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Erie Canal: Palmyra-Macedon Aqueduct Park

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The Palmyra-Macedon Aqueduct Park, or the Pal-Mac Aqueduct Park for short, is a county park just west of historic Palmyra, New York that features remnants from the days of yore of the heyday of the Erie Canal. The main features of the park is a spillway that is still used to moderate the nearby successor to the Erie Canal, that being the Barge Canal, as well as the Mud Creek Aqueduct and the historic Aldrich Change Bridge. The Erie Canalway Trail runs through the park, and along with the historical and recreational opportunities afforded within the boundaries of the park, there is a pavilion on site for people to have picnics.

The historic Aldrich Change Bridge (officially, the Aldrich Towing Path Change Bridge) is the oldest iron bridge in New York State and one of only two bridges known to survive from the first enlargement of the Erie Canal. The bridge was first constructed in 1858. This Whipple designed bridge was built in the Waterford, New York iron works of George W. Eddy and erected by John Hutchinson of Troy, New York. The bridge allowed the towpath to switch from one side of the canal to the other. West of this bridge, the towpath was on the south side of the canal, and east of the bridge, on the north side. Originally on the south side of the canal, when the Erie Canal was enlarged, there was no room between the enlarged canal and adjacent buildings in Palmyra, so the towpath was switched to the north side through the village. The bridge was moved to Aqueduct Park in 2003.

The Mud Creek Aqueduct is also located in the park and is adjacent to existing Erie Canal Lock 29. The remains of the aqueduct include the towpath bridge on the south side of the canal, which is now a part of the Erie Canalway Trail, and the stone supports for a former wooden canal prism, which held the water on the north side of the canal. The aqueduct is 94 feet long, and uses three spans to cross the creek, officially called Ganargua Creek.

Lock house for the current Erie Canal, in which you may be able to make out some fencing in the distance.

Garangua Creek.


Sources and Links:
Wayne County - Palmyra Aqueduct Park
NYFalls - Palmyra-Macedon Aqueduct Park
The Erie Canal - Aldrich Change Bridge
The Erie Canal - Macedon and Palmyra
Cycle the Erie Canal - Lockport to Lyons

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Update Log:
March 23, 2018: Originally published article to Unlocking New York.
August 20, 2021: Transferred article from Unlocking New York to Gribblenation.
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Location: 555 W Main St, Palmyra, NY 14522, USA

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