Join the Buffalo History Museum with Dr. John Montague, Founder of the Buffalo Maritime Center, for an engaging talk and Q&A exploring the history and legacy of the Erie Canal through the Bicentennial Voyage of the Erie Canal Boat Seneca Chief.

In 1825, the original Seneca Chief line boat carried a cask of Lake Erie water from Buffalo to New York City to celebrate the opening of the Erie Canal, a symbolic ceremony referred to as the “Wedding of the Waters.” Two hundred years later, the Buffalo Maritime Center’s volunteer-built replica of the Seneca Chief traveled the historic route across New York State, stopping at 28 ports along the canal. Committed to telling a fuller story, the voyage offered educational programs and living history experiences to the public. In a modern echo of the original, each “Gathering of the Waters” ceremony highlighted the canal’s environmental and cultural impact.