LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION memorializing Governor David A. Paterson to
declare March 15, 2010, as Erie Canal Day in the State of New York

WHEREAS, It is the custom of this Legislative Body to recognize and
commemorate significant events in the history of New York State contrib-
utory to our rich heritage and meriting great acclaim; and
WHEREAS, Such an event unfolded 200 years ago in the vision of New
Yorkers to recognize New York's unmatched potential to tap the resources
of the west and revolutionize transportation in America by creating a
waterway linking the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean; and
WHEREAS, The only water level route through the formidable Appalachian
Mountain chain between Maine and Georgia was propitiously located in New
York in the form of the Mohawk Valley, a fact observed by a young George
Washington while surveying colonial New York; and
WHEREAS, Originally derided as "Clinton's Folly", the construction of
the Erie Canal produced untold benefits for the State of New York,
making New York the financial capital of the world and precipitating
prosperity and economic development in all corners of a young Nation;
and
WHEREAS, The incredible impact of the Erie Canal can be seen today in
both the size and shape of the United States, and in settlement patterns
first established in the 19th Century across New York and throughout the
land; and
WHEREAS, No public work is more closely identified with the ingenuity,
ethic, drive and enduring spirit of the Empire State and its people; and
WHEREAS, A resolution sponsored by Senator Jonas Platt and supported
by Senators DeWitt Clinton and Thomas Eddy appointing a Canal Commission
passed the Senate on March 13, 1810, and with support from Assemblyman
Stephen Van Rensselaer, passed the Assembly on March 15, 1810; and
WHEREAS, This resolution stated that "the agricultural and commercial
interests of this state require, that the inland navigation from
Hudson's River to Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, be improved and completed
on a scale commensurate to the great advantages to be derived from the
accomplishment of that important object"; and
WHEREAS, Canal Commissioners Gouverneur Morris, Stephen Van Rensse-
laer, DeWitt Clinton, Simon DeWitt, William North, Thomas Eddy, and
Peter B. Porter were charged with "exploring the whole route, examining
the present condition of the said navigation, and considering what
further improvement ought to be made therein" and did in fact embark on
an exploration and survey of the Canal route during the summer of 1810;
and
WHEREAS, These events set in motion an unparalleled and since unre-
peated period of prodigious achievements within our great State, includ-
ing the planning, design, and beginning in 1817 - construction of what
would become the greatest and most iconic public works project in the
history of not only New York, but America: the Erie Canal; now, there-
fore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
recognize and commemorate the foresight and great achievement of this
body, in this very hall, of March 15, 1810; and be it further
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause further to memorialize
Governor David A. Paterson to declare March 15, 2010, as Erie Canal Day
in the State of New York; and be it further
RESOLVED, That copies of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, along
with a copy of the original 1810 resolution, be transmitted to The
Honorable David A. Paterson, Governor of the State of New York; and the
respective Boards of the New York State Canal Corporation, the Erie

Canalway National Heritage Corridor Commission, the Canal Society of New
York State, the State Council on Waterways, and the Canal Recreationway
Committee.