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Comparison and Contextualization

The Erie Canal Yesterday and Today

  • Documents in this Activity:
  • Historical Eras:

    Expansion and Reform (1801 - 1861)
    Turn of the Century and WWI (1890 - 1930)
    Contemporary United States (1965 - present)

  • Thinking Skill:

    Historical Analysis & Interpretation

  • Grade Level:

    Upper Elementary
    Middle School

  • Topics:

    Erie Canal
    Industry
    Transportation

  • Primary Source Types:

    Image
    Photograph

  • Regions:

    Finger Lakes

  • Creator:

    NYS Archives Partnership Trust Education Team

  1. Load Schoen Place on the Erie Canal in Pittsford, New York in Main Image Viewer
  2. Load BARGE CANAL & PITTSFORD MILLS, PITTSFORD, N.Y. in Main Image Viewer

Suggested Teaching Instructions

Take a Closer Look. The photographs are visual and allow students to see that the built landscape around the canal in this part of Pittsford has not changed much in almost 120 years. They can clearly see which buildings are still present. This activity also allows practice with observing versus inferring.
NYS Social Studies Framework 
Social Studies Practices
A2, A5, A6
B1, B5, B7
C4
D1, D3
Social Studies Framework Grade 4 - 4.6b
Social Studies Framework Grade 7 – 7.6c
Possible Answers

1907 Post Card Image

What do you observe?

·         A building that is 3 stories tall with many windows

·         A tall tour like building and one that is similar but shorter.

·         There is something connecting the tall and short towers to the 3 story building

·         2 1 story buildings

·         The buildings are all on the edge of the water

·         The picture is black and white

·         Three trees in front of buildings

·         A boat on the right, front side of the picture

·         Title on image says, “Barge Canal & Pittsford Mills”

What can you infer?

·         The title is about the Erie Canal, so I infer that the water is the Erie Canal

·         The boat looks like the packet boats we saw in a book about the canal we read – they carry goods on them

·         The boat and the picture being black and white makes me infer that this was a long time ago.

2023 Photograph

What do you observe?

·         The buildings look like to the ones in the first picture, but the shorter tour is missing and the two smaller buildings were replaced with 1 long one

·         The picture is in color

·         There are modern cars in the picture

·         There are more trees

·         The buildings are on a body of water

What can you infer?

·         The two main buildings in the older picture are still standing and in use now.

·         The color picture was taken more recently

·         The water is the Erie Canal