| 1829 | The Chemung Canal passes the New York Legislature |
| 1830 | Construction on the canal begins with the ground breaking ceremony in Elmira on July 4th |
| 1833 | Canal completed and opens briefly only to be damaged by a flood in May; repairs are made and the entire canal opens in October |
| 1840 | The wooden locks are falling apart and constantly disrupting traffic. The legislature approves funds to rebuild the locks. |
| 1842 | Nearly all of the locks are rebuilt; the canal is extended 1.25 miles from Lock 1 in Havana (Montour Falls) towards Seneca Lake to alleviate problems with sandbars. |
| 1850 | The canal is extended all the way from Lock 1 to Seneca Lake as the sandbar problems continued to slow traffic |
| 1857 | One of the worst floods strikes the canal closing navigation for a month |
| 1860 | Locks 11, 21, 27, 31, 35, 37, and 41 rebuilt |
| 1861 | Bad flooding erodes away over 800 feet of towpath; Locks 19, 40, 43, 45, 46, and 48 rebuilt |
| 1862 | State Canal Board approves an increase in the draught allowed for boats on the Chemung Canal and the canal depth is increased to six feet; Locks 12, 14, 34, 38, 39, 42, 44, 50, 51, 52, and 53 are rebuilt. |
| 1865 | A March flood badly damages the canal and the feeder dam |
| 1866 | Locks 24, 25, 28, and 32 are rebuilt |
| 1867 | Another flood causes damage to the canal; Locks 1, 36, and 40, the last three unreconstructed locks, are rebuilt |
| 1870 | Spring floods destroy the feeder dam; it is rebuilt in 1871 |
| 1872 | One mile of the canal is abandoned in Elmira and filled in to make a street |
| 1876 | Commissioners are appointed by the state to determine how to dispose of the Chemung Canal and the other lateral canals |
| 1878 | The Chemung Canal permanently closes after October 31st |
| 1881 | The stone and materials in the locks, bridges, and aqueducts to the canal are sold at auction |
| 1884 | The canal bed is drained at Horseheads |
| 1885 | The canal bed is drained at Havana (Montour Falls); today it is Canal Street |
