Video: 'Erie Canal 200th Anniversary - A Brief History'

(Wednesday, October 26, 1825, morning local time) — The Erie Canal, built to create a navigable water route from New York City and the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, opened today in upstate New York.

The Erie Canal accelerated the settlement of the Great Lakes region, the westward expansion of the United States, and the economic ascendancy of New York state.