Boats
Boats have been used to transport people and goods on the Chemung River for hundreds of years. Unfortunately, its shallow depth of 3-5 feet can only accommodate small craft like canoes, row boats, and flat-bottomed boats. The Chemung Canal, built in 1833, connected the river to Seneca Lake at Watkins Glen. The Junction Canal, also called the Arnot Canal, partially opened in 1854 and was fully functional by 1858. It was a connector between the Chemung Canal and the North Branch Canal of Pennsylvania. The canals allowed for easy transportation of products and people in the spring and summer when water levels were high enough. The canals were abandoned in the 1870s when railroads took over the business of transporting goods.
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Barges on the Junction Canal, 1860s
The opening of the Chemung Canal in 1833 and the Junction Canal in the 1850s greatly increased the area’s prosperity. Millport, named for being a port on the route, was also a local manufacturing site for canal barges.
Steam-powered ferry, Bertha Taylor, 1890s.
The Bertha Taylor carried passengers from Columbia Street in Elmira to Rorick’s Glen for 25 cents. Another ferry, the West Elmira, operated in the 1910s, stopping at Lake and Water Streets.
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Ridall family canoeing, c. 1900
The Haudenosaunee, early residents of the area, used canoes to hunt, fish, and travel. The first white residents arrived via the river and continued to use it for transportation and recreation.
Double-decked steamboat on the river, early 1900s
Steamboats were used to move people on the river in the early 1800s. Between 1825 and 1830, a 50-passenger steamboat called the Cordorus made stops in Elmira as it traveled along Pennsylvania and New York rivers.
W.H. Cotton Boat and Canoe Livery Company, early 1900s
By the turn of the 20th century, the river was mostly used for recreation. The W.H. Cotton Boat and Canoe Livery Company transported riders and canoes up river on the trolley so they could leisurely paddle home.