Sal:A Mule, a Song, and a Story That Belongs to Little Falls

By Allen Kazmerski 

If you grew up in Little Falls, there is a good chance you know the song:

“I’ve got a mule, her name is Sal,
Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal.”

For generations of Little Falls children, those words were more than just the lyrics to an old song. They were part of growing up here. They were part of learning about the Erie Canal, the boats that traveled through our community, and the mules that helped pull them along the towpath.

But Little Falls has changed.

Today, many people who call our city home did not grow up here. They may have moved here recently, raised their families here, opened businesses here, or simply chosen Little Falls as the place they wanted to call home.

And they may not know the story behind Sal.

That is a story worth telling.

The Canal Made Little Falls

Before highways and modern transportation, the Erie Canal was one of the great transportation routes of America. It brought commerce, people and opportunity through Little Falls.

Canal boats carried goods and passengers through our community. Alongside the canal, on the towpath, were the hardworking animals that helped make that transportation possible.

The mules

They walked mile after mile along the towpath, pulling the boats through the canal. Their work was slow, steady and essential. And somewhere along that historic Canal, the image of a mule named Sal became part of American folklore through the song “15 Miles on the Erie Canal.”

For Little Falls, that story is particularly meaningful. The canal is not simply something we read about in a history book.

It is part of our landscape. It is part of our heritage. And it helped shape the community we became.

So Who Is Sal?

Sal is not simply a statue.

She is a symbol. 

She represents the thousands of mules that worked along the Erie Canal and the people whose livelihoods depended upon the canal. She represents the boat captains, canal workers, families, merchants, and travelers whose lives were connected to this remarkable waterway.

And she represents something else that is especially important today:

the connection between Little Falls’ past and its future.

The Rotary Club of Little Falls believes that history should not simply sit in a book or on a plaque.

It should be something people can see, touch, photograph and remember.

That is the idea behind the Sal Project.

Bringing Sal Back to Little Falls

The Rotary Club of Little Falls is working to bring full-size fiberglass replicas of Sal to our community as a permanent piece of public art.

The goal is not to recreate the past exactly as it was.

The goal is to celebrate it.

Think about communities that have embraced a distinctive piece of public art as part of their identity. Saratoga Springs became known for its colorful horses. Chicago embraced its cows. Buffalo celebrated its namesake with bison.

Little Falls has its own story.    

We have the Erie Canal.

We have the towpath.

We have the canal boats.

And we have Sal.

Why shouldn’t our community celebrate that story in a way that residents and visitors can experience for themselves?

A Story for Those Who Have Always Called Little Falls Home

For longtime residents, Sal may bring back memories of school lessons, canal stories and childhood days spent learning about Little Falls.

Perhaps you remember singing the song.

Perhaps you remember hearing about the mules.

Perhaps the Erie Canal has always simply been part of the background of your life.

But for someone who moved here five, ten or twenty years ago, the connection may not be obvious. That is why telling this story matters.

Sal gives us an opportunity to welcome newcomers into the history of Little Falls.

You don’t have to be born here to become part of the story. You simply have to care about the place you now call home.

More Than a Mule

There is something wonderfully simple about Sal. She doesn’t represent wealth or power. She represents work. Perseverance. Dependability. Community.

The mule walked the towpath day after day, pulling its load and helping move Little Falls and the rest of the Erie Canal forward.

In a way, that is a pretty good symbol for Little Falls itself.

Our city has endured.

It has changed.

It has faced difficult times and continued moving forward.

And today, Little Falls is in the midst of a renaissance—a community rediscovering its history while looking toward its future.

Sal belongs in that story.

When residents and visitors see her standing along the canal, we hope they will stop, smile and ask:

“Why is there a mule in Little Falls?”

And that question will give us the opportunity to tell them. We can tell them about the Erie Canal. We can tell them about the towpath. We can tell them about the boats and the people who depended upon them. We can tell them about the song they may have heard as children – or perhaps never heard at all.

And most importantly, we can tell them:

This is part of the story of Little Falls.

“I’ve Got a Mule…”

The song has traveled much farther than the Erie Canal ever did.

Now we have an opportunity to bring its story home.

Sal was more than a mule.

She was part of the machinery that made the Erie Canal work, part of the daily life of the people who lived along it, and part of the history that helped build communities like Little Falls.

And now, generations later, Sal can once again become part of Little Falls.

Not pulling a canal boat.

Not walking the towpath.

But standing proudly as a reminder of where we came from—and a symbol of where we are going.

Sal’s story is Little Falls’ story.

And it is a story worth remembering.

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Oh yeah, about that song,

sing it again…….or for the first time.

“15 Miles on the Erie Canal”

I’ve got a mule and her name is Sal
Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal
She’s a good old worker and a good old pal
Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal

We haul’d some barges in our day
Filled with lumber, coal, and hay
We know every inch of the way
From Albany to Buffalo
Low bridge, everybody down

Low bridge, yeah we’re coming to a town
And you’ll always know your neighbor
And you’ll always know your pal
If ya ever navigated on the Erie Canal

We’d better look around for a job, old gal
Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal
You can bet your life I’ll never part with Sal
Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal

Get up mule, here comes a lock
We’ll make Rome ’bout six o’clock
One more trip and back we’ll go
Right back home to Buffalo

Low bridge, everybody down
Low bridge, we’re coming to a town
You’ll always know your neighbor
And you’ll always know your pal
If ya ever navigated ……………….on the Erie Canal!