Nine Mile Creek Aqueduct at Camillus, New York
On a recent outing, we stopped by the Nine Mile Creek Aqueduct on the Erie Canal, in Camillus, New York. The aqueduct is the only one, of thirty-two aqueducts, to be fully restored and navigable.
Nine Mile Creek Aqueduct
The Nine Mile Creek Aqueduct was built on what is know as the Enlarged Erie Canal, and it replaced an older aqueduct that was further downstream of its location. The aqueduct and this section of the Erie Canal were unused after the completion of the New York State Barge Canal, which was completed in 1918.
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| Looking east from the parking area. |
The Nine Mile Creek Aqueduct was originally completed around 1841-1842. It was used for many years, until it was abandoned and dismantled. For years the canal here was mostly dry, and all that was left of the aqueduct were the stone supports.
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| Looking east from the towpath, on the western side of the aqueduct. |
Eventually, interest in restoring the aqueduct and this section of the canal gained enough traction that a group of volunteers began rebuilding the aqueduct. The restored Nine Mile Creek Aqueduct was completed in August of 2009. The aqueduct was rebuilt as close to possible using the original techniques of the 19th Century. The part of the aqueduct holding water was built using wood, which is supported by the stone supports.
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| The north side of the aqueduct over Nine Mile Creek. |
The arches and other support piers are made of limestone, quarried from Onondaga County. The above view shows the arches that support the towpath, on the north side of the aqueduct. This view is looking west.
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| Looking westward, from the east side of Nine Mile Creek Aqueduct. |
The aqueduct is about fifty feet wide (15 meters) and just under 150 feet (46 meters) long. When the towpath is included, the width is about 75 feet (23 meters). The towpath is now used as a walking and biking trail.
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| Looking west toward Nine Mile Creek Aqueduct. |
Tour boats now travel up down the two-mile section of the canal, between Erie Canal Park (southwest of the aqueduct) and Warners Road (to the east). However, the boat rides have been temporarily suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Photographs taken on September 9, 2021, at Camillus, New York.
Post updated on January 19, 2022.
Technical details:
Photographs taken with a Google Pixel 2, using the DNG RAW format.
Post processing done in Adobe Camera RAW and Adobe Photoshop.
Beautiful images! I have relatives that lived in a town by the Erie Canal. We used to walk by it. I find the canal more interesting now which is usually the case that we don't appreciate the history as much when younger unfortuantely. Very nice info and the images look great in B&W.
ReplyDeleteThis spot has become one of my favorites to visit. It's quite peaceful, and the aqueduct makes for a very interesting feature of the canal.
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