New York State Engineer and Surveyor Original and Preliminary Cross Sections for 1876 Survey of the Western Division of the…

Numerical by volume number and therein geographical according to lock number and station number.

Creation of the records was authorized by Chapter 425 of the Laws of 1876. That law provided for the completion of pending contracts for new work and extraordinary repairs of the Erie, Champlain, Oswego, and Cayuga and Seneca canals, together with the reservoirs, feeders, and other mechanical structures connected with them. The State Engineer and Surveyor was directed to survey the Erie Canal to ascertain its condition and where it required improvement, and to report the findings to the Canal Board with recommendations on the work and its probable cost.

The series consists of hand-drawn cross sectional diagrams produced from a survey made to determine conditions and needed improvements to the Erie Canal. The diagrams show conditions of the canal bed and riparian decay in portions of the Western Division of the canal, beginning at Lock 52 at the Wayne County line and ending at the Black Rock Guard Lock.

The cross sections are done in colored ink on graphing paper. Each cross section shows water level (blue line), condition of the canal bottom (black line), and the proposed improved configuration (red line). Black lines carry ascending linear measurements that indicate amounts of accumulated sludge or collapse of the canal bottom from the time of original excavation. Such measurements would allow estimates to be made for removal of debris and placement of necessary fill to insure stable dimensions for the canal channel. There are occasional handwritten notes giving place names and structure points (e.g., Reynale's Basin; "Vertical Wall ends").

The drawings each have a corresponding station number, apparently referring to the citing station from which measurements were made. They are arranged several to a page in order of ascending station number. The diagrams begin at station 410 and end at station 1690. The typical layout is five drawings per page, measuring approximately 6 x 15 cm on a page size of 39.5 x 26 cm. Occasionally larger diagrams are present. Overall volume size is 40.5 x 27 cm. The initial page of each volume lists commencement and ending points for the volume, along with a reference number to the respective field book from which the drawings were made.

Volume list is available at the repository.

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