Canal Commission handwritten payment ledger for costs incurred for the continuing construction on New York's Oswego Canal from August 31 1849-January 30 1860
New York, 1849-1860. Item #99-5439
14 x 10.5", decorative stamped leather, raised bands, leather spine labels, hand paginated 1-117, rest is unpaginated, approx. 265pp (with a few blank ones) have documentation, just over half the ledger is filled in. Covers are scuffed/scraped, soiled, edgeworn, corners and spine tips very worn, contents very good condition, handwriting is quite legible. The lucrative possibilities of trade between Canada and the Atlantic Coast was the reason for building a canal from Oswego on Lake Ontario to Syracuse, New York. Construction started in 1825 and was completed December 10, 1828. Soon found to be too small it was upgraded over time. Some of the payments issued were for: removal of businesses ie currier, saloon, grocery, blacksmith and personal property ie barns and dwelling houses, renting land to store stones, property damage. Canal expenditures include moving 145 linear feet of wooden tube used for drawing water from the Otsego Canal to the state pump at Salina, sinking tests, removing piling at Old Van Buren Bridge, laying cobblestone on the embankment of the Salina Street Bridge in Syracuse, constructing wood bridge at Fish Creek Landing. COMES WITH: four printed State of New York forms detailing payments, size varies, some toning and chipping else good. Contents: 1859/1860. Repairs of the Oswego Canal, and three for the enlargement of the Erie Canal 1855-1861, 1862 and March 1862. The Oswego Canal was the most controversial of all the New York canals being built but it ended up being the most profitable. Ledger and loose forms are dated, list the recipient's names and amounts received. Great piece of history. Ledger and four loose sheets, a total of five items are sold as a lot.
Price: $3,500.00