Following the Flow- 2012

In years gone by, we have run a tour of canal sites in Cayuga County titled "Following The Flow", where we began our day at Lock 51 near Jordan and worked our way downhill until we reached Montezuma. Although this makes the most sense to a canal geek like me, it left us taking a two hour walking tour in the afternoon. So this year, we are going to change things up and start the day in Montezuma.

I have created a flyer that can be downloaded with tour information, although you will need to print it our and fold it to have it make any sense. So here is the basic info.

We will start the day at 9am for a two hour walking tour that will cover many of the great sites in and around the Hamlet of Montezuma and in the new Heritage Park.

We always start these tours in the "downtown" of Montezuma to see what use to be and then work our way toward the Seneca River. This year will will be adding a loop to see the newly cleared Lock 11 on the Cayuga Seneca Canal, bits of the Clinton's Ditch and Meil's Drydock.

As we walk along, you will learn about the first Erie, known as Clinton's Ditch, the Enlarged Canal, the Cayuga Seneca Canal and the current Barge Canal. I also try to get in some history about mans use of the Montezuma Swamps as a commercial resource. Montezuma is full of history. The Montezuma Historical Society will also have a walking tour guide book for sale for a very reasonable price.

Much of what we will do is covered in prior years posts, so if you go back in this blog, you will find a lot of information about the tour. You will also find more links to data sheets that you can print out. Click on the link and then look over the submissions by Canal Splash to find all the data sheets.

If this isn't enough for you, I will be available to guide you to Port Byron and Weedsport. We will work our way back up hill to Lock 51, stopping at canal sites along the way. More information will be available on the day of the tour, but plan for another couple hours if you want to do this.