Summertime on the Seaway Trail:
A British Travel Writer Recalls a Visit of a Lifetime

by Peter McGregor Eadie

My wife and I live in a house by the historic river Thames, not far from Henley whose annual rowing regatta attracts competing oarsmen from around the world. And before we were married, my wife lived close to the river Shannon in Ireland, whose lakes and rivers sparkle like sapphires in an emerald setting.

We love the waterways. Hence it had been a life-long ambition to visit your 454-mile scenic Seaway Trail along some of the world’s finest and largest lakes, rivers and canals which include Lake Erie, the Niagara River and Falls, Lake Ontario and the St Lawrence River.

I wrote to the Greater Roches-ter Visitors Association and the Seaway Trail Discovery Center and between them Patti Donohue of GRVA and Teresa Mitchell of the Seaway Trail planned a wonderful 10-day itinerary.

We began by visiting the Sea-way Trail Discovery Center in the old Union Hotel in Sackets Harbor’s historic downtown. We were overwhelmed by the sheer wealth of things to see and do in the region which were ingeniously manifested in numerous interactive displays housed in this delightful museum.

They tell the story of the regional flora and fauna, the amazing variety of architecture pertaining to the public buildings, homes, forts and lighthouses, the recreational facilities particularly for those who enjoy water activities as well as the history of this part of the world that helped America to become great.

What it didn’t tell us about was the generous hospitality and kindness of the people. This we were to learn as we went along.

Eating out on the excellent local fare with Teresa, it was hard to believe that Sacketts Harbour (now Sackets Harbor) was, during the war of 1812, the headquarters of the US Navy, bustling with sailors, soldiers and marines. And that it was here in this peaceful little town that the major building of gunboats, corvettes, frigates and other first rate ships-of-the-line were built and became such a deadly menace to the opposing British Forces.

Today, nearly two centuries later, the main memory is the ever tranquil Sackets Harbor Military Cemetery where those who fell in these tumultuous times now lie buried. This military cemetery moved its location from Madison Barracks in 1909 and since then many later American servicemen who died in the Second World War when the British and Americans fought together alongside one another also lie buried. The village-owned cemetery is lovingly maintained and the wrought iron fence here once surrounded Lafayette Park in Washington, DC.

We visited many other relics of the 1812 war including the spectacular forts of Ontario and Niagara. On the parade ground of the latter a pageantry of recruits in period uniform with their muskets and cannon were excitingly re-enacting earlier battles, but to us nothing was more poignant and reminiscent of these times than visiting Sackets Harbor.

The things we enjoyed most about our trip were those that pertained to our common heritage and interest in the waterways, such as the Antique Boat Museum at Clayton. I love wooden boats and have on my mooring a reverse clinker built speedboat that featured in the 1954 International Boat Show in London, and every year I attend the sale of wooden craft at Henley and the annual display of Thames riverside craft that took part in the rescue of allied soldiers from Dunkirk in 1940. These events take place after the international rowing races in June.

But nothing matches the great selection of wooden craft that are in the Antique Boat Museum. Perhaps the most exciting boat on display is Miss Canada 111 powered by a V-12 Rolls Royce-Merlin engine of the type used in Spitfires during the Battle of Britain. This sensational streamlined wooden powerboat won the Detroit Memorial Race in 1946.

But it is not only the speedboats and launches that attract enormous interest. There are also superb handcrafted Indian canoes, sailing and rowing skiffs, all beautifully varnished and in prime condition. They remind me of my rowing days at Oxford University back in the fifties, when all the colleges kept their highly varnished rowing eights in ornate riverside college barges, of which few are now left and those that are have been converted into floating summer homes.

When we took the Uncle Sam Boat Tour from Alexandria Bay to view the Thousand Islands, we saw many such American boathouses under which you could park craft at water level. They possess a timeless elegance and are so similar in style to many that we see on the Thames that we felt we could easily transfer to your waterways and feel at home. We could appreciate why multi-millionaire George Boldt built his romantic castle here for his beloved wife. It is now in the process of being restored and is an impressive place to visit. All these attractive houses and wooden boats belong to an interesting period in our shared heritage when several very charming riverside books were written, like Kenneth Grahame’s “Wind in the Willows” and Jerome K Jerome’s “Three Men in a Boat.” We stayed in a charming little house on shore at Clayton called Mulberry Cottage.

