Explore the history of the
Genesee Valley Canal at Scottsville

The area around Oatka Creek in the Village of Scottsville is rich with reminders of its past as a center of commerce on the Genesee Valley Canal. On Saturday, August 16, historian Keith Kroon with talk about the history of the canal during a walking tour that will include remains of the canal's stone guard gate, aqueduct, and dam. The walk will begin at the intersection of Rochester and Canal Streets at 12:45 p.m. and is part of Scottsville's Oatka Fest.

The Genesee Valley Canal opened in Scottsville in 1840. Until its closing in 1878, the canal connected Scottsville with the Erie Canal and the Southern Tier. It benefited residents by making it easier for them to ship wheat, gypsum, and other agricultural products to distant markets and acquire manufactured goods from eastern industrial centers at a reasonable price.

After the canal closed, a railroad was built upon the canal towpath. That rail bed has become the Genesee Valley Greenway, a 90-mile natural and historic resource corridor open to the public year round for hiking, biking, horseback riding, snow shoeing, cross country skiing and snowmobiling. The Greenway extends from Genesee Valley Park in Rochester to Hinsdale in Cattaraugus County.

Presently, 52 of the 90 miles of trail are open for use. The Genesee Valley Greenway is being developed by a partnership that includes the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, and the Friends of the Genesee Valley Greenway.