The H. Lee White Maritime Museum is pleased to present “The Conception of the Erie Canal” with Derrick Pratt as part of our History Lecture Series scheduled for Wednesday, October 22nd at 6:00pm. In celebration of the Erie Canal’s bicentennial, the Maritime Museum’s fall 2025 History Lecture Series explores the lasting impact of the Erie Canal as part of the American experience with featured speakers from regional museums and cultural centers.
While the Erie Canal took only eight years to dig, getting to the point where people could start construction was nearly a century-long process. The project, designed to secure economic dominance and westward expansion by connecting the Atlantic to the Great Lakes, was championed by Governor DeWitt Clinton despite federal reluctance to fund the project. Derrick Pratt’s talk examines the early efforts to harness New York’s interior waterways, and the political wrangling that almost kept the “Eighth Wonder of the World” from happening.
Derrick Pratt is the Director of Education & Public Programming at the Erie Canal Museum in Syracuse, NY. A native of Chittenango, NY, Derrick received a B.A in Social Studies Education from SUNY Cortland and an M.A. in Museum Studies from Syracuse University, where he now serves as an adjunct professor. Prior to his job at the Erie Canal Museum, Derrick served as Director of Programs at Chittenango Landing Canal Boat Museum for three years.
The History Lecture Series’ next featured speaker Capt. Tammee Poinan Grimes of the Erie Canal tour boat Colonial Belle, which has been operating on New York’s canals since 1989 on Wednesday, November 5 at 6pm.
The Maritime Museum’s History Lecture Series is free and open to the public. The Museum and Treasure Chest Gift Shop are open daily, 1-5pm (10-5pm in July and August) on the West 1st St. Pier in Oswego’s Historic Maritime District. For more on this or other programs, contact the Museum at 315-342-0480.
Derrick Pratt, Director of Education & Public Programming at the Erie Canal Museum in Syracuse, NY