Other important industries are cotton and paper mills; oil refineries; boot and shoe, clothing, furniture, perfumery and tobacco manufactories.
A feature that attracts thousands of visitors daily, is the great Powers Art Gallery, the private property of Mr. D.W. Powers, occupying the greater part of the two upper floors pertaining to the Powers Building.
In fact, a plentitude of resources makes the city interesting to the tourist.
The next day, when "morn was blushing in the sky," we bade farewell to Rochester; and, sailing on the other sixty-mile level, we continued our journey through a charming region past Greece, Spencerport, King & Adams, Cooley's Basin, and arrived at the attractive village of Brockport. Beautifully situated in the midst of a country teeming with abundance and inhabited by a prosperous and contented population, it contains many features of interest. Here is located a State Normal School, and also several extensive manufactories of agricultural implements.
Passing Holley, Hulberton and Hindsburg, we came to Albion, the capital of Orleans County. The latter village is nicely laid out with wide streets and shaded by large trees. It contains many handsome residences and public buildings.
Having proceeded more westward, beyond Eagle Harbor and Knowlesville, we caught sight of the pleasant town of Medina, about midway between Rochester and Buffalo, noted for its quarries of dark-red sandstone. Located in the midst of a fine fruit country, it has the reputation of being one of the best fruit markets in the State. Speeding through the thriving villages of Middleport, Reynall's Basin and Cataract Springs, we neared a deep ravine, through which the Erie Canal passes, following a natural waterway. Here we met the most remarkable drop of the canal, in its chain of five continuous double locks, resembling a flight of stairs.
Entering these, the "Marguerite" gradually rose higher and higher; and when quitting the last of them, she had been lifted up to an elevation of sixty feet by these five locks, and if we had not observed the busy hands working for our ascent, we might have been inclined to imagine that an invisible cloud was slowly carrying us to unknown regions on high.
We made Lockport our resting-place for the night; since the sun had wheeled his broad disk already down into the west and the heavens were brightened only by the parting smiles of the day.
Going on shore, we visited Lockport, a prosperous city with about 20,000 inhabitants, which is the center of a large paper and pulp industry.
A five hours' journey on Saturday morning, July 29th, past Pendleton, Picardsville, Martinsville, Tonawanda and Lower Black Rock, completed our charming trip on the Erie Canal, which has from Schenectady to Buffalo a length of 323 miles.