The Lebanon Reservoir Story: Canal to Campground
Geography and history intersect in interesting and significant ways in Central New York, creating a fascinating area for exploration and outdoor recreation. The scenic hill country that creates an amphitheater-like setting for Lebanon Reservoir, is only the beginning of the story. For engineers in the early 1800s, the streams draining these hills, offered an opportunity to develop storage for a new waterway corridor, the Chenango Canal, in the valley below. The Chenango Canal, which opened in May 1837, connected 18 communities along its 87-mile length from Utica to Binghamton. The Chenango was one of several lateral canals that connected with the Erie Canal that opened in 1825 and offered a settlement gateway to the interior of the State of New York.
The Chenango Canal served as the lifeblood for the nearby communities of Hamilton, Earlville, and Sherburne. Freight rates for coal from Pennsylvania, for example, dropped from $1.25 a ton to 25 cents a ton with the coming of the Canal. The waterway was never profitable as maintenance costs for the upkeep of the many locks was high and soon competition with railroads undercut traffic. The Canal closed in 1878 and today the reservoirs, still owned and maintained by the State of New York, remain a major legacy of the era, These reservoirs are now primarily used for fishing, recreation, and summer home sites. Many stone houses in the area were built by mason artisans brought to the area to construct the locks and bridges for the Canal. Several sections of the Canal remain visible, and several portions still hold water. Remnants of locks also remain. Hiking trails on former towpaths can be found in the vicinity of Hamilton and Bouckville where the Chenango Canal Association operates a tourist visitor center on the banks of the Canal.
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