Black River Canal

Black River Canal
Abandoned locks on the Black River Canal in Lewis County, New York. A group of locks like this is known as a combine. Locks 87 - 90.
Specifications
Length	35 miles (56 km)
Locks	109
Maximum height above sea level	693 ft (211 m)
Status	Abandoned
History
Date of act	1837
Construction began	1837
Date completed	1855
Date closed	1925
Geography
Start point	Rome, New York
End point	Carthage, New York
Connects to	Erie Canal

The Black River Canal was a canal built in northern New York in the United States to connect the Erie Canal to the Black River. The canal had 109 locks along its 35-mile (56 km) length. Remains of several of the canal's former locks are visible along New York State Route 12 near Boonville.

The Black River Canal Museum in Boonville is dedicated to the Black River Canal.

In 1828, a survey for the Black River Canal Company proposed 34 miles (55 km) of traffic canal, 11 miles (18 km) of feeder canal, and 40 miles (64 km) of navigable river from Rome in Oneida County to Carthage in Jefferson County to allow the communities of northern New York access to an inexpensive mode of transportation for commerce. Originally the Canal Commission's intent was to complete a route that would terminate at the St. Lawrence River in Ogdensburg at the northern edge of St. Lawrence County. The canal when finished only went to Carthage and yet still possessed all of the traits proposed in 1828 and rose a modest 693 feet (211 m).

One hundred and nine locks were required to raise and lower the barges over this relatively short distance. Some of the locks were in consecutive series of four and five due to steep grades. The summit of the Black River Canal ("BRC") passed through Boonville in Oneida County, where it met with a feeder canal that originated in Forestport. The northern end of the canal proper terminated at Lyons Falls in Lewis County while canal boat traffic continued through to Carthage by way of improvements to the navigability of the Black River itself and the assistance of steamboats. Two additional locks and four dams on the river were needed to accomplish this feat.