The Democrat and Chronicle, part of the USA TODAY Network, is publishing in America’s 250th anniversary year a history-oriented book titled “The Canal That Changed America,” a commemorative book about the Erie Canal.
The book will detail the history of the canal, introduce readers to charming canal towns and people and feature photos detailing one journalist’s 60 miles of paddling on the 200-year-old waterway in New York state.
It will include contributions from Rochester Democrat and Chronicle journalists and from Syracuse University S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications journalism students. Sprinkled throughout this commemorative book are many dozens of unique and striking photos of canal events, people and nature.
The USA TODAY Network also includes the Observer-Dispatch and Times Telegram in the Mohawk Valley, the Press & Sun-Bulletin, Star-Gazette, The Leader, The Spectator and Ithaca Journal in the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes, and the Times Herald-Record, Poughkeepsie Journal and Journal News in the Hudson Valley.
In 1825, the Erie Canal was completed, linking New York City to the Great Lakes and opening up upstate New York and the Midwest for a flood of new settlement, population growth and industrial enterprise. Along the canal’s 363 miles developed important 19th century communities including Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Utica, boom towns that birthed innovation and incubated a host of social justice movements including abolitionism and suffragism.
Two centuries later, the canal remains a vital recreational waterway. Along its banks sit strikingly lovely cities and villages including Little Falls, Lyons and Lockport. Our journalists and Syracuse University’s students visited many such places to document life today and how treasured American history is preserved and honored.
Photojournalist Tina MacIntyre-Yee delivered a kayak’s-eye view of canal life from paddles done in spring, summer and autumn 2025. You’ll view page after page of unforgettable photos taken by MacIntyre-Yee and others.
The canal book will be a 144-page coffee-table volume published in premium format.
How to pre-order Erie Canal book
Be sure to secure a copy at ErieCanal.PictorialBook.com. If you order now, you receive a 20% discount. Gift certificates are available to give the book as a holiday or birthday present for the special person or history lover in your life.
Preorder now: The Canal That Changed America
Immerse yourself in the marvels and wonders of the Erie Canal’s past and present in “The Canal That Changed America,” the perfect way to reflect on two centuries of commerce, community and recreation across New York state.
The book retails for $39.95 (plus tax and shipping), but order now and it’s only $31.95 with the 20% discount.
Remember, please secure your book now for fall delivery at this link: ErieCanal.PictorialBook.com.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Book from USA TODAY Network explores Erie Canal’s people, towns, history
Reporting by Michael Kilian, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
