The Raging Erie: Life and Labor on the Erie Canal, Presented by Mark S. Ferrara In-Person / Online
The completion of the Erie Canal in 1825 was a monumental achievement. Linking the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean, it transformed New York City into a hub of international trade, drove the rise of industrial cities like Rochester, and accelerated the westward expansion of the United States. Yet few of the laborers who toiled along the canal shared in the prosperity it brought. Join author Mark S. Ferrara as he discusses the stories of the ordinary people who lived, worked, and died along the banks of the canal, emphasizing the forgotten role of the poor, working class, and immigrant laborers in this epochal transformation.
Books will be available for purchase. Book signing following the talk.
Mark S. Ferrara is professor of English at the State University of New York at Oneonta. His recent books include American Community: Radical Experiments in Intentional Living (2020) and Living the Food Allergic Life (2023).
Registration is recommended, but not required.
This is an in-person program that will also be livestreamed at https://www.youtube.com/@RochesterPublicLibraryNY/streams.
To request an ASL interpreter for this program, please call the following number at least ten days prior to the event: (585) 428-8304.
Presented by the Office of Rochester and Monroe County History, Rochester Institute of Technology Department of History, and RIT Press, in partnership with the Local History & Genealogy Division.
- Date:
- Saturday, April 12, 2025
- Time:
- 11:00am - 12:30pm
- Time Zone:
- Eastern Time - US & Canada (change)
- Location:
- Central - Kate Gleason Auditorium
- Library:
- Central Library
- Audience:
- All Ages
- Categories:
- Department - Local History & Genealogy Local History Erie Canal History