Day 42 - Friday, June 22nd - Erie, PA to Hamburg, NY - 500 miles to go
Distance: 80.5 miles
At mile 47 we entered Dunkirk, the westernmost city in New York with a population of over 12,000. Well into the 1600's the Iroquois speaking Erie people lived along the southern shore of Lake Erie but were pushed out by the Seneca people, one of the Five Nations of the powerful Iroquois League that lived on Lake Ontario until the French settlers pushed them west. The city was named after Dunkirk France in 1826 and the Dunkirk Lighthouse at Point Gratiot was built soon after and still stands today.
Elevation Gain: 1943 ft.
or 24.1 ft./mile
When I woke up this morning at 5 AM, I looked out the window and was confronted with the beautiful and age old warning about a red sky in the morning.
The forecast was for rain and 10-20 mph headwinds at the start improving to clouds and headwinds of 5-10 mph in Hamburg. The rain was pretty light and did fade away. We did have a headwind all day but we got out of Erie early enough that it never got near 20 mph. All in all, not a bad day. The forecast for tomorrow is rain all day so I guess the above warning has an extended expiration.
Leaving the hotel we got on State Street and headed south towards Perry Square Park where we went around the park to the east and got on E 6th Street a mile later. We passed to the north of Wayne Park on E. Lake Road, or PA-5, which became NY-5 just past the 20 mile mark when we crossed the PA/NY border.
Before we got there, we left Erie proper at about the seven mile mark and continued on PA-5 passing a number of vineyards, including Lake Ridge Farms at mile 13 and the Penn Shore Winery and Vineyards at mile 14.
Around mile 16 we reached North East, a borough of about 4000 residents that is so named because of its northeastern location in the county. Fruit growing is popular in the area especially, cherries and grapes. There are at least five large wineries in the area and Welch's is the largest employer. I saw a for sale sign on one property that advertised that a contract with Welch's was part of the deal.
Once in New York we were in Ripley, a town of about 2400 people that is named for
Leaving the hotel we got on State Street and headed south towards Perry Square Park where we went around the park to the east and got on E 6th Street a mile later. We passed to the north of Wayne Park on E. Lake Road, or PA-5, which became NY-5 just past the 20 mile mark when we crossed the PA/NY border.
Before we got there, we left Erie proper at about the seven mile mark and continued on PA-5 passing a number of vineyards, including Lake Ridge Farms at mile 13 and the Penn Shore Winery and Vineyards at mile 14.
Around mile 16 we reached North East, a borough of about 4000 residents that is so named because of its northeastern location in the county. Fruit growing is popular in the area especially, cherries and grapes. There are at least five large wineries in the area and Welch's is the largest employer. I saw a for sale sign on one property that advertised that a contract with Welch's was part of the deal.
Once in New York we were in Ripley, a town of about 2400 people that is named for
Eleazer Wheelock Ripley, an American brigadier general who fought in the War of 1812, and later served as a U.S. Representative from Louisiana, from 1835 until 1839.
At the 30 mile mark we reached the town of Westfield. With a current population of about 4900 it was first settled in 1802 by James McMahan who built a mill where the Chautauqua Creek empties into Lake Erie. The mill was later dismantled to prevent it from falling into British hands during the War of 1812.
We also passed the Barcelona Lighthouse which was built in 1829 to overlook Barcelona Harbor until it was deactivated in 1859. It was the first lighthouse in the world to be powered by natural gas.
Westfield is also home to Welch's Grape Juice, which was founded in Vineland, New Jersey in 1869 but moved to Westfield in 1897 to take advantage of the better climate for Concord grapes.
Around mile 39 we passed to the north of Brocton, a village of of about 1400 located within the town of Portland. Brocton was first settled in 1805 and the name is the combination of Brockway and Minton, the name of two prominent families.
At mile 47 we entered Dunkirk, the westernmost city in New York with a population of over 12,000. Well into the 1600's the Iroquois speaking Erie people lived along the southern shore of Lake Erie but were pushed out by the Seneca people, one of the Five Nations of the powerful Iroquois League that lived on Lake Ontario until the French settlers pushed them west. The city was named after Dunkirk France in 1826 and the Dunkirk Lighthouse at Point Gratiot was built soon after and still stands today.
At mile 58 we reached Silver Creek, a village of about 2500 founded in 1803 that is named after the creek that runs through the village. It was an important port on Lake Erie until the railroads reduced shipping.
About a mile down the road we left NY-5 and got on US-20 going East for about 17 miles passing through Seneca Nation of Indians Territory into Hamburg.
Sneak Peek At Tomorrow
500 miles to go and tomorrow we go another 95 miles with over 4000 feet of climbing as we head mostly east to Canandaigua, NY.
Canandaigua is a city of about 10,000 and the county seat of Ontario County. The name is derived from the Seneca name of their historic village located there and means "the chosen spot", or "at the chosen town". The Seneca village, consisting of 23 longhouses, was destroyed during the American Revolutionary War in 1779. American rebels had mounted this attack in reprisal for an attack by Mohawk and other British allies. The Americans attacked Iroquois villages throughout western New York, destroying 40 and burning the winter stores. The Iroquois fled to Fort Niagara as refugees, and many died of starvation that winter. By the mid-19th century the city was a railroad junction and home port for several steamboats that operated on the lake.
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