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Post Office and Store, Clifton Park Village  (see Map)

If you lived back in the 1700's and 1800's, you would go to the store to pick up your mail.  You could also buy sugar, flour, nails or a saddle for your horse at the store while you were there.

Clifton Park School #5

Now--see map

The school you attended would have one room.  Students in grades one through eight would be in the same room.  The bathroom was outside.  Your desk was bolted to the floor. Someone, maybe the teacher or an older student, would bring water to the school in a pail.  Everyone shared this water.  Maybe the teacher would stay at your house for the school year.

Amity Reformed Church

Now--see map

Churches were special places.  Births, deaths, marriages and baptismal records were kept there.  Churches were a place to worship and also a social gathering place where you could meet people.

Bridges needed to be built so people could get over water.  Many bridges were toll bridges which means in order to cross them you had to pay money.  You could cross the bridge on horseback or in a wagon or walk.  You still had to pay.  Some bridges had to be rebuilt in the Spring because in the winter the ice would knock the bridge down.

Bluffs on Erie Canal near Schenectady

The Erie Canal was started in 1817 and was finished in 1825.  It was 363 miles long.  Boats carrying goods or people could move east and west across New York State. Mules walked along the side of the Erie Canal on towpaths to pull the boats. Many stores and hotels and places to eat were built along the canal to accommodate the people on the boats and barges.

Vischer Ferry Bridge --map

This bridge crossed the Mohawk River at Vischer Ferry. This bridge had to be rebuilt several times because the ice in the winter would knock down sections of it.

Whipple Truss Bridge

The Whipple Truss Bridge is an important bridge because it was built with metal pieces.  Most bridges built a long time ago were built with wood.  The Whipple Truss Bridge was recently rebuilt by students in the Engineering Program at Union College.  You can see the Whipple Truss Bridge today at the entrance of the Vischer Ferry Preserve.

Erie Canal Aqueduct at Rexford

map

Aqueducts are bridges that carry water. Boats can also travel on this type of bridge.  The Erie Canal had aqueducts to carry boats and barges over the Mohawk River.

Harmon VanVranken House

Now

Houses in the 1700's and 1800's were built in many different architectural styles.

Clifton Park Hotel

Now--see map

The Clifton Park Hotel was used for government business as well as a place to eat at or stay over night. There were times when the rooms would hold prisoners that needed to be restrained while awaiting trial.

McLane Hotel at Rexford

This hotel was located by the Rexford Bridge.  If you traveled by boat on the Erie Canal you might stop here for food or lodging.  Unfortunately we can only see this hotel in pictures because it was knocked down in 1964 so a new bridge and road could be built that crossed the Mohawk River.

Vischer Ferry General Store

The stores were called "General Stores" because you could buy so many different things.  You could also pick up your mail because at that time mail was not delivered to your house.

Clutes Dry Dock

Boats would be stored here or repaired.  A dry dock was a place that held boats when they were not in use. Since boats back in the 1700's and 1800's were built using wood many would need new paint or caulking each year  to keep them from leaking.

Emporium at Grooms Corners

This building was a tavern like the Clifton Park Hotel.  You could rent a room or get a meal.  Some government business took place here also.

Vischer Ferry Mill on Stoney Creek

Some mills  were used to saw logs into boards.  Other mills ground or crushed grain into flour.  This mill on Stoney Creek isn't there anymore.

Jonesville General Store

Another General Store was located in Jonesville. Many different things could be purchased here.

George Smith's Store, Elnora

This General Store was located in Elnora.  It sold many different things.

Rope Ferry at Vischer's Ferry

The ferry carried people, goods and animals across the Mohawk River. By using a rope and pulleys (click on images above) people would pull the ferry across the river . 

A rowboat was kept on each side of the river. If the operator was unavailable, a person could row across the river get the ferry boat, bring it back to the side he started from and  move his goods or animals across the river.

Lock 19 at Vischer's Ferry

Where rivers had waterfalls or rapids, boats would have to be unloaded and taken out of the water and moved over land. Locks were built in these areas so that the boat could continue on the river.

If the boat had to go up or down the waterfall the boat would go into the lock, and the doors would close. Water would be added or let out of the lock compartment to raise or lower the boat to the same water level as the next part of the river. The doors would opened at the other end of the lock and the boat would float out.

All pictures in the "old" section are used with permission from John L. Scherer. These photos are from the collection of the town historians John L. Scherer of Clifton Park and Ellen Kennedy of Halfmoon. Many of these photos can be found in Images of America Clifton Park by John Scherer.

The original Clifton Park Virtual Field Trip was created by Charlotte Bowser with technical help from Chris Nafis and Lisa Harding.

This page is maintained according to the Shenendehowa Web Publishing Guidelines by Mrs. Walton and Ilka Morse
Last update: 2002-2003