The Towpath

by Arch Merrill

The Towpath is more than just a story of the old canal. It also is a story of the towns along its banks, from Medina to Clyde, of their history, their legends and their lore, sprinkled with interviews with old canallers and other old time residents who remember "the good old days". the author also has sought to catch the spirit of each community for he believes that towns, like people, have personalities.

180 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1989

About the author

Arch Merrill was a newspaperman, working for decades for the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, first as an editor, then as a writer, and even in retirement as a columnist until 1973.
He wrote many local history books about Upstate New York, published from 1943 to 1969. He is buried in Brighton Cemetery in Rochester.

Reviews

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can see now why my father loved Arch Merrill’s books so much. Merrill was a journalist for a Rochester newspaper who wrote articles and books about the history of Western and Central New York. This one, written in 1945, covered the history of the cities, towns, and villages that grew up along the Erie Canal, starting with Medina to the west and ending in Clyde to the east, with Rochester in the middle. Having grown up in Western New York, I’d heard of these places and been to some of them, but never knew much about them. I was delighted to learn about them, and discovered some people and places to look into further. I do wish he’d included a list of books or other sources he consulted, but he seems to have gotten a lot of his information from interviews during his visits to these places. It would be interesting now to visit these places myself to see how much they’ve changed since he wrote his book. I’m eager now to read more of his books to learn other things I never knew about the region of my birth. Highly recommended for people who enjoy the history of New York State.

[Meg Koch · Rating 3 out of 5]

1945 tour of the Erie Canal towpath towns from Medina to Clyde. Would be interesting to compare the author's observations to what those towns are like today.