By Jason Klaiber
Staff Writer
Opened in 1986, the Chittenango Landing Canal Boat Museum at 717 Lakeport Road in Chittenango features the only preserved dry dock complex on the entire Erie Canal.
This summer, those on staff at the Chittenango Landing Canal Boat Museum are seeking to steer more visitors, volunteers and members their way with a host of special events planned through the summer.
The Erie Canal is an important part of the history of New York State and a visit to the museum gives guests a glimpse into that history.
For example, at these restored docks, leaks and cracks on boats can be remedied, as was the routine on site from 1855 to 1920.
“We’re essentially a mechanic shop but for boats,” Derrick Pratt, the museum’s director of programs, said.
Pratt, who has worked at Chittenango Landing for the past three years, said the summer normally serves as the museum’s busiest season.
The Old Erie Canal Boat Float—an event held annually since 2017 that brings together paddlers in canoes and kayaks—raised funds for the museum in June.
For the remainder of July, Chittenango Landing will continue hosting New York Heritage’s traveling exhibit revolving around the 100th anniversary of women attaining the right to vote in the state.
On July 25 and Aug. 1, scheduled talks from visiting speakers about the centennial of women’s suffrage will be held at the museum. These talks will be free for members and $5 for non-members.
Chittenango Landing also partnered with the Syracuse Mets to coordinate a “Strikeout Cancer” vintage baseball game, to be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 3.
Set to be played at Community Recognition Park on Legion Drive with 1860s rules and vintage uniforms, the baseball game’s collected funds will be split between the Fayetteville-based Patrick Wiese Foundation and the museum.
On the same day, in the morning leading up to the game, the museum plans to host an antique tractor show.
The museum also regularly invites the public to participate in paranormal investigations.
Pig & Swig on the Canal, a beer and barbecue tasting near the dry docks, will return this fall, specifically in the late afternoon of Sept. 28. The event will benefit the museum and the Town of Sullivan parks and recreation department.
Chittenango Landing also brings in thousands of Central New York fourth and fifth graders on field trips each year, usually in the spring. The four-hour field trip program involves lessons on archaeology and caulking boats while allowing the children to explore the woodworking shops, sawmill and canal-side store on the premises.
Over the school break in February, the museum gathered children for a camping experience that taught about winter survival and ways to build traditional Native American snow shelters.
Pratt said he hopes for the museum to organize quilting sessions and begin renting out snowshoes come this winter.
Currently Chittenango Landing rents out kayaks for use on the canal and bicycles for use on the accompanying trails. Across from the dry docks, visitors can access the 36-mile towpath.
There are also numerous volunteer opportunities.
“If you want to work for us for free, we will not stop you,” Pratt said. “We always have stuff for people to do.”
Volunteers can include folk artists like yarn spinners or craftsmen like blacksmiths and barrel makers willing to show off their skills in a historical context.
The website, chittenangolanding.org, also features a membership form. The varying membership prices guarantee different benefits, from gift shop discounts to genealogy consultations.
Joseph Treglia, the museum’s executive director and curator, said the property can even accommodate weddings, parties, picnics and meetings of any kind.
According to Treglia, Chittenango Landing’s passport system and ongoing pin map determined that 100 people from outside the country visited the site in total last year, while all 50 states were represented in the same span of time.
“This is a really cool site,” Treglia said. “Nationally it’s kind of a gem.”
The museum is normally open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Sunday.
