Greene History Notes: The flight of five locks in Lockport

I have always been fascinated by the Erie Canal. It is arguably the one of the greatest engineering feats of the 19th century. One aspect of the canal that has eluded my understanding: Where and how did the canal actually get to Lake Erie which is over 300 feet higher than Lake Ontario? The two lakes are connected by the Niagara River which includes Niagara Falls. For much of the distance between Rochester and Buffalo, the canal parallels Lake Ontario meaning at some point it needs to make a major accent to get to Lake Erie. My understanding was improved when I found out where a major part of that ascent takes place.

Last month my brother Wayne and I visited Lockport which is about 30 miles northeast of Buffalo. Going from east to west, Lockport is where the most precipitous ascent for the canal takes place before joining the Tonawanda Creek and entering the Niagara River north of Buffalo and Lake Erie (Somewhat of a simplification, but generally describing the western end of the route). Going from west to east the route is reversed. When the canal first opened there was a twin series of five locks — one set for ascent and one for descent. They appeared as two parallel flights of stairs.

The New York State Legislature authorized the Erie Canal’s construction in April 1816, but the exact route through what would become Lockport was not determined until 1820. The canal reached the village in 1824 before the “Flight of Five Locks” could be completed. The locks were completed the following year before the canal officially opened on October 25th. The area grew rapidly mainly populated by immigrants of Scottish and Irish descent who had worked on the canal. By 1829 Lockport was incorporated as a village. In 1865 it became a city and had an official population of 21,165 in 2010.

In 1918 the New York State Barge Canal replaced the Erie Canal using the same route through Lockport. At that point the south side of the “Flight of Five Locks” was replaced by locks E34 and E35. The north side became a spillway. It is now being restored as a tourist attraction. Upon restoration, the Lockport Locks Heritage District will be the only location in the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor where historic manual and current operation of canal lock technology can be viewed side by side. I had the opportunity to view the work in progress on the old locks.

Starting in 2017 New York State began commemorating the 200 anniversary of the construction of the Erie Canal. The wildly successful venture turned New York State into an economic powerhouse and led to it being called the “Empire State.” While commercial traffic has been greatly reduced in recent years, it — along with several feeder canals — continues to be America’s oldest continuously operating canal system. Besides that, the former towpath once used by mules to tow the barges has been transformed into a path that can be used for hiking, jogging and biking. Over the years my brother Wayne has biked along major sections of the canal including the area that includes the Lockport locks. In addition I recently read that over 400 community events take place along the canal each year from Albany to Buffalo. What a great thing for New York State!

To reach columnist David Dorpfeld, e-mail gchistorian@gmail.com or visit him on Facebook at “Greene County Historian.”