New York State Committee on Canals of New York State Correspondence

Roughly alphabetical in multiple sequences.

The Committee on Canals of New York State was a special body established by order of Governor Theodore Roosevelt in 1899. The committee was a significant milestone in planning for the modernization of the state's canal system, culminating in the construction of the Barge Canal, 1904-1918. Committee members included Chairman Francis V. Greene; Secretary John A. Fairlie; George E. Green; John N. Scatcherd; Major Thomas W. Symons, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; Frank S. Witherbee; Edward A. Bond, State Engineer and Surveyor; and John N. Partridge, Superintendent of Public Works.

The published report of the Committee on Canals of New York State, "Report of the Committee on Canals of New York State," is held by the New York State Library.

This series documents information gathered by the Committee on Canals for use in its report. The correspondence was sent and received from a variety of sources. Correspondents are typically involved in transportation, construction, or commerce, and include representatives of railroads, government officials, and private and government engineers. Subjects of the correspondence include statistics and descriptions of various waterway construction and transportation; port commerce; alternative canal routes; canal and lock conditions; freight; tariffs; Great Lakes port; canal boat capacities and lock sizes; prices of construction materials; and fuel. Other subjects include routine business of the committee, such as meeting schedules, expenses of the committee, meeting locations, estimates of costs of production of the final report, and requests for copies of the committee's final report.

This series was formerly part of accretion B0226-10, Correspondence Files of the State Engineer and Surveyor, but was accessioned as a separate series in 2014.

Partially restricted due to water damage and fragile condition of the materials.