Vischer Ferry Nature and Historic Preserve

Vischer Ferry Nature and Historic Preserve. . In the fall of 1977, the New York State Department of Transportation and the Town of Clifton Park embarked on a unique partnership. This venture established the 600-acre historically and ecologically significant Vischer Ferry Nature and Historic Preserve. Located within the National Vischer Ferry Historic District and adjacent to the Mohawk River, the Preserve has three areas of interest: a wetland ecosystem, the remains of the Erie Canal and the site of Clifton Park's first settlement., Farmed by Mohawk Indians prior of European settlers, the area was known as Canastigione, meaning "corn flats.” Clifton Park's first white settlers had arrived by 1672, establishing a community here on the Mohawk that became known as Fort's Ferry, after the ferry established by Nicholas Fort about 1727. This area was part of the Canastigione Land Patent of 1708 granted by Queen Anne of England which gave land to speculators., Local residents began to be employed in 1822 digging the Erie Canal, which opened between Albany and Buffalo in 1825. The canal was so successful that it was necessary to enlarge it just ten years later. This section of the canal was enlarged during 1841 and 1842. Clute's Dry Dock settlement is in the eastern section of the preserve, and Lock 19 and its support buildings are in the western section., In 1907, the Mohawk River was dammed to create the locks of the Barge Canal. This made the Mohawk River navigable, but raised the water level to such an extent that annual spring floods inundated the area, forcing the abandonment of the settlements of Fort's Ferry and Clute's Dry Dock. The Erie Canal was abandoned when the Barge Canal became operational in 1917.