On December 23, 2025, the Lois McClure, a replica 1862 canal schooner made canal history - but not on the water!

The McClure, with a police escort and a long line of photo op folks, travelled down the NYS Thruway, entered the Old Erie Canal Heritage Park in Port Byron, gently travelled through Lock 52, the first boat usasge in 108 years and eventually came to rest in its new home on the old canal bed, directly opposite the famous Erie House Tavern. Congratulations to Craig Williams, from the Canal Society of NY and many, many volunteers. Startled and surprised, hundreds of drivers on the NYS Thruway, saw flashing lights,  safety vehicles, brightly colored  orange and yellow safety jackets, and Troopers everywhere, according to Canal enthusiast Bob Stopper. The Lois McClure, an 88 ft replica 1862 canal schooner, was heading to its new “on the hard” home at the Old Erie Canal Heritage Park in Port Byron, NY. The McClure was originally constructed by the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum in Vergennes, Vermont and is now owned by the Canal Society of New York State.

C&S’s Transportation team originally received an inquiry from Mr. Craig Williams, President of the Canal Society of New York State. Mr. Williams required an engineering firm to design a temporary roadway for transporting a replica canal boat from Vermont to the Port Byron Old Erie Canal Heritage Park. This site is part of the historic Erie Canal Lock 52 Complex, situated approximately 30 miles west of Syracuse and accessible from the NYS Thruway eastbound.

The project involved pulling the canal boat into position on the abandoned canal bed behind the locks using a temporary road constructed from the park’s access road.

The Lois McClure is an 88-foot-long, 15-foot-wide replica canal boat, with a flat bottom, built between 2001 and 2004 by volunteers. 

Final Transportation - Utilizing a specialized trailer in the spring of 2025 to transport the boat from the dock to its final display location at Port Byron Old Erie Canal Heritage Park, this process required permits for site work, bridge crossings, and oversized load travel on local and state highways. The planned route involves temporarily halting traffic on the NYS Thruway for the boat to travel eastbound and exit at the park. The removal of fencing and guide rails facilitated the boat’s movement through historic locks to its permanent cradle.