COHOES, N.Y. -- In the backyards of Cohoes, sits a constant reminder of New York’s climb to becoming the country’s leader in commerce. 

“Walking through the canal lock, its remarkable how tall these actually are,” said Randy Koniowka, Cohoes Historian and Common Council Member. 

The Erie Canal, which ran from Albany to Buffalo was completed in 1825, but less than ten years later it needed an overhaul.

“The original Erie Canal was a victim of its own success, and they needed to enlarge it from 40 feet wide, 4 feet deep to 72 feet wide and 7 feet deep,” said Koniowka. 

Many towns and cities owe much of what they have to the canal, and Cohoes is no different. In the song, 'Low Bridge,' 15 miles on the Erie Canal was the distance old Sal the mule would haul her barges, unless you were traveling through Cohoes.

"This is Lock 9, this was the first in a series of ten."

That’s a lot of locks for any city, and it’s doubly impressive when all ten of them were within a span of under two miles, easily grinding your trip to a snail’s pace.

“It took a really long time. Records say it could’ve taken upwards of a day.”

However, with slow travel came good things for the city. 

“It was an economic boom. The good part was you had all these canal boats here, they needed servicing, they needed grocery stores, they needed taverns and they needed other services, so Cohoes grew in part because of the locks here.”

Cohoes had a natural obstacle and its staggering amount of locks were the remedy to its little problem, well not little. The mighty Cohoes Falls.

“Lock 18, the last lock in the city of Cohoes. This would’ve brought boats about 100 feet in height right to match the height of the Cohoes Falls."

These ancient-looking ruins are all that’s left of the Erie Canal that once cut through these hills. A reminder of a bygone era when taking all day to travel two miles was still a testament to how far we’d come with technology, leading the way for the rest of the nation to follow.