This building and the loading capability it provided was a point of pride at some time in our history. The image below as well as more information about sand mining in the area around Forestport can be found in this link from the Black River Canal Museum in Boonville. Does anyone know whether traces of this loader still exist? How many years was it in service? I’d love to know more about the mechanics of opening the gates in the loader so that gravity could do the loading.

Ten of the 31 arches of the 900-foot Richmond Aqueduct, opened in 1857 over the Seneca River, are still quite intact, seven on the east side and three on the west side. The others were dismantled in 1917 when the NYS Barge Canal was opened. Does anyone know of photos of that dismantling? Were voices opposing the dismantling reflected in the newspapers of the time? Here was a previous post about the aqueduct.

Clearly, the pre-1917 denuded hillside reflects the effects of the “horse” era, when much more land was used for growing fuel for the transportation animals. I’d say that’s an apple orchard at the top of the hill.

Was the tall mast part of a derrick at that end of the aqueduct? If so, what purpose would that have served?

The 2010 TugBoat Roundup (TBR) photo below is unrelated, but Friday–opening day–is just hours away, and I’m again asking for correspondents to send along photos to capture multiple perspectives of the event. The Canal Society will have a booth near the Hurst Harbor Visitor Center, and I’ll be there most of the day of Saturday. Stop by and say hello.

By the way, a monumental opportunity for CSNY correspondents will begin later this month as the 2025 Seneca Chief begins its “re-enactment” of the 1825 journey from Buffalo to NYC. More on the original Seneca Chief here.

Send photos to:  canalsocietyofnysphotos@gmail.com

My suggestion for effective framing of a photo, whether at TBR or of Seneca Chief— would be to juxtapose the photo with an identifiable landmark, such as a lock number, a well-known bridge or other example of infrastructure, or a familiar building. That way it would be evident to folks that a given photo was taken in Lockport or Fairport or Utica . . . or any other locality.