The Canal Society of New York State completed a multi‑year effort to move the full‑scale replica 1860s‑era canal boat Lois McClure to a land berth at Erie Canal Heritage Park in Port Byron in Cayuga County, NY, on December 23, 2025.
Launched in 2004 by the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, the Lois McClure spent nearly twenty years traveling the NYS Canal System as an educational “time machine” helping people better understand the state’s maritime history and culture.
After retiring the vessel, the Museum donated it to the Canal Society in 2023. It will now continue its educational mission at the park.
The move was made possible with the support of the McClure family, the C&S Companies of Syracuse, the New York State Thruway Authority, the New York State Police, the Verdi family (A-Verdi), the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor, the New York State Canal Corporation, and many volunteers.
The only remaining operating canal boat replica is the 73-foot replica 1825 Seneca Chief, built by the Buffalo Maritime Center to celebrate the Erie Canal’s bicentennial in 2025. Constructed by volunteers, Seneca Chief recreated the historic Erie Canal opening voyage from Buffalo to NYC in 2025. It’s expected to return to Buffalo in 2026.
The Erie Canal Museum in Syracuse, NY, houses the full-size replica Erie Canal boat Frank Buchanan Thomson in its weigh chamber exhibit. The Chittenango Landing Canal Boat Museum in Chittenango, Madison County, NY, includes full-sized replicas of canal boats and a specific “walk-on canal boat exhibit.”
That museum is located at the only recovered historic three-bay dry dock complex where 90-foot cargo boats were once built and repaired. It also includes a reconstructed canal boat shown in sections to display construction details.
Read more about the canals of New York.
Photo of Erie Canal Boat replica Lois McClure arriving at Port Byron in December 2025 by Ted Olsen.
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