NOM

Here is an interesting article on how the Erie Canal affected Mormonism and other religious movements. The Canal even influenced Women's suffrage and the abolition of slavery. There was no mention as to whether boats of a "curious construction" ever traversed the Canal, but they possibly could have if the Canal had existed in 590 BCE and that is enough to prove some truth.

http://www.sltrib.com/news/lds/5464716- ... nal-helped

I read a book recently about the Erie Canal. I wasn't expecting it to be a history of social happenings of the time, but there was a lot going on. The book dealt with Joseph Smith quite a bit. I posted about it here:

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1074&p=10464&hilit=canal#p10464