Utica’s first settlement and growth centered on a ford of the Mohawk and a boat landing. By the last quarter of the 19th century, the Mohawk River was regarded as a nuisance in downtown Utica. Its channel hemmed in the tracks of the New York Central Railroad and each spring its waters rose to flood the tracks and businesses near Bagg’s Square.

The idea of moving the river goes back to the early years of Utica history. The Utica Observer of June 22, 1900 reports that the first survey for a new channel was done by John Fish, city surveyor in 1836. Serious talk of straightening the river seems to have started during Utica Mayor Thomas E. Kinney’s term (1885 to 1888 and again from 1897 to 1899). The project was seen as a way to control the flooding of the plagued downtown, as a way of allowing the railroad to expand and as a way to open up the river flats for industrial development.

Bills were introduced into the state legislature starting around 1888 to form ‘a commission to oversee the project and to annex the portion of Deerfield between the new and the old river channels. The area on the north side of the river was known as the ‘red light’ district and commonly referred to as ‘Hoboken’. The city fathers were anxious to annex the area in order to clean it up. One wonders if the annexing of Deerfield was seen as a side benefit to straightening the river, or whether straightening the, river was seen as a convenient excuse to bring Hoboken’ under the control of the City of Utica.

On March 20, 1891 the Governor signed a bill creating the Mohawk River Straightening Commission, which was to be non-partisan and to oversee the work. It was to consist of six men, four appointed by the Mayor of Utica and two by the Deerfield town supervisor. The project was to be put out for bid and the cost was not to exceed $150,000. Enthusiasm appears to have waned sharply; the national economy took a downward turn about that time and the project remained dormant for nine years. In the summer of 1900 a series of events occurred that would breathe new life into it.

On June 1, 1900, the New York Central Railroad presented to the City of Utica its plan for the construction of bridges to eliminate the dangerous grade crossings at Bagg’s Square and Park Avenue along with a complete overhaul of their freight. facilities. On June 8, Thomas R. Proctor, through his attorney, asked that the Council reconsider the over crossing proposal. His primary argument was that the approach for the bridge would destroy the character of Bagg’s Square and that straightening of the river was inevitable in the next ten to fifteen years.

These events revived interest in straightening the river. The Mohawk River Commission hired an engineer, Stephen J. Babcock, a civil engineer from Little Falls, to do the preliminary survey and engineering work. His previous experience included the design and construction of the water works for Little Fails and Gloversville.

On December 3, 1901, agreement was reached whereas the city would straighten the river and turn the land from the old channel over to the railroad. In return the railroad would eliminate the two grade crossings and help build the over crossing at Genesee Street along with putting in a new street connecting North Genesee Street with Miller Road (now Wurz Avenue).

The project immediately went out to bid again; the contract was awarded to Harrison & Letteney Co. of Boston. Work was to commence after the spring flooding and to be completed by January 1, 1903. As the deadline approached, the contractor requested an extension to May 1, 1904. The Commission granted an extension to January 1, 1904. Two more extensions would eventually be granted, with January 1, 1905 as the final date. By this time, there was growing concern about the slow progress of the work.

On September 10, the contractor walked off the job and work came to a standstill. The company claimed that it was bankrupt and could not continue. The Commission declared the contractor in default; the equipment left at the work site was sold at auction with the Citizen’s Trust Company being the only bidder. The contract was immediately let to Jacob Agne, president of the bank who hired Harry W. Roberts to finish the work, with the completion date set at September 2, 1905.

A contract extension was granted to Jacob Agne on September 11, but he refused this and served notice that he was abandoning the contract. Apparently, funds had run out. With the project three years behind schedule and work halted, political storm clouds were gathering.

In the election, former Republican mayor Richard Sherman was returned to office; he urged haste in completing the work. It was agreed by all that $75,000 should be secured to finish the job. The battle to obtain this sum brought the controversy over Engineer Babcock to a head.

State Assemblyman Henry L. Gates of Utica went on record in January 1906 saying that he saw Babcock as a hindrance to the project and that since the Commission would not remove him, he – Gates - would take measures to legislate the Commission out of office in order to remove Babcock. State Senator Henry J. Coggeshall saw no reason to remove the Commission and refused to introduce the Gates bill in the Senate. On April 15 Supervising Engineer Babcock resigned. He stated that his resignation was voluntary and that he “refused to be a block on which the River Commission has stumbled any more”.

The following year, after the controversy had died down, a $50,000 appropriation bill passed the legislature and was approved by the Common Council. With the funding in place, the Commission awarded a contract to Henry W. Roberts on May 13, 1907. He immediately set to work and on June 24, 1907 the old channel was blocked off and the entire flow of the river diverted into the new channel. Not until 1909 did the State Commissioner of Public Works accept the new channel as a part of the Mohawk River. Twenty years after the idea was broached, the river project had become a reality.