Steeped in history and legends, New York is filled with stories of the forgotten, eerie and the weird that influence us everyday. What secrets are hidden in the historic buildings on the grounds of Erie Canal Village in Rome.

Lite 98.7's Eric Meier has teamed up with Folklorist P.W. Creighton to explore the haunts and legends of New York. Through their travels into the dark and often overlooked spaces they will bring these historic sites back to life and make some unexpected discoveries along the way.

In this episode Eric guides the explorers to Erie Canal Village at the Empire State Heritage Park in Rome. The village contains period building from the mid to late 1800s when the Erie Canal was the main transportation route through the Empire State, and a vital link between New York City and access to the Great Lakes.

Many of the buildings on the site on Erie Canal Village were moved to the state when New York State set up the park to showcase life along the canal. The buildings arrived from far flung locations around Oneida County like McConnellsville and Marcy.

The grounds that the Erie Canal Village sit on hold other important history beyond the canal. Pre-Revolutionary War Fort Bull is on the grounds. The Battle of Fort Bull, fought between the British and French in 1756 during the French and Indian War resulting in a massacre of British forces with 76 soldiers killed.

Geographically, the area around Erie Canal Village is part of the Oneida Carry, a portage between the Mohawk River and Wood Creek, which feeds Oneida Lake. The strategic importance of the Carry is why forts like Bull and Stanwix were erected at Rome.

 

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