Working The Lake

Working The Lake. . This Barge Canal Terminal Dock, built in 1916, represents the last chapter in a lively history of shipping improvements that connected Rouses Point with Canada, New York City and Buffalo through Lake Champlain. Shipping on the lake meant living on the lake for hundreds of people - lighthouse keepers, ferrymen and whole families who lived year-round on their canal boats.

The Champlain Canal opened in 1819 as far as Fort Edward, completed to Waterford in 1823. A few years later, the Erie Canal opened the way west across the breadth of New York State. In 1843, the Chambly Canal bypassed the rapids at the Richelieu River so boat traffic could reach the Saint Lawrence River at Sorel, Quebec. Improvements in the 1860s made the Champlain Canal deeper and wider. By 1870, 1500-1800 canal boats worked these interconnected waterways.

Shipping volume on Lake Champlain reached a high of one and a half million tons in 1890, prompting the discussion of further improvements to the Champlain Canal. Instead Theodore Roosevelt proposed a construction of a new barge canal that would provide a public transportation alternative to the private railroads. Tugs would propel the barges, doing away with tow paths and sailing canal boats. Barge Canal traffic reached its peak in 1951, after playing an important role in moving fuel during World War II. Today the canal system serves pleasure crafts