Camillus Landing, near the historic village of Camillus, New York, was the midpoint of the Erie Canal. Camillus Erie Canal Park, located at 5750 Devoe Road, encompasses the first enlargement of the Erie Canal as it crosses the township of Camillus. This section of canal is seven miles long, crossing Nine Mile Creek over a 144 foot long aqueduct with 4 spans. At the center of the park, where Devoe Road crosses the canal, is Sims' Museum, a replica of a canal side store circa 1856. The park also features boat rides on over a mile of the Enlarged Erie Canal, crossing the Nine Mile Creek Aqueduct. Other features of the park include a remnant of the original Clinton's Ditch Erie Canal, Culvert 59, the remains of the Lock 50 gates, a replica lock tender's shanty, and other outdoor displays.
The Nine Mile Creek Aqueduct was restored in 2009. For pictures of the restoration, see the Nine Mile Creek Aqueduct Restoration page.
For more information on Camillus Erie Canal Park, see the Park's web site. For more information on the Nine Mile Creek Aqueduct and the aqueduct restoration, see the Park's Aqueduct page.
The pictures below were taken in July 2004 and August 2008. (Click on the image below to see the full-size version).
The buildings at Camillus Erie Canal Park, with Sims' store on the left. | The reproduction Lock 50 Lockhouse. | The gates of Lock 50. |
Lock 50 was located approximately two miles east of the Nine Mile Aqueduct. The gates above right are the lower 7 feet of gates that were originally 14 feet tall, and were preserved by being in water-saturated soil. After excavation, they were put on display at Camillus Erie Canal Park.
In the model to the right, the left picture shows the aqueduct prior to restoration, with the arches of the aqueduct supporting the towpath on the left, and the U-shaped sections which supported the wooden trunk which held the water on the right. In the center picture, the wooden trunk (white) is rebuilt on top of the U-shaped supports, and the right picture shows the water in the rebuilt trunk. |
For pictures of the aqueduct during and after its restoration, see the Nine Mile Creek Aqueduct Restoration page.
http://www.eriecanal.org/Camillus.html