New York State Superintendent of Public Works Canal Plans, Drawings, and Blueprints

Arranged roughly by canal name and/or by type of structure.

The series consists of approximately 3,000 drawings, blueprints, plans, diagrams, tracings, and maps, produced and/or compiled by the Superintendent of Public Works and its predecessor the State Engineer and Surveyor, relating primarily to the state's canal system. Chronologically, individual items range from the 1840s-1920s, although the bulk of the material dates from the 1850s to the 1890s. Virtually all the state's canals are represented, but the series is particularly strong with respect to the Barge Canal system.

The series is accessible by means of a card file organized roughly by canal name and/or by type of structure (such as bridges, locks, feeders, dams). In a few cases the cards provide cross references to Map and Plan Books of the Location and Construction of the State's Canal System (Series B0292) and/or canal contracts (Series B0213).

B1567-01: This accretion consists of one map of the Genesee Valley Canal Extension from Olean to Mill Grove Pond. The map appears to be a copy created by William Rumble from an earlier David Vaughan map. The map is on tracing cloth measuring approximately 30" x 102" and is decorated with several cartouches and designs. The card index lists this map (#1174) as having been destroyed in the June 1958 Department of Transportation warehouse fire.

B0292Series B0292, Map and Plan Books of the Location and Construction of the State's Canal System and

B0213Series B0213, Barge Canal Contract Files, contain related material.

A card file indexes the series by canal name and/or by type of structure.

This series is indexed by Series B1883, Index to Canal Plans, Drawings, and Blueprints, 1840-1920.

Fully three quarters of the original series was destroyed by a fire at the Department of Transportation warehouse at 20 Park Avenue, Albany, on June 13, 1958. The surviving portion sustained severe fire and water damage. As a result, the physical condition of the series is poor and it is in need of extensive preservation and restoration measures.

B1567-01: The map was purchased by the Manuscripts and Special Collections unit of the New York State Library in 1998 and then transferred to the State Archives in January 2001.

Restricted due to severe fire and water damage. Use only under supervision and with assistance of State Archives staff.