Dispatches from the Samuel Center

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April 2026 Study Tour C

No, this is not indicative of Clyde traffic we’ll encounter during the Study Tour in just a few weeks. I’d love to know the event depicted here in this photo, which clearly illustrates how the canal served as a main artery back then. Can anyone make out the name of the vessel? And no, these…

will van dorp
1–2 minutes
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No, this is not indicative of Clyde traffic we’ll encounter during the Study Tour in just a few weeks. I’d love to know the event depicted here in this photo, which clearly illustrates how the canal served as a main artery back then. Can anyone make out the name of the vessel?

And no, these finely-dressed people of Palmyra are not showing disapproval of the photographer by turning their backs. I wonder what they were thinking, however, when the power generating house at Lock 29 in Palmyra suffered this foundation fail in July 1916.

Lock 60 is in Macedon, this image circa 1895, and I can only hope that if local volunteers greet and brief us on this tour, they’d be able to tell us about these folks and their enterprise. Here from the Macedon Historical Society are more photos showing canal activity in this area of Wayne.

To sign up for the April 3 and 4 tour, click here. See parts A and B of this title as well.

3 responses to “April 2026 Study Tour C”

  1. Lee Rust Avatar
    Lee Rust

    The name of the boat appears to be “Greyhound”, with fancy scrollwork on each end.

    Reply
    1. will van dorp Avatar
      will van dorp

      Lee- you’re good at deciphering these names. There was a steamer named Greyhound built on long Island (Patchogue) in 1894 with dimensions 41′ x 13′. It seems wildly overloaded in this image. Also, the passengers around the bow appear to be wearing a uniform of some sort, whether it’s military or marching band I can’t tell. Anyone from Clyde hazard a guess?

      Reply
  2. Lee Rust Avatar
    Lee Rust

    The guys sitting on the bow of Greyhound are wearing the same kind of outfits that band musicians wore around that time, and one of them appears to be holding a euphonium. It was definitely party time in Clyde that day. The modern Erie Canal needs more ‘old-fashioned’ fun like that.

    Reply

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