Passing through this lock marks the entry into the official erie canal from the hudson river. The finished canal consisted of 146 lift locks, 7 guard locks, 14 aqueducts, 203 culverts, and 14 dams. Nys canal corporation, canal section 1 office, route 4. The slack water pool of the dam provided an important water source for the ohio and erie canal between clinton and massillon. T he trail between little falls and albany, also know as the mohawkhudson bikeway, provides a journey through the mohawk river valley, an area rich with working farms, vast forests, and historic small towns. The canal operated throughout the 19th century, but its heyday was in the 1840s. Water spills over the remains of the original five locks in lockport.
Due to the ongoing covid19 pandemic, the canal corporation has suspended all nonessential construction and maintenance activities, therefore the new york state canal system will not open for through navigation of the locks on may 15th as previously announced. There are a total of 36 35 numbered locks on the erie canal. Erie canal locks 3 erie canal, oswego canal and champlain. Erie canal near where tonawanda creek meets the niagara river is the official western terminus of todays erie canal. The the enlarged canal was the largest hydraulic project of the 19th century. Taking your boat through canals with locks is easy, once you get the hang of it. Therefore, when the north branch divi sion was completed at athens in 1856, the commonwealth possessed a. Integrated teaching and learning program, college of engineering. Closeup view of lock 67 in a series of stairstep locks on the erie canal at lockport. The erie canal has no lock 31, the oswego is missing lock 4, and the champlain canal has no lock 10. The bridge, e16, known locally as the lock 9 bridge, connects rotterdam junction and the town of glenville, about eight miles west of schenectady. See more ideas about erie canal, california high speed rail and the iron bridge. Traveling up the canal, youll find gateway harbor park in north tonawanda, home to a summer concert series and the popular canalfest. The flight of locks bypassing cohoes falls just to.
Cosco development at agua clara locks may 2, 2017 duration. Erie canal locks erie canal, oswego canal and champlain. Camillus erie canal park is a family fun park located in camillus, new york. The 57 locks within the new york state canal system are used to transfer vessels from a navigation pool at one elevation to another. There are two canal parks in the twin cities of tonawanda and north tonawanda. The present erie canal rises 566 feet from the hudson river to lake erie through 35 locks. The sixteen locks that brought the canal up around the cohoes falls were referred to as the terrible sixteens because it would take a whole day to bring your boat through them. A lock is a device used for raising and lowering boats, ships and other watercraft between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal. A small section of the original lock marks the location where governor dewitt clinton of new york and ohio gov.
After the canal was expanded and rerouted in the 1840s, the remnant of the original erie canal was used as a power canal for the harmony mills. Locks guard locks junction locks weigh locks aqueducts culverts viaducts basins drydocks widewaters side cuts feeder canals dams waste weirs bridges change bridges museums buildings other feature conditions. There are no admission fees to the erie canalway national heritage corridor. Historic erie canal locks, cohoes lakes to locks passage. Line drawing shows side view of a barge going through a lock and dam. Have your wedding or special event in our oneofakind historic banquet facility. Christianson, justine new york state department of public works historic american engineering record babb, jami a. First, it used too much water lowering the water on the pound above sometimes causing boats to. To really be on the erie canal, you must complete the flight of five, erie canal locks e2 through e6 there is no lock e1, in which you gain 169 feet of elevation in a little less than two miles.
Information on fees for boating through the locks may be found at the new york state canal. Tips for boating through a lock erie canalway national. Take a cruise down the historic erie canal and through the lockport locks, or house your banquet in a oneifakind historic banquet facility, so come experience the erie canal. Erie canal 1825 erie canal 1862 barge canal lateral canals show features. Tug 44 approaches the doors of the lock chamber, on her westbound passage. Erie canal, showing locks 14, and 12, and the high street and columbia street bridges. It was built to create a navigable water route from new york city and the atlantic ocean to the great lakes. Therefore, when the north branch divi sion was completed at athens in 1856, the commonwealth possessed a system of about 830 miles. This special function may explain why the two locks were located so close together. It is also one of the more unusual locks because it has an integrated guard gate on its upstream east side.
Erie canal lock 23 is the busiest lock along the entire canal system due to is prime location between oneida lake and lake ontario and the finger lakes. The depth is dependent on the lift required at that point in the canal. On the erie canal the waterways between the locks sometimes as little as a. Today, there are 57 locks on new yorks canal system, including 35 on the erie canal, 11 on the champlain canal, seven on the oswego canal, and four on the cayugaseneca canal. On april 3rd, a monday night, the gates were delivered by truck in a highly publicized 10. Erie canal lock e12 at tribes hill heres a view of lock e12 and adjacent dam and spillway, as we follow a westbound trawler into the lock in 2004.
Originally, it ran 363 miles 584 km from the hudson river in albany to lake erie in buffalo. Erie canalway national heritage corridor hay, duncan macarthur brothers company and lord electric company new york state canal corporation black, laura s. The waterford flight of locks consists of locks e2 through lock e6. The lockport locks and erie canal cruises, home of the lockport canalside. This is the fourth lock in the waterford flight of locks lock e5 got new gates in early april, 2006.
