A Boon to Boonville, NY

A tiny village nestled in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains has produced a museum that is informative, well-planned, exciting and fun for all ages. It's location and configuration are unique and interesting. The museum is constantly enlarging and encompasses four separate buildings at the present time. It is tucked neatly between railroad tracks, that ultimately caused the end of the canal era, and the canal itself.

This narrow strip has a mercantile store with a diorama that clearly shows the various impediments that the builders conquered on their way to opening up an area that was greatly untouched by the growth of the nation in the early 1800's. The Erie Canal, that started the major canal building, is more than ten times the length of the Black River Canal. The Black River Canal had 130% more locks than the much larger Erie Canal. There are pictures and artifacts that have been gleaned from the basements and attics of the area.

The second building houses the archives that contain numerous photographs of the life that grew up around this boon to the area. Many of these photos are interesting just because they are less posed than many of the pictures of the period. The proud look on the face of a sixteen year old boy drivng his sleigh through town is special, but even more so because his "steed" is a very large bull.

The third building is a totally hands-on display and use area that includes using different types of pulleys to lift and manuver cargo for loading. Participants can load and unload canal boats using cranes, and steer a canal boat with a rudder. There is a full working model through which visitors can move their own canal boat through many locks and combines on their way from one end of the model canal to the other.

The fourth building is a life-sized canal boat that has been built to the specifications of the day. It contains samples of items that were commonly shipped, a well outfitted living area for crew and another for the mules. Here too are many photographs that were taken during the day-to-day work during the construction and use of the canal, Striking are the looks of pride and accomplishment on the faces of these hardy canalers.

Any time spent on a visit to this small local museum is a boon to the visitor and a chance for a true step into the past.