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Tonawanda in Erie County, New York — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
 

Westward to Buffalo

Niagara River Greenway

 
 
Westward to Buffalo Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Anton Schwarzmueller, October 8, 2016
1. Westward to Buffalo Marker
Inscription. The westernmost leg of the Erie Canal completed in 1825 followed a route paralleling the Niagara River between Tonawanda and Buffalo. From where you are standing, the Canal travelled some ten miles through the mostly unsettled Township of Tonawanda past Black Rock and finally to Buffalo.

The adjacent map shows the location of this section of the Canal which was ultimately abandoned in 1918.

View of the Erie Canal looking north towards the Tonawandas from the Huntley Power Plant circa 1916.

The huge success of the Canal whoch ran 363 miles from Albany to Buffalo helped make Buffalo one of the largest cities in the United States by the end on the 19th Century.

I've got a mule and her name is Sal
Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal...
Filled with lumber coal and hay,
And every inch of the way we know
From Albany to Buffalo.

Go West Young Man
For travelers on the Erie Canal, Tonawanda or even Buffalo was not their final destination. The Erie Canal is credited as being a major factor in the opening of the West in the mid 19th Century. An unimaginable flood of immigramts, land-seekers, and commercial interests poured into the Ohio Valley, across the Great Plains, and ultimately to the Pacific.
The Buffalo Republican reports that, in one week, 3000 persons have passed
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westward on the Erie Canal to settle in the wilderness. - Niles' Register, Baltimore June 20, 1829.
 
Erected by Historical Society of the Tonawandas.
 
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Man-Made FeaturesWaterways & Vessels. In addition, it is included in the Erie Canal series list. A significant historical date for this entry is June 20, 1829.
 
Location. 43° 0.661′ N, 78° 54.375′ W. Marker is in Tonawanda, New York, in Erie County. Marker can be reached from Niagara Street (New York State Route 266) 0.2 miles west of Veterans Road. Marker is on the riverwalk at the east end of a footbridge. It is along Niagara Street just west of the entrance to Veterans Park. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Tonawanda NY 14150, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Tonawanda Veterans Memorial (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Brewery (approx. 0.4 miles away); Engineering the Erie Canal (approx. 0.6 miles away); Grand Island Ferry (approx. 0.6 miles away); Erie Canal Site (approx. 0.8 miles away); Great Ships of the Niagara (approx. 0.8 miles away); Dedicated to the Memory (approx. 1.1 miles away); To The Glory of God and in Grateful Remembrance (approx. 1.1 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Tonawanda.
Westward to Buffalo Marker on the Riverwalk image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Anton Schwarzmueller, October 8, 2016
2. Westward to Buffalo Marker on the Riverwalk
East Branch of the Niagara River. View is looking upstream.
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on October 19, 2016. It was originally submitted on October 9, 2016, by Anton Schwarzmueller of Wilson, New York. This page has been viewed 270 times since then and 4 times this year. Photos:   1, 2. submitted on October 9, 2016, by Anton Schwarzmueller of Wilson, New York.

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Mar. 18, 2024