6-19 6-20 Remington Museum and Fort Stanwix
The weather has been rainy on and off. If we waited for a forecast of no rain to travel we would never move. What looked like severe weather on the radar, either dissipated or went around us. Onward we go. We only had rain in one lock. We bought good quality rain gear (aka Foulies) before we left. It is amazing how well they work. Not a drop inside. Of course, I’m on the bow, in the rain and Scott on the stern under cover. We had dinner with a crew the other night and the guys all laughed about not getting rained on as they got playful sneers from their wives. I don’t mind the rain as long as it isn’t cold.
On the 19th we hit the highest elevation of our trip at 420 feet above sea level at Lock 20. At lock 21 we started head down. There are locks on the Erie that are higher, but we are cutting off on the Oswego Canal to Lake Ontario before we get to that level. Yes, we are becoming pros at locking, so far this trip, we have done 57 lock. Believe it or not that is only about half of what we will end up doing by the end of the trip. The Trent Severn waterway has many locks to go through as well.
On the 19th we stayed at a free wall a short dinghy ride to the Remington Factory and museum. It was close enough to walk to. It was interesting to learn that the company was started by Mr. Remington needing a new gun, so he made one in his father’s blacksmith shop. He took it to a contest and won. Everyone admired his skill and started asking him to make them a gun. Thus, the start of Remington Firearms. They had quite a collection showing the progression of the technology in firearms. Remington’s first firearm was a flintlock. They had a gun showing every progression up to today’s technology. The company grew with getting government contracts during the wars. After the Civil War the government pulled their contract. That left a very big factory with not enough orders to keep it going. Remington went on to produce a multitude of other things, like a typewriter, bicycle, knives, sewing machines, and cash register. Over time they were able to get back into making guns. They no longer do tours through the factory, but they did have a nice video showing the process of making several different types of guns. It was interesting.
On the 20th we went to Rome. Rome is where they started to build the Erie Canal. There was supposed to be a Historical Village where we had hoped to learn more history about the building of the canal. When we arrive, we found it is permanently closed. So I did a little research on Wikipedia and here are some interesting tidbits that I thought you might find interesting.
Why was it built: To Create a navigable water route from NYC and the Atlantic to the Great Lakes.
Length: 524 miles
Locks: 36
Maximum height above seas level: 571 feet
Construction began 7-4-1817 at Rome, NY
Completion: October 26, 1825
Did you know there were no Civil engineers involved in building the canal? The two men who laid it out were judges with experience in surveying, that was to settle boundary disputes. Amazingly their plan went off without a hitch.
First 15 mile: from Rome to Utica. I read somewhere that they started there because it was the easiest stretch to construct. Once they got that far, proponents against the canal started to see its value, At that point,there was no turning back.
They worked in the marsh and swamp areas after they froze. Smart!
Hope you found these few facts as interesting as we did.
We also visited the Fort Stanwix National Monument,
About 40 years ago, after careful archeological exploration, the fort was rebuilt as it was originally. I am going to honest with you. The war history of this area was confusing to me. It wasn’t clear cut, like the north against the south. There were French, British, German and Canadian, loyalists, and Indians from the Mohawk, Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Tuscarora, and Oneida tribes. There were many facets to the battles in different wars to settle this area. Too much for my brain to absorb in an hour visit. The fort was constructed of very large timber, not the usual stone that we have seen at other forts. I’ll let the pictures show you what it was like.
What you are seeing is the Cannon, Whipping post, punishment boxes and housing.
FYI: We are now in Canada and the internet is spotty, so now that I am caught up, I am sure to get behind again. Be patient and keep reading. Send us a note we love to hear from people.
Thanks for reading,
Karen and Scott
Unique Random Photo of The Day:
