Near Fultonville in Montgomery County, New York — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Bollards
Photographed By Steve Stoessel, October 20, 2019
1. Bollards Marker
A man came rushing from a house,
Saying, "Snub up your boat I pray,
Snub up your boat, snub up, alas,
Snub up while yet you may."
Mark Twain's satirical poem "The Aged Pilot Man” highlights characteristic of canal life as true now as it was in the 19th-century (though hopefully with much less drama!). Snubbing posts of the old Erie Canal are now the bollards of the Erie Barge Canal. Barges of today like the canal boats of the past lack their own motive power. To stop them requires great care. Rope lines attached to the barge are looped around the hour-glass shaped bollards. By gradually tightening the looped rope as the barge moves along, the barge hand can slowly bring the massive vessel to a controlled stop. Doing so too quickly breaks the rope with needed control being then lost over the barge's direction and speed. And, yes, once stopped the barge can also be secured to the canal wall with several rope lines reaching to several of the bollards. Their modest shape and size belie the critical role that bollards have in canal life.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Waterways & Vessels.
Location. 42° 54.986′ N, 74° 26.77′ W. Marker is near Fultonville
this page online
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. The Mohawk Valley (within shouting distance of this marker); Transportation is King / Modernization (within shouting distance of this marker); a different marker also named The Mohawk Valley (within shouting distance of this marker); History of the Buoy Boat (within shouting distance of this marker); a different marker also named The Mohawk Valley (within shouting distance of this marker); Then and Now (within shouting distance of this marker); The Erie Canal (within shouting distance of this marker); a different marker also named The Erie Canal (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Fultonville.
Also see . . . The Aged Pilot Man. (Submitted on October 21, 2019, by Steve Stoessel of Niskayuna, New York.)
Photographed By Steve Stoessel
2. Bollards At the Mohawk Valley Welcome Center
Credits. This page was last revised on October 23, 2019. It was originally submitted on October 21, 2019, by Steve Stoessel of Niskayuna, New York. This page has been viewed 218 times since then and 27 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on October 21, 2019, by Steve Stoessel of Niskayuna, New York. • Michael Herrick was the editor who published this page.
