In the fall of 1977, the New York State
Department of Transportation and the Town of
Clifton Park embarked on a unique partnership.
This venture established the 600-acre historically
and ecologically significant Vischer Ferry Nature
and Historic Preserve. Located within the National Vischer Ferry Historic District and
adjacent to the Mohawk River, the Preserve has
three areas of interest: a wetland ecosystem, the
remains of the Erie Canal and the site of Clifton
Park's first settlement.
Farmed by Mohawk Indians prior
of European settlers, the area was known as
Canastigione, meaning "corn flats." Clifton Park's first white settlers had arrived by 1672,
establishing a community here on the Mohawk
that became known as Fort's Ferry, after the ferry
established by Nicholas Fort about 1727. This
area was part of the Canastigione Land Patent of
1708 granted by Queen Anne of England which
gave land to speculators.Local residents began to be employed in 1822
digging the Erie Canal, which opened between
Albany and Buffalo in 1825. The canal was so
successful that it was necessary to enlarge it just
ten years later. This section of the canal was
enlarged during 1841 and 1842. Clute's Dry
Dock settlement is in the eastern section of the preserve, and Lock 19 and its support buildings
are in the western
section.In 1907, the Mohawk River was dammed to
create the locks of the Barge Canal. This made
the Mohawk River navigable, but raised the water
level to such an extent that annual spring floods
inundated the area, forcing the abandonment of the settlements of Fort's Ferry and Clute's Dry Dock. The Erie Canal was abandoned when the
Barge Canal became operational in 1917.
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