Seneca Chief’s return in 2026 includes visits in Holley, Medina
Boat is replica of famed Erie Canal vessel that carried Gov. DeWitt Clinton in 1825

Photo by Tom Rivers: Holley Mayor Mark Bower last week holds a promotional material highlighting the Seneca Chief’s stay in Holley on June 24. The vessel made a much-publicized voyage across the Erie Canal last year in commemoration of the canal’s 200th anniversary. It heads back across the canal from near Albany to Buffalo in June, staying at 16 ports.
HOLLEY – Mark Bower is excited about June 24 in the Village of Holley. The mayor will be welcoming the Seneca Chief that day.
The boat is a replica of the vessel that carried Gov. DeWitt Clinton in 1825 in the maiden voyage that went from one end of the canal to the other.
The replica did a commemorative journey of that voyage last year to help celebrate the bicentennial of the Ere Canal. Last year the Seneca Chief docked in Medina to end the second day of its trip, and the following day went through Orleans County and then stopped in Brockport.
This time, on the journey back to Buffalo, the Seneca Chief will be staying in Holley on June 24 and will offer guided tours of the boat. The following day it will port in Medina.
The Seneca Chief was built by volunteers of the Buffalo Maritime Center. The replica stopped in Medina’s Canal Basin during its “sea trial” in 2024 and again during the 33-day journey to New York City in 2025.

The Seneca Chief is shown on Sept. 26, 2025 during a brief stop in Albion where the public had a chance to tour the boat.
The 73-foot boat features a tiller made from wood pulled from Lockport’s “Flight of Five” locks. The vessel shared historical re-enactments, including the “Wedding of the Waters” ceremony, to canal-side communities in 2025.
The Seneca Chief will be heading back to Buffalo this year. The vessel’s journey this time will be over 22 days, instead of last year’s 33-day effort.
The schedule includes:
- June 6: Waterford
- June 6: Schenectady
- June 7-8: Amsterdam
- June 9-10: Little Falls
- June 11-12: Rome
- June 13: Sylvan Beach
- June 14: Brewerton
- June 15-16: Syracuse
- June 17: Baldwinsville
- June 18-19: Lyons
- June 20-21: Fairport
- June 22-23: Rochester
- June 24: Holley
- June 25: Medina
- June 26: Tonawandas
- June 27: Buffalo
Click here for more on the “Back to Buffalo” voyage for the Seneca Chief.





















