Michel Helm

Historical marker location:

Wurtsboro, New York

( Marker is on U.S. 209, 0.1 miles north of the N end of the Wurtsboro-Sullivan County Airport, on the left when traveling north.)

Marker installed: 1936

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.