Seneca River Crossing Canals Historic District

Remnants of three New York canals meet along the Seneca River near Montezuma and Tyre. The district covers more than a mile of the Enlarged Erie Canal, pieces of the original 1817-1825 Erie Canal known as Clinton's Ditch, and a short stretch of the Cayuga & Seneca Canal. Its centerpiece is the Richmond Aqueduct, designed by state engineer Van Rensselaer Richmond and opened in 1857 with 31 limestone arches carrying the canal over the river. When the Barge Canal used this stretch of the Seneca River, the aqueduct's center was removed, leaving nine arches. Other features include a drydock, a stone culvert, Locks 62 and 11, wooden piers from an early mule bridge, and a rare change bridge abutment. The canal was raised and rerouted here to lift it above the swampy Cayuga Marshes. The district was listed for its transportation and engineering importance and for its fine stone construction.