About The Event:

Canals were vitally important to the State of New York in the 19th century era of "Canal Fever". There were really only two, but the impact of both reached beyond the state's borders to affect the history of the entire nation. Join D&H Canal Historian Bill Merchant for an illustrated look at the story of these important waterways and the effect they had on America.

About The Speaker:

Bill Merchant is the Deputy Director for Collections, Historian and Curator of the D&H Canal Historical Society and President of the D&H Transportation Heritage Council. He is a member of the Ulster County Arts and Culture Advisory Council, Chair of the Marbletown Historic Preservation Commission, and on the Ulster County Commission to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Revolutionary War. He recently led the field survey for the current update to the D&H Canal’s National Historic Register listing and is the main contributing historian for its narrative history and inventory of extant features. He is currently writing both a new history of the D&H Canal and Gravity Railroad and a guide book to its many extant features. In 2023, the Museum Association of New York awarded him their Individual Achievement Award for his work at the new D&H Canal Museum.