When in Rome

June 18, 2019

Next stop Rome, New York that is. Three locks and we arrived at Bellamy Harbor park.  The wall had wooden poles vertically and railroad ties horizontally against the cement wall. This made getting off and on the boat a bit of a challenge. The park itself was really nice and well kept. In the middle of town sits a replica of Fort Stanwix. Rebuilt exactly where it once stood. Fort Stanwix is a reproduction of a Revolutionary War wooden fort. General John Stanwix built this fort in 1758 to protect the important portage between the Mohawk River and Wood Creek Under siege by the British in August 1777.The commander was able to hold out against a force three times as large as his. General Herkimer was ambushed trying to reach Fort Stanwix, to provide relief. The siege was broken when General Benedict Arnold approached with a small band of reinforcements. The British were deceived into thinking it was a larger band and withdrew to Canada. It was an easy walk to the Fort and worth the walk.
The construction of the Erie Canal started near Rome in July of 1817 at a place now called the Erie Canal Village. The village has been reproduced and provides an insight in to life in the early days of the Erie Canal. Unfortunately it is only open Wednesday through Saturday so we were unable to visit it. Maybe next summer.

                   This is a good representation of what happens when the water is let out of the lock.
This lock is the last to lift us. At Rome we reached the summit of the Erie, 128m above Sea level. The flow of water will be toward Lake Ontario after this so down locking will be the norm.

                                                No explanation needed, just pretty

                                      We have been playing dodge a tree since entering the Erie

                  This is the only sign of wildlife we have seen. Others have seen deer and eagles, for us mallards, lots of them.

                                            Off to the side of the Mohawk is a lock to the original Erie canal that
                                    still stands.

                        High water makes for lower bridge height. Another hold your breath bridge

                        They were dredging and told us to stay close to them as we pass.

                         The dredging pipes snaked down and finally on to land dumping the silt.

       Just after we stopped I saw this gentleman get down on one knee. Couldn't tell if he was
        proposing or begging for forgiveness.

                                        This Catholic Church was built in the 18th century!

                         Rome also had a 911 memorial. These glass towers lit up at night

                   If you can zoom in you will see that Rome was known as little Italy because of the number of Italians that settled here.

Sorry this is upside down. Didn't realize it until I already uploaded it. But you can see what we were tied up too.