Erie Canal

The engineering marvel that is the Erie Canal stretches for well over 300 miles from the Hudson River in Albany to Lake Erie in Buffalo. It connects New York City and all the major cities and ports of the Eastern Seaboard to the sprawling American Midwest. Not only would Munson have never flourished with the canal, it never would have existed!
Munson exports goods both east and west, most timber, flour, and apples; it imports the latest fashions, technology, and news from across New York, the United States, and the world. Sometimes the canal can get congested with so much traffic heading up and down, and the shipyard and docks are always hives of activity, with people coming and going. With all that commotion, the water is never clear, and sometimes the traffic in and around the docks can cause tempers to flare.
Boatmen enjoy telling tall tales and inventing their own legends about the canal. Speak with Bert Mahar, Calvin Packard, or Will Wigglesworth if you want to hear them spin a yarn. While their stories might seem outrageous, I would wager most contain at least a lick of truth.

Uncanny Occurrence, northern canal

Just north of Munson, the canal bends sharply eastward again after its brief jaunt north. It's here, just before the bend, where the land turns swampy and the air grows hazy that boatmen and passengers have claimed to hear strange sounds emerging from the mists at dusk. Some claim that it's rhythmic hoofbeats splashing through the mire, while others have heard a fiddle, flute, and harp playing as clear as can be. Regardless, all agree that these musical sounds emanating from the dark are tranquil, calming, almost mesmerizing. Some people have walked along the banks of the canal eager to catch a glimpse of the virtuoso responsible for the music. Whether they have found the source, no one knows. They never return.

Uncanny Occurrence, southern canal

The Southern section of the canal has been home to strange goings on as of late. Large, dark shapes have been seen under the surface, the size of a man or bigger. Swirling shadows that rock boats on the canal as if they were on the high sea. Some sailors swear off this stretch of the canal and walk to the next town to board again there. Others are a little too excited to go back onto the water to catch the whale or shark or whatever it was come up from the Hudson. Salt water creatures in the canal though? Confusing times these are.