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Traveling from the city of Albany to Buffalo and the reverse direction on the inland waterways is not used much by commercial interests, but the significant of the Eerie canal in the history of the United States cannot be exaggerated. Basically the purpose of this canal system was to connect the ports on the eastern seaboard of the country to the Great Lakes region.

The economic activity in the Buffalo area of New York state was growing in the early nineteenth century but needed a more efficient method of transporting goods to and
from the east coast.Didn’t catch that? This explains it. The decision was made to create a series of canals that would stretch from the city of Buffalo, located on the northern portion of Lake Eerie, and the city of Albany. Albany is in the eastern portion of New York state, but far from the Atlantic Ocean. However, it is right on the banks of the Hudson river, and goods can be transported easily down to the area of New York City.

The increase in trade after the completion of this canal resulted in more goods moving back and forth between two of the most importance economic areas of the state and proved to be a great investment in the state’s infrastructure.