Crimes, Chaos, and Craziness on the Chemung Canal

When we think about the Chemung Canal, we tend to focus on the important changes it brought to the area in the realms of transportation, commerce, and population growth. But there was a darker side to the canal’s history as well. For many of the working-class people who lived near and worked on the canal, the canal was not necessarily the harbinger of progress. This talk will reveal the violent and strange events that were once part of the canal culture in our communities, including murders, strikes, thievery, fighting, and other bizarre incidents.