In 1817, New York began digging a 363-mile canal its critics called “Clinton’s Folly”; eight years later, it helped make New York City America’s commercial capital

On July 4, 1817, when construction began with a ceremonial groundbreaking, many Americans dismissed the project as an impossible dream. New York Governor DeWitt Clinton’s ambitious plan to carve a 363-mile canal across forests, swamps and rocky terrain was mocked by his political opponents, with some even calling the project “Clinton's Folly” and “Clinton's Ditch.” However, eight years later, the completed project, named the Erie Canal, transformed New York into the nation’s commercial hub, slashed transportation costs and reshaped the economic geography of the United States. According to the New York State Canal Corporation and National Park Service, the Erie Canal became the first continuous inland waterway which linked the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean through the Hudson River.

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