The Seneca Chief, a replica 19th-century Erie Canal packet boat, is officially on its way to New York City.
The vessel that’s re-enacting New York Governor DeWitt Clinton’s 1825 Erie Canal-opening voyage from Buffalo to New York City left Buffalo Wednesday morning, cruised through North Tonawanda in the afternoon, and docked in Lockport on Wednesday evening, halfway through Erie Canal Bicentennial Week in the city. It was met with great fanfare, including a party on the Pine Street Bridge and a fireworks display after sunset.
The boat, built by the Buffalo Maritime Center, is commemorating Gov. DeWitt Clinton’s historic 1825 journey from Buffalo to New York Harbor with a 33-day voyage from Buffalo’s Commercial Slip — the western terminus of the Erie Canal — to Pier 26 in New York City. The boat is scheduled to dock at 28 ports along the Erie Canal and Hudson River before reaching New York City for the official commemoration of the canal’s opening.
The Seneca Chief was docked overnight in the Lockport Locks before heading east down the Erie Canal today.
As part of the Bicentennial Voyage, at each of the 28 ports where the Erie Canal Boat Seneca Chief will stop, BMC has arranged for the planting of an Eastern White Pine tree. The “Tree of Peace” in Haudenosaunee culture the plantings are acknowledgment of Haudenosaunee displacement caused by the development of the Erie Canal.
Also, at every port, communities will contribute water from their section of the canal to a ceremonial barrel aboard the boat, and at New York City, the last stop on the voyage, the water will be used on the pine tree that’s planted, representing the uniting of waterways and people across the state.
Following the Bicentennial Voyage, Erie Canal Boat Seneca Chief will winter in Albany. Programming, tours and a smaller-scale Erie Canal journey are in the works for 2026.