The Spencerport Depot & Canal Museum will close out a successful season with a special event on Saturday, October 11 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Big Ditch Day will celebrate the bicentennial of the Erie Canal with history, music, and other activities throughout the day. It is part of the I Love NY Path Through History weekends.
Big Ditch Day begins at 11 a.m. with teams from the Genesee Country Village & Museum playing 19th-century style base ball at Heritage Park, off Spencerport Road across from the high school. Bring a lawn chair. Also at 11 a.m., local resident Jim Morgan will kick off the day at the Depot with a lively hour of music. Jim is a volunteer at the Depot and a lifelong resident of Spencerport.
Bridget LaDuca from the Ogden Farmers’ Library will offer a special storytime and activity for children at the Depot from noon to 1 p.m., followed by a rollicking good time with The Biscuit Brothers Wonderfully Wobbly Salute to Spencerport, 90 minutes of music and comedy focused on the Erie Canal. If you missed their Fringe Festival show, here’s your chance to see this one-of-a-kind act.
Throughout the day, visitors can take a walk through history along the canal towpath, which will be lined with posters about the history of the Erie Canal, Spencerport, and Ogden. The Ogden Historical Society and Village Historian Ginny Parker will be on hand exhibiting some fascinating items of Spencerport and Ogden history, and Rochester Arc & Flame will demonstrate the art of blacksmithing, which was critical for 19th-century canal and farm businesses.
The Owasco canal boat will be docked at the Depot, with the owners offering tours and answering questions about the vessel. Inside the Depot, visitors will have the opportunity to browse museum exhibits and check out the gift shop.2025 has been a very successful season for the Depot & Museum, which also functions as a visitors’ center. The Depot welcomed more than 2,500 visitors and hundreds of boats from May through September. Big Ditch Day will close out the season with a party.
The Depot is always looking for volunteers to meet all the visitors to Spencerport and the Museum.
Stop by and say hello.
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