Come down with your family for a Living History Experience
Brockport continues the Canal 200 Years Celebration with the visit of the Lois McClure, a replica of a 19th century Lake Champlain canal schooner. She is on her way back to Burlington, Vermont, having cruised the canal as far as Buffalo in celebration of the Erie Canal Bicentennial.
Bring the family and tour the boat Saturday and Sunday while the crew conducts free tours 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. You can also explore the 88 foot long boat and exhibits covering 200 years of canal history on your own. The tour pays tribute to the legacy of the canal, which was started in 1817, and the legacy of the Northern Forest trees, which built the thousands of wooden boats that plied our waterways.
Sunday evening, 5 to 6:30 p.m. come meet the captain and members of the crew at Fazool’s Restaurant, 51 Market St. Greater Brockport Development Corporation (GBDC) is hosting a free reception with light snacks and cash bar.
At the reception, Paul Comstock will entertain us with an illustrated presentation on the cultural and natural history of Lake Champlain, itself an important part of the NYS Canal System, using photos from his recent kayaking adventure on the lake. Paul is a former Brockport resident and avid kayaker of the Erie Canal,
First thing Monday morning Lois McClure sets off for her next port of call with the help of restored tugboat C.L. Churchill.
As we can see in Brockport, the Erie Canal brought modern development to the towns and forests it passed through. However, the transformation also brought some unintended consequences. Stem to Stern, the Lois McClure legacy tour is designed to spark interest and insight into the impact of deforestation: eroded soil, silted waterways, loss of habitat for fish and wildlife, and the arrival of invasive species. In addition to providing an opportunity to tour an actual boat and handle materials relevant to its time, the schooner is transporting a cargo of white oak and white pine seedlings provided by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Trees for Tributaries Program, to be planted in communities along the canal, marking transition to our modern era of sustainable forestry and environmental stewardship.
To read more about the Lois McClure and the tour go to www.lcmm.org. See you next weekend.
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