The Buffalo Maritime Center’s Erie Canal boat replica Seneca Chief will arrive in Buffalo on Saturday, June 27, following a statewide voyage west from Waterford, New York.
The original Seneca Chief officially opened the Erie Canal in 1825. Buffalo Maritime Center‘s replica was built by over 200 volunteers over five years. The replica went from Buffalo to New York Harbor in 2025 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Canal’s opening.
The boat is now in Rochester (at Rochester By Water, June 22 and 23) and will be in Holley’s Canal Park June 24, Media Canal Park June 25, and North Tonawanda’s Gateway Park (99 Sweeney Street) on Friday, June 26th.
On Saturday morning Seneca Chief will depart Gateway Park in North Tonawanda at 9:15 am. Once in the Buffalo River, it will be escorted by the E.M. Cotter fireboat and welcomed dockside in Buffalo by bagpiper Henry Schmitt.
The boat is expected to arrive at the Commercial Slip at Canalside (44 Prime Street) about noon. From noon to 1 pm folk duo Sally Schaefer and Tyler Bagwell will perform Erie Canal music at the Commercial Slip.
An official welcome home ceremony begins at 1 pm, and will feature remarks from Buffalo Maritime Center, M&T Bank Charitable Foundation, New York State Canal Corporation, Erie County, the City of Buffalo, and indigenous scholar Melissa Parker Leonard.
After the ceremony, the doors to the Seneca Chief will officially open to the public between 2 and 5 pm. Visitors will have the opportunity to explore the boat’s newly completed interior and educational exhibits for the first time.
Beginning June 28th the boat will be open to the public from 4 to 7 pm on Fridays, and Saturdays and Sundays from 11 am to 3 pm at the Commercial Slip through September 27th. Admission is free.
You can learn more about the 2026 return cruise here.
The Canal Society of New York State recently completed a multi‑year effort to move the retired full‑scale replica 1860s‑era canal boat Lois McClure to a land berth at Erie Canal Heritage Park in Port Byron in Cayuga County, NY.
Read more about Erie Canal history.
Photo: Seneca Chief during it’s stop in Schenectady on it’s way to New York Harbor in 2025.
