Erie Canal in Popular Culture

Article source: Wikipedia

Camillus sits at the halfway point on the Erie Canal. Sim's Store was a popular stop along the Canal, taking advantage of its proximity to Gere Lock and Belle Isle where boats needed to stop to navigate the lock.

The song "Low Bridge, Everybody Down" became a popular tune in the American culture, reflecting the notoriety of the Erie Canal throughout the nation. The song is attributed to Thomas S. Allen, although the songwriter and origins have been questioned. Originally recorded in 1912 with sheet music published by F.B. Haviland Publishing Company in 1913, it was written after the construction of the New York State Barge Canal, which would replace the Erie Canal, was well underway, furthering the change from mule power to engine power, raising the speed of traffic. Also known as "Fifteen Years on the Erie Canal", "Fifteen Miles on the Erie Canal", "Erie Canal Song", "Erie Barge Canal", and "Mule Named Sal", the song memorializes the years from 1825 to 1880 when the mule barges made boomtowns out of Utica, Rome, Syracuse, Rochester, and Buffalo, transforming New York into the Empire State and bringing a surge in traffic to the Town of Camillus.

The music cover published in 1913 depicts a boy on a mule getting down to pass under a bridge, but the reference to "low bridge" in the song refers to travelers who would typically ride on top of the boats. The low bridges would require them to get down out of the way to allow safe passage under a bridge.