The New York State Legislature appointed in 1810 a Commission to Explore a Route for a Canal to Lake Erie, and Report which became known as the Erie Canal Commission. Before 1817, the reports were submitted by the Commissioners Appointed to Provide for the Improvement of the Internal Navigation of the State, from February 1817 on the actual term Canal Commission was used, and its members titled officially Canal Commissioner. Besides, in 1817 a Canal Fund and Commissioners of the Canal Fund, and in 1826 a Canal Board, of which both the Canal Commissioners and the Commissioners of the Canal Fund were members, were created, and the term Canal Commission was applied sometimes to any of these bodies.
The Erie Canal Commission at first proposed the route for the Erie Canal, then organized the project and its funding, and then oversaw the construction which was completed in 1825. Afterwards the canal commissioners were minor state cabinet officers (from 1844 on elected by statewide general ballot) responsible for the maintenance and improvements of the State Canals.
The office of Canal Commissioner was abolished by an amendment ratified in 1876, and their responsibilities were taken over by the Superintendent of Public Works in February 1878. The Canal Fund and the Canal Board were abolished in 1905.
Read more about Erie Canal Commission: Origins of The Erie Canal Commission, Expedition and Survey To Determine The Best Route, Response To The Report, War of 1812 and Aftermath, New Appointments To The Commission, Political Struggle: Clinton Vs. The Bucktails, List of Canal Commissioners
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