DVD length: 28 minutes

Not all women who traveled to the upper Midwest in the mid-19th century were enthralled by what they found there. Eliza Burton, the fictional narrator, is a travel writer who journeys from her home in Seneca Falls, New York, over the Erie Canal (with a side trip to Niagara Falls) and across the Great Lakes to Wisconsin, where her sister's family lives. Burton finds Wisconsin lacking in many of the amenities she associates with civilization. The video is filled with lively songs popular in the 1840s (including songs of the Erie Canal), as well as images of the Great Lakes, typical traveling gear for an 1840s traveler, a recreated 1840s album friendship quilt, and a stunning replica 1840s sampler quilt. Based on a wide variety of first-person accounts, including those of Harriet Martineau, Margaret Fuller, Lucy Bird, Eliza Steele, and many others.

“Recreates a young woman’s delightful trip from Seneca Falls, New York, to Wisconsin on the Erie Canal in 1848. This one is a ‘keeper.’” —Library Journal

“Recommended” —EMRO (Educational Media Reviews Online)