Thomas X. Grasso was one of six children born to Italian immigrant parents in Lackawanna, New York immediately south of Buffalo. He received a Baccalaureate degree from the University of Buffalo in Geology and Geography and a Master’s Degree from Cornell University in Paleontology and Stratigraphy. While at Cornell, Tom heard the first compelling and beckoning whispers of Erie Canal history that soon thereafter grew into a major calling.
For over 50 years, Tom has been deeply involved with New York State canals’ history, geology, economic impact, and educating the public by raising awareness of the value of the canal through interpretation, revitalization, restoration, and preservation. These efforts all began in earnest when he joined the Canal Society of New York State in 1966 while living in New Orleans, LA working for Chevron Oil Company. He became President of the Society in 1979 and retired from the position in March 2016. The Board of Directors at their April 2016 meeting named him President Emeritus.
Tom moved to Rochester in 1968 to join the faculty at Monroe Community College (MCC) where he initiated the Geosciences Department in 1969 -1970 and remained as Chair until he took early retirement in August 1999. While at MCC, Tom published many papers on New York State geology, paleontology, and New York State canals for both the peer review and general audience press.
In 1995, due to the gracious generosity of then MCC President Peter A. Spina, Tom was funded to attend the first World Canals Conference in Birmingham, England organized by British Waterways and the Inland Waterways Association of Great Britain (IWA). This seminal experience sparked Tom’s epiphany and passion for canals as economic engines and tourism magnets and how canal regeneration, revitalization, and restoration can catalyze the transformation of urban centers and beyond.
Tom immediately joined IWA and a few years later became a member of Inland Waterways International (IWI) based in the UK. He was President of IWI from approximately 2002 to 2010. His research and publications led Tom to become a well-recognized and respected student of the inland waterways and canals of Europe. Eventually, he led 6 international tours to the canals of France, Germany, Great Britain and Belgium for the Canal Society of New York State and Inland Waterways International and authored in-depth, comprehensive, and well-illustrated guidebooks for each of them.
In 2003, the Mayor of Villeneuve-sur-Lot, in the south of France, presented Tom the city’s Medal of Honor.
Tom brought two highly successful World Canals Conferences to Rochester, New York in 2000 and 2010 and was enormously instrumental in bringing the nationally significant and unique project, the Port Byron Old Erie Canal Heritage Park, to fruition in 2016 after 23 years of effort. The project is unique because it allows access to a destination from both an interstate highway (NYS Thruway/I-90) and a local road. Access like this was unknown in America up to this time.
Among other awards and honors, in 2012 Monroe County named and dedicated a new park lodge in his honor, the Thomas X. Grasso Erie Canal Lodge and in 2016, the Landmark Society of Western New York bestowed on Tom their highest award, the Special Achievement Award.