WALSH TO UNVEIL NEW CANALWAY EXHIBIT IN PALMYRA

Wayne County Congressman Author of Federal Legislation Bringing National Parks Service Attention to the Erie Canal Corridor

(Palmyra, New York)- Congressman Jim Walsh will join Palmyra Mayor Vicky Daly to unveil new Erie Canal-related interpretive exhibits at the Port of Palmyra Marina in the Village of Palmyra on Thursday, August 24th, at 10:00 a.m.  The exhibits were produced by the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor and the National Park Service.

Two signs will use historic photographs and documents to illustrate for the visitor the connection between the canal-era and contemporary surroundings.  The Palmyra exhibits are part of a larger interpretive exhibits program across the state initiated by the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor. Each of the signs provides a glimpse into the past by briefly showing how various communities supported the building of the Erie Canal.  Congressman Walsh was the author and primary sponsor of the federal legislation that created the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor, which was designated by Congress in December 2000.

"The Erie Canal helped shape not only Palmyra, but also our nation," said Congressman Walsh. "It opened the west to development and helped make New York the Empire State.  These signs will help remind residents and inform visitors how important the Erie Canal is in the heritage of central New York."

"The Village of Palmyra is pleased and honored to have been chosen for this wonderful sign," said Palmyra Mayor Vicky Daly. "It is one more jewel in the crown of Palmyra, Queen of Canal Towns."

"As Palmyra grows while maintaining its hometown character, the new wayside exhibits will complement Palmyra's heritage and connect this wonderful canal town, and its towpath to the entire Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor," said Frank Dean, the National Parks Service's Executive Director of the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor.  "Whether a visitor is entering the town through the waterway or enjoying the towpath, the exhibits will provide a glimpse of Palmyra's historic and contemporary contributions to the Corridor."

The Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor is one of only 27 federally designated National Heritage Areas. Its purpose is to help preserve and interpret the historical, natural, scenic, and recreational resources reflecting its national significance and to help foster revitalization of canal-side communities.

The Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor, spanning 524 miles of the current New York State Canal System and original alignments, encompasses 4,834 square miles in 23 counties and includes 234 communities immediately adjacent to the Erie, Oswego, Cayuga-Seneca, and Champlain Canals.

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