Rome it followed the Mohawk River valley as far as possible, then climbed the Black River valley to Boonville at summit level. It then descended northward, paralleling the Black River before dropping into the stream at Lyons Falls. Water came from a feeder built between Boonville and Forestport (1838–1848). The lower section—known as the Black River Improvement—from Lyons Falls to Carthage was begun in 1854 and completed in 1861.
Between Rome and Lyons Falls, a distance of only about 35 miles, engineers built an astonishing 109 locks—an average of more than three locks per mile. The extreme changes in elevation even prompted serious consideration of an inclined-plane system using cradles on rails, which would have made it the only canal of its kind in New York. That idea was ultimately abandoned.
The Black River Canal remains part of the State system today, but only the section south of Boonville sees regular traffic. The stretch between Lyons Falls and Carthage has suffered from neglect; river navigation south of Lyons Falls was long blocked by a dilapidated connecting lock. Recent repairs have restored the Boonville-to-Lyons Falls section, but usage remains limited.
From the beginning, supporters argued for the canal on three grounds: the region’s abundant lumber, its importance as an agricultural, dairy, and grazing district, and—most crucially—its potential to supply water to the Erie Canal. James Geddes himself had noted this water-supply benefit in his 1826 survey. In 1874, when constitutional restrictions against selling lateral canals were lifted, only a favorable report from a special commission of experts saved the Black River branch from abandonment. Its official name in the authorizing law—“The Black River Canal and Erie Canal Feeder”—reflected its dual role.
Over the years the State built an extensive system of reservoirs in the Adirondack headwaters of the Black River to store water for canal use. These, along with two much larger modern reservoirs, were retained as part of the Barge Canal system.
Early Dreams of Extension
Almost as soon as construction began on the Black River Canal, people began agitating for an extension northward to Lake Ontario. In 1840, Engineer Edward H. Brodhead submitted detailed cost estimates for several possible routes. His figures—using stone, composite, or wooden locks—ranged from roughly $900,000 to over $2.5 million depending on the route and lock type. The longest option, via the Oswegatchie River to Ogdensburg, was estimated at 77⅝ miles with 54 locks.
A bill to build the extension was introduced but defeated. The Assembly asked the canal commissioners for revenue projections, but their 1841 report was evasive. Another bill died in committee, and the idea faded for decades.
One of the more compelling arguments at the time was military. Proponents pointed out that the British had built the expensive Rideau Canal to provide a safe interior route to the eastern end of Lake Ontario. An American canal to the same area would allow the United States to move troops and supplies more efficiently in wartime, especially given the heavy overland transport required through the Black River country during the War of 1812, which had reportedly cost more than two million dollars.
The 1911 Revival
By 1911, northern New York was frustrated. Much of the region had only one railroad, and residents saw little hope for economic growth without better transportation. They believed the solution lay in repairing and extending the Black River Canal all the way to Lake Ontario.
Enthusiasm swept the region. Petitions urged the Legislature to act. The result was a $50,000 appropriation for repairs to the old canal between Boonville and Carthage, plus funding for a new survey of the proposed extension from Carthage to Lake Ontario.
A statistical survey showed the region already generated 1.5 million tons of inbound and outbound traffic suitable for canal carriage annually. The area was primarily agricultural and grazing country, with significant paper manufacturing and valuable mineral deposits: high-grade magnetic iron ore, iron pyrites, marble, limestone, sandstone, granite, and smaller quantities of zinc, lead, and hematite. Supporters argued that commercial expansion in all these sectors depended on reliable, low-cost transportation.
The State Engineer’s Thorough Investigation
Under the direction of Resident Engineer Louis A. Burns, the State Engineer’s office conducted a remarkably detailed study despite a modest budget. Every feasible route was surveyed. Water supply, storage reservoirs, feeders, land purchases, and damage claims were all carefully estimated. The law required the work to focus strictly on engineering matters; no economic or traffic analysis beyond basic data was included.
Burns’s 1912 report proposed a 31.36-mile route requiring 24 locks. For a full Barge Canal–sized waterway (45-foot-wide prism, 328-foot-long locks), the estimated cost was $16,319,580. A smaller channel (28 feet wide, 188-foot locks) came in at $14,605,980. In 1913, after court decisions on land and water damages, the State Engineer raised the full-sized estimate to $19,000,000.
Legislative Battles and the Omnibus Approach
In 1912 a bill carrying $14 million (later increased to support full Barge dimensions) passed both houses but was vetoed by the Governor, who cited the greater immediate need for funds to complete the State’s good-roads system. The following year, an omnibus bill with a $55 million bond issue that included the Black River project plus four others reached third reading in the Assembly but stalled in the Senate.
The Governor had objected that only the Black River project had solid surveys and reliable estimates; he preferred waiting until the other routes were properly studied. Acting on his suggestion, the 1913 Legislature passed a law (Chapter 220) authorizing surveys of five proposed canals:
Extension of the Black River Canal
Reconstruction of the Chemung Canal
Conversion of the Glens Falls feeder into a canal
Construction of a canal between Flushing River and Jamaica Bay
Construction of a canal from Newtown Creek (sometimes called Nassau River) to connect with the Flushing–Jamaica Bay canal
Because the Black River survey had only recently been completed, new surveys were ordered only for the other four.
In 1914 another omnibus bill—including the Black River, Chemung, Glens Falls feeder, and Jamaica Bay–Flushing Bay projects—carrying a $68 million bond issue passed the Assembly but failed in the Senate.
A separate 1913 bill for $50,000 to dredge the river section of the Black River Canal also passed the Legislature but was vetoed without comment.
An Unfinished Chapter
By 1921, when the History of the Barge Canal was published, the Black River Extension remained unbuilt. The old canal continued to serve primarily as a feeder for the main Barge system, its reservoirs storing precious Adirondack water. The North Country’s dream of a modern waterway reaching Lake Ontario had been repeatedly surveyed, debated, estimated, and legislated—but never realized.
The story stands as a fascinating case study in the challenges of public works: the power of regional aspiration, the rigor of engineering investigation, the realities of legislative compromise and gubernatorial veto, and the enduring tension between grand vision and practical priorities. While the Barge Canal transformed much of New York, the Black River’s full extension to the lake remained one of the many “might-have-been” branches in the state’s rich canal history.

Several trails have been built along the canal.

breiax-countryski via AdirondackExplorer

The 10-mile feeder canal and the Black River Canal south of Boonville still has water because it now feeds water to the New York State Barge Canal. The water is diverted from the canal into Lansing Kill, which dumps into the Mohawk River. It appears the diversion is at Hidden Falls.

The canal is dry south of Hidden Falls, but I don't see much water in Lansing Kill.