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‘Erie: The Canal That Made America,’ WCNY-produced documentary airs Jan. 4 at 9 p.m. on WCNY-TV
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January 3, 2019
‘Erie: The Canal That Made America,’ WCNY-produced documentary airs Jan. 4 at 9 p.m. on WCNY-TV
WCNY, Central New York’s community-owned flagship public broadcaster, will air its documentary “Erie: The Canal That Made America” at 9 p.m. Jan. 4 on WCNY-TV.
For viewing information, visit wcny.org/wheretowatch. To preview the documentary and to learn more, visit wcny.org/eriecanal.
Narrated by David Muir, ABC “World News Tonight” anchor, “Erie: The Canal That Made America” marks the bicentennial of the start of construction of the Erie Canal when surveyors and excavators began links a young United States to its western frontier. It depicts how a young nation broke through with its first national public works project – America’s greatest – by succeeding in constructing a supposedly impossible-to-build, 363-mile man-made waterway to America’s heartland. Once the waters of the Great Lakes were wed with the Atlantic Ocean, the canal helped create what America now knows as the Empire State and propelled New York City into the role of America’s leading port and economic hub.
Featured Canal experts in the documentary include: Duncan Hay, National Park Service; Craig Williams and Tom Grasso from the Canal Society of New York State; historian Dan Ward; Pamela Vittorio of Chittenango Landing Canal Boat Museum; Sam Clemence, Syracuse University; Patrick Stenshorn, National Women’s Hall of Fame; Margot Lystra, Cornell University; David Brooks, Schoharie Crossing Historical Site; Peter Wiles, Mid-Lakes Navigation. The documentary also features a re-enactment appearance of Elizabeth Cady Stanton portrayed by Melinda Grube of Cayuga Community College.
The documentary is made possible with support from William G. Pomeroy Foundation, Empire State Development, Raymond Paul Mathis and Paulette and Kevin B. Quinn
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