In line with these times there was another venue we found fascinating, which was the Roycroft Inn at East Aurora. We remember the tranquillity as we sat out on the large veranda enjoying a glass of wine and a delicious supper. The Roycroft Arts and Crafts Community was founded in 1895 by writer and philosopher Elbert Hubbard. He drew on the medieval guild system adapted by William Morris and the ideals of the English Arts and Crafts Movement.

William Morris, whose former Thameside home is just up river from where we live, said in 1880 ‘Have nothing in your houses which you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.’ Morris was the great leader in this movement, which soon spread to America. These artistic reformers believed that objects designed and made by hand by craftsmen who took ‘joy in labour’ would lead to the disappearance of shoddy work. They reasoned that the Industrial Revolution had led people to lose pride in their work and debased the Arts and Crafts industry.

Certainly Roycroft Inn, which was opened in 1905 by Hubbard to accommodate the hundreds of people who came to participate in Roycroft Community is a fine example of the work of people who appreciated beauty and joy in labour. The owner said ‘The love you liberate in your work is the love you keep’ and this is reflected in the furniture, fabrics and the food of this famous inn.

Among the festivals that attract waterway lovers are those in summer which celebrate the historic Erie Canal. Some of the best sections of this Canal are to be found along the Seaway Trail. I had the good fortune to attend the World Canal Conference in Rochester to celebrate the 175th anniversary of its construction.
I shall never forget a flotilla of canal vessels parading down the Genesee River to the sound of multiple brass bands and cheers of hundreds of people lining the riverside banks. The boats moored at the Corn Hill landing stage and spectators went on board to party.
There was an enormous variety of canal craft including some traditional British narrowboats that had been built in America. Many of these various craft provide trips or are for hire during the boating season.

Britain in the 18th century built 4000 miles of canal linking major ports with inland towns. It was then a major form of industrial transport. Today it is mainly a pleasure ground and I can join the canal system with my narrowboat at both the Oxford Canal and the Brentford Canal.

Everywhere in Europe canal holidays have become part of a major vacation industry, and the Erie Canal like many of the canals in Europe is fast becoming a popular venue for those who love the waterways and canal boating.

During the waterways conference, I took a dinner cruise aboard the Sam Patch, a replica of a canal packet boat and the English skipper, Ron Oakley, regaled me with stories about the building of the original Erie Canal. This 363-mile waterway was constructed mainly by Irish immigrants without the help of a single engineer. At the time this canal, one of the longest outside Europe, was reckoned to be an engineering miracle and led to the opening up of the west. Since then it has been designated a New York State Heritage Corridor.

Another interesting stop along the Seaway Trail is the H. Lee White Marine Museum in Oswego’s historic maritime district. Featured highlights included the Oswego Lighthouse — one of many interesting old lighthouses we saw along the Seaway Trail, exhibits depicting the Underground Railroad and the US Army tugboat LT-5 now moored alongside the dock. This splendid ‘old girl’ saw action in the Normandy invasion. Today she enjoys more peaceful pursuits acting as host to children’s birthday parties and making the odd three-day excursion to Rochester and back.
That evening we visited Fort Ontario and were shown round by the curator whose historical knowledge and ability to tell a tale and paint a verbal picture of the War of 1812, made for good listening.

The following day we drove back to Rochester and had a superb gourmet dinner at Edwards Restaurant. We stayed the night at our favourite hotel the Rochester Hyatt Regency before flying home with our batteries charged and our heads full of memories of new friendships made and old ones consolidated.

Peter McGregor Eadie studied history at Oxford University and is an Honorary Life Member and former Chairman of the British Guild of Travel Writers. He contributes regularly to the American and UK press and is a lecturer and broadcaster on both history and travel as well as a Blue Guides editor. He has won several awards for writing including a Churchill Fellowship for his contribution to Biography and Travel Writing. His original research into the culture of the indigenous people of Central America led to him being made a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.