Vischer Ferry Historic District (Boundary Increase)

This 246-acre addition to the Vischer Ferry Historic District covers two strips of Mohawk River floodplain in Clifton Park, Saratoga County. The western parcel holds a section of the Erie Canal right-of-way. The larger eastern parcel contains canal remains and earlier settlement sites. Contributing elements include stretches of the original 1825 canal and its 1842 enlargement, Clute's Drydock with cut stone walls, abutments of two farm bridges, a colonial-era public road, the site of Fort's Ferry (1728), and cellar holes of houses, a canal store and a schoolhouse. Farming and settlement continued here until the Barge Canal dam of 1907 raised the water level, caused flooding and drove residents out. The old canal was abandoned, and the area was never permanently resettled. That limited later activity helped preserve the remains. The land is now a public nature and historic preserve. It was added because these features were not identified in the original 1975 listing.