SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- The New York State Canal System is now a national historic landmark.
The system includes the Erie, Champlain, Oswego and Cayuga-Seneca canals.
This year marks the bicentennial of the Erie Canal's groundbreaking, and officials say the World Canals Conference will be held in Syracuse this year.
"People are really beginning to know if they haven't known just how important our canal was not only to our state, but to the nation. The last speaker said that it really made New York the 'Empire State,'" said Director of the New York State Canal Corporation Brian Stratton.
Less than three percent of the places listed in the National Register of Historic Places have received this designation.