Skip to main content

Erie Canal: Palmyra-Macedon Aqueduct Park

Image
By

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

How to Get There:




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

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Grand Loop Road of Yellowstone National Park

By
  Grand Loop Road is a 140 mile loop highway which traverses the interior of Yellowstone National Park.  Grand Loop Road connects all of the major attractions and geological features of Yellowstone National Park along with the entrance roads.  Grand Loop Road is a seasonal highway and despite some conjecture never has been part of the US Route System.   Part 1; the history of Grand Loop Road The majority of history pertaining to Grand Loop Road was taken from the below National Park Service article: Historic Roads - Yellowstone National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov) Yellowstone was declared the first National Park of the United States on March 1st, 1872.  The first real highway to access Yellowstone National Park came in 1873 when a tolled facility was constructed from Bozeman, Montana via Yankee Jim Canyon to Mammoth Hot Springs.  Numerous attempts were made to fund construction of roadway infrastructure during the early years of Yellows...
Post a Comment
Read more

The last 1956-63 era California Sign State Route Spade?

By
Along southbound California State Route 170 (the Hollywood Freeway Extension) approaching the Hollywood Freeway/Ventura Freeway interchange a white California State Route 134 Sign State Route Spade can be observed on guide sign.  These white spades were specifically used during the 1956-63 era and have become increasingly rare.  This blog is intended to serve as a brief history of the Sign State Route Spade.  We also ask you as the reader, is this last 1956-63 era Sign State Route Spade or do you know of others?  Part 1; the history of the California Sign State Route Spade Prior to the Sign State Route System, the US Route System and the Auto Trails were the only highways in California signed with reassurance markers.  The creation of the US Route System by the American Association of State Highway Officials during November 1926 brought a system of standardized reassurance shields to major highways in California.  Early efforts to create a Sign State Route ...
Post a Comment
Read more

California State Route 70; the Feather River Highway

By
From 2017 through to early 2019 I drove the majority of the California State Route 70; the Feather River Highway from CA 89 southwest to CA 99. CA 70 is an approximately 178.5 mile state highway which starts at US 395 near the Nevada State Line and travels west through the Feather River Canyon to CA 99.  CA 70 is often referred to as the Feather River Highway" given it's close association with the river.  Historically CA 70 was previously signed as US 40A and CA 24.  The Legislative Routes prior to the 1964 California Highway Renumbering that made up the current route of CA 70 are as follows: -  Legislative Route Number 21 from US 395 westward to Oroville. -  LRN 87 from Oroville south to Marysville. -  LRN 232 from Marysville to the current junction with CA 99.  CA 70 was even dual signed with CA 99 into Sacramento on what was LRN 232 for a time. The change from US 40A/LRN 21/LRN 87/LRN 232 can be seen by comparing the 1963 State Highway Ma...
Post a Comment
Read more