Medal box made from wood carried on the Seneca Chief at the opening of the Erie Canal, New York, New York

ca 1825

The completion of the Erie Canal in 1825 linked the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean in a continuous water route via the Hudson River to New York City. To salute the event, commemorative medals and medal boxes, badges, and tickets were distributed among local, state, and national officials, including current and former presidents of the United States. The Seneca Chief, the first boat to travel the length of the canal, was stocked with a supply of “curious woods” from “western forests.” Arriving in New York, the wood was finished into souvenir medal boxes by artisans Daniel Karr and Duncan Phyfe.