Today, there are 35 numbered locks although lock no. Erie canal lock 18, herkimer, ny, united states marina. Show students figure 1 animation, figure 2 threepart diagram or. Erie canal, lock 24 baldwinsville, new york restaurant. Engineering drawings for a canal erie canalcanal lock, new york summary student works showing canal and lock as plans, elevations, and sections. Oct 19, 2010 fall 2010 we transited the erie canal to canada and back on our 61 marlow yacht. Locks 2 and 3 facilitated the flow of water from the river to the canal serving as a type of water control valve for canal water levels. Erie canalway national heritage corridor discover locks. This also is the first lock in the waterford flight of locks. These would have increased the total mileage of the pennsylvania canal to 934. Erie canal lock 6, waterford, ny, united states marina. This animation is a prototype of an interactive experience for the erie canal lock system exhibit at the rochester museum and science center. All the locks on the erie are 300 long and 44 wide. A linear park through cohoes follows the route of the canal.
Furthermore it is one of three sites in the state still generating power using its original powerhouse. The modern canal uses two larger structures, just out of the photo on the left. Erie canal locks, ilion, herkimer county, ny library of. From lock e25 in mays point with a lift of 6 to lock e17 at little falls with a total lift of 40, one must consider the ingenuity and master craftsmanship that it took to. The enlarged erie canal, built between 1835 and 1862, saw this number reduced to 72 locks. The erie canal, from waterford to tonawanda, has 34 locks. Engineering drawings for a canal erie canal canal lock, new york summary student works showing canal and lock as plans, elevations, and sections. Erie canal lock 2 is in village of waterford, three miles north of the troy federal lock. Chris fritton navigates lockview v on the erie canal, through locks 34 and 35 and many lift bridges in lockport, ny. However, this map does not include the utica harbor lock because at this time it is not open to the public. Eastern erie canal 14 foot minimum depth unless noted otherwise. Full text of the pennsylvania canals internet archive. The park offers visitors a variety of activities including a reconstructed erie canal vintage store and museum, steam engine exhibit, boat rides, diner cruises, hiking trails and more. Discover locks and canal structures erie canalway national.
By clicking on the blue points on the point map, users are provided the name of each lock, its phone number and specific location by mileage along the. Fall 2010 we transited the erie canal to canada and back on our 61 marlow yacht. Because its difficult and unsafe for vessels to attempt going uphill or downhill, the pools must be level to provide safe navigation. You are not really on the erie canal at the waterford visitor center, since you are at the level of the hudson river. Locks 2 and 3 facilitated the flow of water from the river to the canalserving as a type of water control valve for canal water levels. From tidewater level at troy, the erie canal rises through a series of locks in the mohawk valley to an elevation of 420 feet above sealevel at the summit level at rome.
Mile shore feature channel width south depth middle depth north depth overhead clearance charts info latitude longitude. Engineering drawings for a canal erie canalcanal lock. Erie canal lock 18 in herkimer, ny, united states lock. Erie canal lock system exhibit interactive experience. This lock provides a 27 foot lift and has one of the largest dams on the canal system. The erie canal lock system exhibit is a smallscale simulation of locks 31 and 32 of the erie canal lock system. Two original erie canal locks rediscovered washington times. By the late 1870s railroad construction had caused a slow decline in the use of canals. Locks were built to overcome the 571ft 174m difference between the level of the river and that of lake erie. Due to the ongoing covid19 pandemic, the canal corporation has suspended all nonessential construction and maintenance activities, therefore the new york state canal system will not open for through navigation of. Double chamber lock 18, north of church street, is on the national register and can be seen from the byway.
A lock and dam system enables a large ship to move from a body of water at one. Students will know how many locks are in the erie canal. Most of the major rivers and canals of the world have keepers who operate locks that lift and lower boats around cascading water levels. All locks on the new york state canal system are singlechamber. Locks are elevators for boats, lifting and lowering them as they travel along the waterway.
Ship passing through panama canal miraflores locks duration. Tug 44 sits in the lock chamber, as admiral kathy attacks the lock wall to add to her collection of lock rocks. Lock 28b, erie canal article about lock 28b, erie canal by. Erie canalway national heritage corridor works to preserve and share our extraordinary heritage, to promote the corridor as a world class tourism destination, and to foster vibrant communities connected by more than 500 miles of waterway. The erie canal is a canal in new york, united states that is part of the eastwest, crossstate route of the new york state canal system formerly known as the new york state barge canal. The erie canal management did not like swelling for two reasons. There are fees for boating through the locks and private and nonprofit historic sites may charge admission or accept donations. Reserve a cruise on the erie canal and through the lockport locks in one of our unique us coast guard licensed vessels. Take a cruise down the erie canal and through the lockport locks. Locks guard locks junction locks weigh locks aqueducts culverts viaducts basins drydocks widewaters side cuts feeder canals dams waste weirs bridges change bridges. Route 103, the shortest state route in new york, connects route 5 and 5s. In its 19thcentury heyday, pioneers, immigrants and cargo swarmed the erie canal, a bustling gateway that opened up the countrys heartland and the. Erie canal lock 9 is an interesting structure which is a combination lock, dam, and truss bridge which carries state route 103 over the mohawk river erie canal.
Lock 17 along the erie canal in little falls, new york, in 2017. Erie canal lock 6 in waterford, ny, united states lock. From lock e25 in mays point with a lift of 6 to lock e17 at little falls with a total lift of 40, one must consider the ingenuity and master craftsmanship that it took to build those locks 100 years ago. This westbound view shows erie canal lock e7 on the far left. Add to trip ideas the original 1825 erie canal came north through cohoes and proceeded north along mohawk street.