Fayette Park

Historical marker location:

407 South State Street, Syracuse, New York

( Marker is on South Townsend Street north of East Genesee Street (New York State Route 92), on the left when traveling north.)

The Freedom Trail. The Underground Railroad.

The Erie Canal, which opened in 1825 and connects the Hudson River to the Great Lakes, was originally mocked as "Clinton's Folly" after Governor DeWitt Clinton, who championed the project. However, the canal became an economic boon for New York and helped turn the state into a major commercial center.