Canastota and Chittenango share a growth spawned by the building of the Erie Canal, the longest continuous canal in the world. These two upstate New York communities also share much in addition to their canal related background, for both have a history of early settlement and townsfolk who were leaders in manufacturing, agriculture, industry, and state politics. Join author and historian Lionel D. Wyld in this exploration of the past through carefully preserved historic images. Canastota and Chittenango: Two Historic Canal Towns reveals the important link between these towns and a canal once

hailed as �the eighth wonder of the world.� Both villages have canal related museums and parks today, in honor of the many ways in which the waterway influenced the communities. In a more popular realm, Chittenango boasts a unique annual Oz festival each May honoring native writer L. Frank Baum, author

of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and Canastota is home to the International Boxing Hall of Fame, founded in 1984.