In the early 1800s, travel was difficult in New York State. There was a lack of natural rivers that lent themselves to water travel, and the condition of the roads at that time was poor. Travel was a long, grueling process, and commerce in New York State suffered for it.
In 1817, ground was broken on an innovative new way of travel in New York State. The Erie Canal was being constructed, a giant man-made river spanning from Albany to Buffalo, revitalizing commerce in the state, and making transportation easier.
General Store
School House
Erie Canal Village was built on the site of the initial stretch of the Erie Canal, and is a living history museum designed to demonstrate what life was like prior to the Erie Canal, and demonstrating the prosperity that increased trade brought to the central New York area.
Victorian Era Home
Erie Canal Village is made up of buildings obtained from throughout central New York. There is a small one-room schoolhouse to demonstrate what the educational system was like in the 1800s, a church, and a general store. There is also a tavern located on the property, which serves as a good example of the local meeting spot and resting place for weary travelers from the Canal. Erie Canal Village not only focuses on the lifestyle of residents in canal-side homes, but they also have a museum dedicated to various forms of wagons, an old cheese factory, as well as a railroad station.
The homes located at Erie Canal Village showcase various eras during the time of the Erie Canal. One home dates to just before the creation of the Erie Canal. It is a small home, with few luxuries, demonstrating the simplicity created by the difficulty of travel and trading. The second home dates to the beginning of the Erie Canal, when trading was starting to become easier. The home is larger and better furnished. The final home on the site is a large Victorian Home. While currently being renovated, this home demonstrates the luxuries that the Erie Canal brought to the central New York region.
Not to be forgotten is the site of Fort Bull. In use during the French and Indian War, it was the site of a horrible massacre imparted by French soldiers moving south from Canada. A monument stands in the location of Fort Bull in memory of the lost soldiers.
The Shadow Chasers began their investigation with the tavern. After completing a walkthrough we were drawn back to the building after seeing a shadow moving in one of the windows. We would obtain EVPs and odd EMF readings during our investigation of the building. After the tavern, we moved on to the train station, with no results, and then to the barn holding the wagon collection, the Carriage Museum. There we obtained several EVPs, and observed oddly moving shadows.
Continuing forward to the school house we witnessed a strange blue light near the Victorian home, but disappeared when approached and could not identify a source of the anomaly. Resuming our investigation of the school house, we were able to audibly hear phantom knocks and captured additional EVPs in the building. Finishing with the school house the team progressed to the church ....
No results were obtained in the church, but high EMF was measured when we investigated the site of Fort Bull. We investigated the remaining buildings with minimal activity observed, until we reached the general store, the last stop of the evening. There we measured high EMF and strange equipment activity, as well as EVPs, and flashlight and PX responses in answer to questions asked by investigators.
Videos from Erie Canal Village
Come investigate Erie Canal Village with the Shadow Chasers on October 7 and 8! Attend a talk at Erie Canal Village on October 6 starting at 7! Contact us for ticket information!
Tuesday, October 4, 2011 at 9:55PM 
