BUFFALO, NY — On Tuesday, the Buffalo Maritime Center launched the man-made Seneca Chief after four years of volunteers constructing the vessel.
The center had the help of over 200 volunteers who dedicated their time to reconstructing the 73-foot-long 40-ton boat in time for the bicentennial in 2025.
"When you look at everything and everybody it shows you what a community can do when everyone comes together. And this model project will be shown across the state for next year for the bicentennial," said Brian Trzeciak, Maritime Center Executive Director.
Trzeciak tells 7 News reporter Jaurdyn Johnson by 2025, the Seneca Chief will depart Buffalo and go to New York Harbor to commemorate the Bicentennial of Gov. DeWitt Clinton’s 1825 Inaugural Voyage.
The center hopes to use the boat as a holistic way of telling the history of the Erie Canal.
The boat will be housed at the Commercial Slip in Canalside for the inauguration ceremony on May 25th.
You can learn more about the Seneca Chief here.
