A new park was dedicated along the Erie Canal in Albion on Saturday afternoon.
Erie Canal Park is the only park in the Village of Albion that is located directly on the Erie Canal.
When renovations started on the Main Street bridge in November of 2022, steel from the historic Main Street lift bridge, built in 1913, was given to the Village of Albion as a keepsake. The Village of Albion decided to contact Batavia artist Bill Schutt to create a lamppost out of the keepsake steel. Schutt created the lamppost through a grant from GoArt.
Albion Mayor Angel Javier, standing with Batavia Artist Bill Schutt, who created the lamppost, with student actors from Albion Middle School. Seated, Deputy Mayor Joyce Riley.
The Village staff at the Pollution Control Center, Rick Albright, Kyle Piccirilli and William Malone, decided to create a bench next to the solar powered lamppost, with space for a time capsule to be opened in the year 2059.
Committee member Tom Rivers with his handprint on the backside of the Remembrance Monument, with student actors from the Albion Middle School.
The Albion Rotary Club then spearheaded the effort to recognize the names of the people who lost their lives on September 28, 1859, 165 years ago, after a bridge collapse. The monument names the lives lost on that day. According to local historians, over 250 people and five horses gathered on the wooden bridge to watch a tightrope walker cross the Erie Canal.
It was then decided that Erie Canal Park would be the home of all the works mentioned above. An interpretive panel was also created for the park by Albion Middle School students that details the impact the Erie Canal had on the Village of Albion.
There are 16 lift bridges along the Erie Canal, 7 of them are located in Orleans County. Albion, Brockport and Lockport are the only municipalities that have 2 lift bridges. Albion’s Main Street lift bridge is still being renovated and is expected to reopen in December of 2024.