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- Located in far western Montgomery County, New York,
Fort Plain is a small rural town
with important ties back to the Revolutionary War.
During the 1800s, the construction and completion
of the Erie Canal was influential
to many canal towns, including Fort Plain.
Both commerce and industry spurred major growth
in and around the village
with the canal flowing right through the center of town.
(running water) (soft bright music)
- Digital story telling is
getting the point across in an accessible way
through interviews, audio, and videos.
- It kind of keeps people more engaged
than just a regular speaker,
and I think that's one of its greatest points.
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- The Smithsonian's Museum
on Main Street Stories: YES project
is used to get people in the community involved
and inspire them to learn about their local history
and the environment around them.
- It's less about the digitalness of it,
and more about the fact that you can include
a lot more than just your words,
and you can bring a picture to something
that typically doesn't have a picture.
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- An expected outcome of this project would be
that we learn more about the town's history
than we expected to,
and learned how it was affected by the Erie Canal.
- Every single waterway that we have here
is part of the town history, whether we like it or not.
So, at the end of the day,
anything to do with water has to do with Fort Plain.
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- Water has always been an important factor
in Fort Plain, even to this day.
In modern times, the Mohawk Barge Canal
has taken the place of the old Erie Canal,
and is mostly used for travel and tourism.
(bright upbeat music)
The Erie Canal Bikeway extends
all the way from Buffalo to Albany and provides safe access
for outdoor recreation all year round.
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