Crescent / Mohawk Towpath Byway / Halfmoon

Crescent, also, Mohawk Towpath Byway, also, Halfmoon. . , Crescent , When the Erie Canal opened in 1825, the commercial focus in Halfmoon shifted to the village of Crescent where the longest aqueduct on the system carried the canal across the Mohawk River. That aqueduct was replaced in 1842. Between 1840 and 1844, Crescent resident Alfred Noxon (1815-1880) established a foundry, paint works, a block of stores and a hotel, employing at times from 70 to 100 men. The brick building with the iron steps northeast of the Route 9 Bridge was his bank and residence. To view the house and aqueduct remains follow the footpath under the Route 9 Bridge.

INSET: The Erie-Barge Canal is now located in the Mohawk River. Beginning in 1907, the Mohawk River was dammed and dredged so that boats could navigate it. When the Barge Canal opened in 1917, the old Erie was abandoned and the aqueduct removed. Because the water level in the Mohawk River increased by as much as 28 feet, parts of the original shoreline are now underwater.

Mohawk Towpath Byway , The Mohawk Towpath Byway is a series of state, local, and county highways that tell the compelling story of the Erie Canal, the waterway wet- the first water level route between the Atlantic and the upper Great Lakes.

The Byway links scenic, recreational , and historic resources along the Mohawk River, original Erie Canal, enlarged Erie Canal, and current Barge Canal corridor from Waterford to Schenectady. Many prosperous communities like Vischer Ferry, Crescent, Rexford, and the the Stockade District of Schenectady grew up along these routes. The architecture from 18th and 19th centuries endures, The engineering feats of the Canal builders are still visible along the byway.

Come discover more about the story of the Mohawk Towpath Byway. As you visit the locks , bridges, and aqueducts that made canal transportation possible for almost two centuries, you will discover the importance this area played in the westward expansion of the country and our area’s contribution to its economic growth, You will discover our hertitage.

The Mohawk Towpath Byway is an eastern gateway to the erie Canalway National Hertiage Corridor, which seeks to balance heritage stewardship and development practices along New York’s canals from Albany to Buffalo, and north to Lake Champlain.

Halfmoon , The area called “Half Moon Country” was settled and well established by 1675. Located along the north-south route of the Hudson River, and the east -west route of the Mohawk River, Halfmoon was an important trade route for the Indians and first settlers. The early fort at Halfmoon, constructed about the house of Harme Leversee, was located on the Hudson River about one mile north of Waterford. It protected the early Dutch settlers from raids during the French and Indian wars.

Following Halfmoon’s natural transportation corridors, both the Erie and Champlain Canals linked the Capital District with Canada and the Mid-West. In the 19th century, early settlers bound for farmland in the west passed through the area on their long journey . Manufactured goods were shipped west along the Erie and north along the Champlain Canal, and agricultural goods, lumber, and iron ore came east and south to the industrial Northeast.

INSET: The canals were artificial channels which locks to raised and lower boats between levels. An aqueduct (a bridge for boats) carried the Erie Canal across the Mohawk River to this site where it continued west along is now Canal Road, When the aqueduct was enlarged in 1842, the piers of the old aqueduct were used to support a toll bridge. The limestone masonry behind you was originally used to build canal structures.